10 Things Didn't Know About Night Of The Living Dead
3. Social Commentary was not the Original Plan
Social commentary became a theme throughout the Living Dead franchise - the reckless consumerism in Dawn and the danger military authoritarianism poses in Day - but some of the themes regarding social issues in Night were unintentional, at least to begin with.
The ghouls in Night are corpses reanimated by radiation from a fallen satellite. It is not easy to miss the Cold War fear subtext here, as at the time the USA recorded its highest total of stockpiled nuclear weapons, and the Soviet Union was rapidly becoming the West’s bogeyman during the arms race. Another issue that is addressed in the film is the domestic racism and civil rights tensions that were rife in America at the time. You could be forgiven for thinking that was the idea behind casting a black man as a heroic lead (the first ever in horror). Yet this was not the case, and the role of Ben was not written with any particular race in mind. Duane Jones simply had the best audition and was able to adapt his character’s dialogue. Romero himself said of his casting, “Jones was the best actor we met to play Ben”.
Night and Romero himself are often praised for highlighting the racial tensions of the time, but a lot of the credit belongs to the unknown actor who won the role, Duane Jones.