the latest zombie trope sees them spending as much time

[GoldfishLord]

For Romero it was racism and rampant consumerism – that’s why Dawn of the Dead was set in a shopping mall. In The Dead Don’t Die – the latest zombie trope sees them spending as much time staring at their smartphones and drinking wine and coffee as much as trying to munch on townspeople, making the point that our modern addictions are deeper seated than we think and perhaps won’t stop at the grave.

Source: https://www.businessrescueexpert.co.uk/the-walking-dead-businesses/

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1. Is "spending" a participle or is it a noun?
2. What does "the latest zombie trope sees them spending" mean?

 

[dunchee]

A participle.

 

[Barque]

2. What does "the latest zombie trope sees them spending" mean?

The Dead Don't Die is the latest zombie trope. It's a zombie movie and it's a trope because it uses common features of such movies.

"Sees them" here is used to explain what they do. In this movie, they spend as much time using their phones and drinking wine and coffee as they spend trying to attack people.

I've mentioned this before--try to understand the sentence as a whole. You'll find it difficult to progress by trying to figure out each word.

 

[GoldfishLord]

What's the reason why "spending" is being used in place of "spend"?

 

[Barque]

There are many different ways to construct a sentence. In that sentence "spending" fits. "Spend" would need other changes.

 

[teechar]

What's the reason why "spending" is being used in place of "spend"?

In that sentence, either can work.

Some verbs can be followed by:
- an infinitive only. For example:
I want to sell my car.

- an -ing form only. For example:
She enjoys playing basketball.

- either an infinitive or an -ing form. For example:
I saw him spend(ing) hours in the park.
The -ing form highlights the duration of the action.
Note that the infinitive here is the bare infinitive (no "to").

 

[GoldfishLord]

Does "the latest zombie trope sees them spending..." mean "we see them spending... in the lastest zombie trope"?

 

[5jj]

No. See post #3.