Friday, November 27, 2009

Zombies

You know what's awesome?

Zombies!

No, I'm not saying that if Zombies started attacking that would be awesome (Although, it would be significantly cooler than some other things we'd have to survive against.)

I'm saying, the effect that Zombies have on our popular culture these days.

You've got it covered in books; Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, the ones by Max Brooks. Then you have Zombies in the movies; Dawn (Shawn) of the Dead. And then you've got the two Left 4 Dead games, which, I don't know about you, but is probably a turning point for most would-be Zombie killers.

All which points to the fact that more and more, we like Zombies.

Why though?

Personally, I don't relish the thought that if there was in fact a Zombie apocalypse, that everyone, including myself would die. (That's why I have a morbid fascination with Zombies, of course. You know, 'Know Thine Enemy'. Got to be prepared.)

But we still have an increased interested in Zombies. Heck, it was even in the news!
Why is this?

A little while ago, I saw a comic that tried to make a statement about this.
It said that Zombies are the ultimate way to underline the failures of society and humanity, without dehumanizing people themselves.

So really, when we're fighting off Zombies, we are trying to fight off what makes us bad.
Bad humans.
Bad neighbors.
Bad parents.
Bad children.
Bad friends.
Bad people.

2 comments:

  1. Another theory is that we are all psycopaths deep inside but society says you can't kill people. So the only way to cut loose and free our blood lust, is to have a zombie apocolypse. Zombies (and Nazis) are the only things we can slaughter without fear of repercusions or being politically incorrect, which is why we want a zombie apocolypse in our heart of hearts.

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  2. Well, I'm not sure if all people are psychopaths inside. I'm pretty sure I'm not. In fact, I could probably name a whole bunch of people who don't care much for Zombies or apocalypses. But you're right, sometimes you just want to find something you could explode or kill, just for the rush. What better thing to do that than a Zombie? Or Nazi? Or better yet, Zombie Nazi? (That's probably the reason why Call of Duty is so awesome. Zombie Nazis.)

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