Last week in class we briefly touched upon the subject of zombies, so I figured I would delve a little more on how it has evolved in the media and my interest in it and why.
You really wouldn’t think that something turned undead with a hunger for human flesh would be a topic people would be interested in. Seriously. When you think of it in depth, the idea of zombies is a truly horrific thought. People you know or care about coming back from the dead, where their sole purpose is to eat the flesh of the living. They can't be killed easily. The only real way is to destroy the head; besides that, they keep coming. In a situation where you had to kill a family member or loved one because they are trying to EAT you? That’s a pretty horrifying thought. Why would there be any interest in such a monstrous situation? Yet somehow, there is a morbid interest in the undead, and how to deal with them. Its popularity has reached all different types of media and really evolved. Zombies and Survival Horror have been around for few decades, and have become really popular with movies like "Night of the Living Dead" and "Dawn of the Dead". However, especially in this new generation, Zombies have made it to other medium as well, such as: video games, books, and more genres of movies.
My first exposure to the popular undead was not through any movies such as "Night of the Living Dead", but through a video game. Out in the early 1990's, the game "Resident Evil" came out for the PlayStation and I got my first taste of Survival Horror. The object of the game was that you played as an elite trained solider who must go through this mansion, survive all of these zombies and biological creatures trying to kill you, and make it out of the mansion alive. The game terrified me so much to the point me and my friends would make dares on who would play the game in the dark. Resident Evil did well enough as a franchise that over the years they have come out with four sequels, with Resident Evil 5 due out sometime in 2009 for the PlayStation 3. It’s the same set up: you are trapped in a situation and you have to shoot your way out. They do a great job of making the games very challenging and still terrifying.
The main medium of zombie portrayal has always been movies. Zombie movies have been around since the 1930's, and have always done a good job of terrifying an audience. However,in some instances the "traditional" zombie movies have been turned around a bit in my time. You no longer see the same old undead rising from the grave and terrorizing the neighborhood. A good example of an untraditional zombie movie is "Shaun of the Dead". This is one of my favorite zombie movies, only because its more comedic. Even its tag line is amusing: "A romantic comedy...with zombies". That's exactly what it is: Shaun is concerned with getting his girlfriend back. It just so happens that a zombie outbreak has occurred in London, and before he can continue pursuing her, he first has to save her and the rest of his loved ones. It has its scary parts and moral conflicts, but it still maintains both the comedy factor and the traditional zombie movie traits. Another non-traditional zombie movie is "28 Days Later". This movie does not have zombies as undead people coming back to life, but regular people infected with a virus that turns them extremely aggressive and makes them want to maim other humans and eat their flesh. This movie still scares me for a number of reasons: unlike regular zombies, they are not slow can even run, and like zombies it takes a lot to kill them. This usually requires the destruction of the head and brain. The most terrifying thing is how quickly people turn infected: if someone is bitten, they become infected in under 10 seconds. With its eerie musical score and overtly graphic scenarios, I still have trouble watching it. More and more, zombie movies are becoming more creative in their ways to frighten and entertain us.
Another form of media that portrays zombies is books. Granted, there are not too many of them, but the two that I have read that are noteworthy. The first one is "Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead" and the second is "World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War", both written by Max Brooks. The first one is exactly what it sounds like: an entire book on Zombie Survival. It gives examples of what weapons to use against them, the right type of survival gear, the best places to hold out till help arrives, and even suggestions on how to make escape plans. "World War Z" is a fictional collection of diary entries from around the world describing a zombie outbreak and how the entire human species was wiped out. It’s actually one of the most accurate books on the idea of how the world would deal with a zombie attack. Both books are really informative and very entertaining, and I am proud to say I own both of them.
Though there are some concrete examples of how Zombies have formed in the media, there is still the question of why people are so interested in them. For me and my friends, it either comes down to two scenarios: the fact that we love the idea of zombies and think it could really happen, or that we are absolutely terrified by them and pray it never does. The thing we all have in common is that we have it all figured out what to do in case of a zombie attack. Some might think it’s crazy or stupid, but we have discussed in great depth where to go and what to do. We have even researched escape routes out of Boston, and the best places to horde food. For me while the thought of zombies is indeed a terrifying concept, I keep thinking of ways of how I could combat them and escape. I even see regular objects and imagine uses for it as a weapon. ( Good tip: Having some type of bludgeoning weapons are your best bet; guns run out of ammo, and sharp objects are only good if you can cut off the head). Those are some of the reasons why I am so interested in Zombies. So, If you ever catch me staring around the room, I’m probably searching out escape routes in case the outbreak starts in Boston.
3 comments:
Have you heard about Cell? The adaptation of the Stephen King novel about a zombie outbreak in Boston? Could be okay.
Just to go off of what we were saying in class, zombie actually entered the vernacular with 'Dawn of the Dead,' when Peter's character talks about his grandfather, who gave the film its famous tagline "When There's No More Room In Hell, The Dead Will Walk The Earth.' He also uses the phrase zombie.
There was a study done in Britain a few weeks ago done with lab rats, showing that most organisms actually crave violence in the same way that they crave sex, and I think the popularity of zombie films is some testament to that idea, because you can literally kill zombies with impunity without feeling the slightest tinge of moral conscience.
That'd be my guess, anyway.
One thing I found intriguing about 28 Days Later (one of my favorite horror films) is the suggestion that the blood-borne "virus" is connected implicitly to gender...The very title suggests the length of the average menstrual cycle, the virus is first unleashed onto the world because a woman releases an infected chimp, the main female protagonist is both a doctor and (becomes by necessity) a skilled assassin, and the apocalyptic threat of a world in need of repopulation leads to drastic meaures, namely treating women as sexual and reproductive chattel to be dominated by men (as when Christopher Eccleston's army commander reveals the radio broadcasts were a lure, and that his way of keeping his troops in line is to "promise them women").
I just found this interview with George Romero in Vulture. He talks about why Zombies can't run and his new movie. I found it amusing http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2008/02/george_a_romero_explains_why_f.html#more
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