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Spartans Athletics - pg. 7 11:07 Improv via Facebook
Campus Culture Spotlight: 11:07 Improv
Michael E. Harlow and Alex Walker, 11:07 Coordinators
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What is the name of your community?
11:07.
What are the main services, events, or activities that your community facilitates?
Improv Workshops and Performances.
When and where does your group meet?
Workshops meet every Tuesday in RNT 237 at 10 p.m. and shows are bi-weekly(ish) in Freedom Hall (the theatre) at 11:07 p.m.
In 1-2 sentences, how would you describe the culture in your community?
It is a fun(ny) atmosphere that welcomes students of all backgrounds to come and learn about improv. Our community is positive and full of laughs and good times.
What would you most like people to know about your club?
This is a place to unlock your talents, make friends, and laugh more than your average Joe on a Tuesday or Friday night. In particular, this is a great opportunity for non-theatre students to get involved in performing.
What’s a crazy or funny thing that’s happened in your community’s history?
Alex ripped his shoes apart, Braedon flirted with a real prof, and Michael ran into the set pretending to be a Minion.
Where can students find more information about your community?
Facebook: 1107 Improv Comedy; Instagram: 1107improv.
Anything else you would like to add?
2+2. That’s an easy one.
David Witzke
“It is a truth universally recognized that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains.”
So starts the landmark piece of literature that is Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith and posthumously co-authored by Jane Austen. If there is one thing no one thinks when reading Jane Austen, it is, “Gee, this book could really use some zombies.”
However, in some miraculous fashion, this mashup is an incredible adaptation.
The idea may be met with skepticism, but any reading of the book or viewing of its 2016 film adaptation shows how much intuitive sense the story makes.
Of course, a large part of what makes this adaptation so good is Austen’s ironclad base story. Besides being an already famous literary work, the narrative of Pride and Prejudice is incredibly captivating in any genre, regardless of the focus. The multi-layered and talented storytelling of Austen translates astonishingly well to the action and zombie genres. Big arguments are easily turned into glorious duels, and characters fight off zombie hordes in between lyrical professions of love. The nuanced and subtle machinations of romance are matched with the brutality and satisfaction of the zombie genre.
Pride and Prejudice’s status as a piece of work in the public domain allows it to be a truly authentic mashup. It does not just spoof Austen’s words but interweaves them with the zombie action. While the unorthodox combination may seem weird to some, both the book and movie are wildly fun—as if they were ever going to bad.
In an interview with Time, Grahame-Smith explained that “what was so funny to me about this idea, is the fact that these people in Austen’s books are kind of like zombies. They live in this bubble of extreme wealth and privilege.” Smith continued, “As long as there’s enough lamb for the dinner table, they could care less what’s falling apart around them. . . . In this version, it literally is falling apart around them, and they sort of carry-on writing letters to each other about hurt feelings and loves and passions and all these things.”
The extended mythos of the Pride and Prejudice and Zombies universe is a surprising joy that is not readily apparent from the onset of the story. It is an unprecedented level of fun to add fantastical action elements to a regency-era story. Though the film differs from its source material in more ways than one—namely the presence of a civilized zombie cult and an enormous explosion set off to save a threatened London from a zombie hoard—it still retains a sense of gleeful joy in how it expertly navigates both the romance and zombie genres. The fight choreography is fluid, masterful, and graceful all at the same time. Most importantly, the film also stars Matt Smith who delivers the all-time best portrayal of Mr. Collins on screen.
One of the only problems with Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is that it really is a work meant for lovers of both zombie stories and Pride and Prejudice—an unfortunately small sector of the population. While the mix of genres complements each other well, it still may seem too outlandish for some audience members. Whilst this may stop it from becoming a smash box office hit or running off of bookstore shelves, I will still stubbornly revel in the glory of gore, zombies, and romance that is Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.
