During a recent interview with the Associated Press, Justice League director Zack Snyder touched on some of the political undertones that he decided to include in his new zombie movie Army of the Dead,which was released exclusively on Netflix this past Friday.
According to Snyder, the entire concept behind the wall built by the uninfected around Las Vegas in order to keep the zombie outbreak contained was actually a reference to the border wall comissioned by former President Donald Trump’s and his administration.
What’s interesting here is that Snyder notes that the wall was actually only included in the film because the plot required it, explaining that it wasn’t until later that he realised it could also serve as a somewhat symbolic political statement on the hot-button issue.
“We were building a wall. We were creating these refugee camps. We needed to kind of use those things to hold up a mirror to ourselves,” said Snyder in regards to the the border wall message he wanted to include in his latest zombie film.
He continued, “Once you erect a giant wall around a city, you really find yourself referencing all kinds of laws that have been created for all different reasons. And I think your awareness of those things really is important.”
Army of the Dead actor Matthias Schweighofer also supported Snyder in his decision to include an anti-border wall message in the recently released Netflix movie, but further added that he believes borders shouldn’t even exist in the world.
“I was born behind a wall in the east of Germany and the wall came down and I always thought as I traveled through the world, ‘I don’t want a wall back in my life. I don’t want any borders back,'” Schweighofer told the AP.
Given how the concept of survivors erecting a wall to contain the infected is a common trope of zombie movies in general, Snyder’s implication that the wall is a political statement appears to have more to do with the optics of his interview with the AP and little to nothing to do with the film itself.
Related: Audience Scores Arrive For Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead
For the longest time, and strictly in terms of political views, Snyder was widely considered to be a Libertarian or, at the very least, someone more comfortable with right-leaning tendencies, especially in light of the fact that he’s working on an adaptation of Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead. However, lately, he’s been making some comments that seem to be pandering to the Left.
Just last week, for example, the Man of Steel director weighed in on the race-swapping of Superman that is rumored to take place in J.J. Abrams and Ta-Nehishi Coates’ upcoming Superman movie by expressing his opinion that a black Superman is “long overdue.”
“My feeling is that I love JJ, I love what he’s done in the past. I’m interested to see what happens, it’s a bold and cool and probably long overdue move,” said Snyder during a relatively recent interview with Radio Times, although he also said, “But I love Henry[Cavill] as Superman, of course I do. He’s my Superman.”
Related: Zack Snyder Weighs In On The Idea Of A Black Superman From JJ Abrams And Ta-Nehisi Coates
Snyder also made headlines a few days leading up to the release of the fan-requested Zack Snyder’s Justice League, when the director implied that the Geeks + Gamers website and community were part of a hate group during a charity livestream that was organised by the G + G team.
“Just a quick thing before we get started, I know that on our donation page we still have the Geeks + Gamers logo. I just want to say that we talked about this and we are not really affiliated with Geeks + Gamers as far as I am concerned. And I really just want to make that clear,” said Snyder as soon as he joined the livestream.
“And I also want to just say in light of recent events I think if Justice League teaches us anything, it’s about coming together and there is no room for hate. I just think that it’s an important message and as the father of Asian children it really hits close to home for me. And I just want to put that out there that there is no room for hate and that is what it is all about,” the Justice League director concluded.
Related: Justice League Director Zack Snyder Attacks His Fans, Implies They Are Part Of A Hate Group
Granted, Snyder’s poor choice of words may have been part of a PR statement issued by the people over at Warner Bros. following the Atlanta murders, but it is undeniable that he added fuel to the fire that was already burning once SJWs found out that he would be participating on a stream with Geeks + Gamers.
Army of the Dead is currently available on Netflix, and both critics and general audiences have been giving Snyder’s new zombie film some rather favourable scores, so it may still be worth checking out if you’re a fan of the survival horror genre and of the stylish director.
What do you make of Zack Snyder’s anti-border wall message being inserted into Army of the Dead? Will you be watching the director’s new zombie movie this weekend? Let us know in the comments section down below or on social media.