This chapter explores the evolving links between cosmetic surgery and zombies in recent popular culture, focusing on how stories of bodily ‘enhancement’ are intersecting with narratives of horror and desire. As part of the analysis, I examine horror-comedy Yummy (2019), credited as the first ever Belgian zombie film. With a tagline promising “facelifts, boob jobs, and zombies,” Yummy features a zombie outbreak set in a cosmetic surgery hospital. Different forms of hunger intersect as both consenting and resisting bodies are cut, suctioned, injected, and consumed. As such, the film offers an intriguing site for exploring where the relationship between zombies and cosmetic surgery might be heading. Other media sources will also be touched upon, including television series, marketing materials, and relevant news articles. As will become clear, zombies share a key preoccupation with cosmetic surgery narratives, namely, an obsession with the contemporary human body and the many ways its boundaries can be/are being violated and renegotiated in the twenty-first century. Although the primary focus is on transformative surgical operations, non-surgical cosmetic treatments are also significant to consider as they are increasingly normalized and accessible.

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Dead Beautiful: Zombies and Cosmetic Surgery

  • Gwyneth Peaty

摘要

This chapter explores the evolving links between cosmetic surgery and zombies in recent popular culture, focusing on how stories of bodily ‘enhancement’ are intersecting with narratives of horror and desire. As part of the analysis, I examine horror-comedy Yummy (2019), credited as the first ever Belgian zombie film. With a tagline promising “facelifts, boob jobs, and zombies,” Yummy features a zombie outbreak set in a cosmetic surgery hospital. Different forms of hunger intersect as both consenting and resisting bodies are cut, suctioned, injected, and consumed. As such, the film offers an intriguing site for exploring where the relationship between zombies and cosmetic surgery might be heading. Other media sources will also be touched upon, including television series, marketing materials, and relevant news articles. As will become clear, zombies share a key preoccupation with cosmetic surgery narratives, namely, an obsession with the contemporary human body and the many ways its boundaries can be/are being violated and renegotiated in the twenty-first century. Although the primary focus is on transformative surgical operations, non-surgical cosmetic treatments are also significant to consider as they are increasingly normalized and accessible.