The Controversial Former White House Staffer Who Cameos In Army Of The Dead
Zombie movies have long been political. "Night of the Living Dead" tackles themes of mob mentality and racial prejudice. George A. Romero's follow-up, "Dawn of the Dead," put a group of survivors in a mall to serve as an allegory for rampant consumerism. Shortly before his death, Romero claimed he felt disappointed that so many modern zombie movies were straight-up horror instead of offering something of substance. Perhaps he would've experienced vindication to see "Army of the Dead," the latest zombie flick from director Zack Snyder.
His signature slow-motion and bloodshed are there in abundance, but if you look closely enough, it's hard not to see political undertones. After Las Vegas residents succumb to the zombie virus, the government's solution involves putting up a wall around the city. Additionally, a quarantine camp, which takes on a whole new meaning in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, features prominently in the plot. Things only grow direr as the characters discuss how the government uses those camps to house "undesirables" instead of people with the undead infection.
Even a former White House staffer makes an appearance in a short, blink-and-you'll-miss-it role to add to the political undercurrent throughout the movie.
Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer appears in Army of the Dead
Before you ask: No, Sean Spicer doesn't get bit by a zombie in "Army of the Dead."
Instead, the former press secretary under President Donald Trump appears early on in the movie when Scott Ward (Dave Bautista) looks over a copy of the schematics he and his team will need to retrieve $200 million from a casino vault. In the background, a newscast plays where two pundits, one of whom Spicer plays, debate the morality of keeping healthy people in a quarantine camp with a nuclear strike against the nearby city imminent.
Spicer faced controversy during his time as press secretary. Those in the media frequently caught him lying, such as when he claimed Trump's inauguration had the largest audience ever when the facts indicated that wasn't the case. There's one point in "Army of the Dead" where an image of Spicer over a chyron reading, "Quarantine: Truth or Scare," appears, which feels like it's come from an alternate reality where Spicer still had a job at the White House during the COVID-19 pandemic.
On IMDb, Spicer receives the credit of "Male Pundit," but it's not hard to see that he's effectively playing a version of himself. He's also not the only person affiliated with politics in real life to appear in "Army of the Dead." His character speaks to a female pundit, who Donna Brazile plays. In real life, she's a political strategist who worked on presidential campaigns for Jesse Jackson and Walter Mondale. She also served as the acting Chair of the Democratic National Committee twice.
The two discuss the government's use of nuclear weapons in Las Vegas with a refugee camp so close. Honestly, it sounds like the type of conversation that would sadly occur if a zombie apocalypse broke out in real life.