full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Christopher M. Moreman: The dark history of zombies

Unscramble the Blue Letters


The zombie underwent a tfaaosointrmrn after the US ouicaotcpn of Haiti began in 1915— this time, through the lens of wtesern pop culture. During the occupation, US citizens propagated many racist beliefs about Black htiaain popele. Among false accounts of deivl worship and haumn sacrifice, zombie stories captured the American imagination. And in 1932, zombies debuted on the big screen in a film called “White Zombie.” Set in hitai, the film’s protagonist must rescue his fiancée from an evil vodou mtaser who runs a sugar mill using zombi labor. Notably, the film's main object of sympathy isn't the enslaved workforce, but the victimized white woman.

Open Cloze


The zombie underwent a ______________ after the US __________ of Haiti began in 1915— this time, through the lens of _______ pop culture. During the occupation, US citizens propagated many racist beliefs about Black _______ ______. Among false accounts of _____ worship and _____ sacrifice, zombie stories captured the American imagination. And in 1932, zombies debuted on the big screen in a film called “White Zombie.” Set in _____, the film’s protagonist must rescue his fiancée from an evil vodou ______ who runs a sugar mill using zombi labor. Notably, the film's main object of sympathy isn't the enslaved workforce, but the victimized white woman.

Solution


  1. haitian
  2. human
  3. master
  4. people
  5. devil
  6. western
  7. transformation
  8. haiti
  9. occupation

Original Text


The zombie underwent a transformation after the US occupation of Haiti began in 1915— this time, through the lens of Western pop culture. During the occupation, US citizens propagated many racist beliefs about Black Haitian people. Among false accounts of devil worship and human sacrifice, zombie stories captured the American imagination. And in 1932, zombies debuted on the big screen in a film called “White Zombie.” Set in Haiti, the film’s protagonist must rescue his fiancée from an evil vodou master who runs a sugar mill using zombi labor. Notably, the film's main object of sympathy isn't the enslaved workforce, but the victimized white woman.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations


ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
haitian people 2
pop culture 2


Important Words


  1. accounts
  2. american
  3. began
  4. beliefs
  5. big
  6. black
  7. called
  8. captured
  9. citizens
  10. culture
  11. debuted
  12. devil
  13. enslaved
  14. evil
  15. false
  16. fiancée
  17. film
  18. haiti
  19. haitian
  20. human
  21. imagination
  22. labor
  23. lens
  24. main
  25. master
  26. mill
  27. notably
  28. object
  29. occupation
  30. people
  31. pop
  32. propagated
  33. protagonist
  34. racist
  35. rescue
  36. runs
  37. sacrifice
  38. screen
  39. set
  40. stories
  41. sugar
  42. sympathy
  43. time
  44. transformation
  45. underwent
  46. victimized
  47. vodou
  48. western
  49. white
  50. woman
  51. workforce
  52. worship
  53. zombi
  54. zombie
  55. zombies