I'm From The Government And I'm Here To Help!

So what have I learned in my pursuit of knowledge in the field of Zombies? Nothing particularly new, but I did confirm a lot of my suspicions. The seeming explosion of zombie culture (counterculture?) is due in large part that it is an everyman’s monster. It can appear at anytime, anywhere, without warning. The zombie does not need a complicated ritual in order to summon it, nor does it only exist in certain regions of the globe. (Unless we are talking about Haitian zombies, then, well, they only exist in Haiti.) The zombie is ultra-accessible to everyone and every culture. The zombie is not elitist, like Pinhead or that pretentious Dracula who lives in his fancy castle.

SWAG
shirtoid.tumblr.com


Zombies are a blue collar monster, and always ready to work. (Or consume human brains, you get the idea…)

               

Venti Latte.... Half-Caff.....

The sources for my research did not particularly clash much, and were for the most part reinforcing of one another. The one source that somewhat clashed for me was the research done by Professor Sarah Lauro. In the article I read, (now cited here: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/zombies-hey-normal-college-professor-article-1.1284892) She explains that zombies peak in their popularity when the populous feels powerless or unsure of the future. For me personally, this has never sparked my interest in zombies. Although throughout most of my life, there has been a large degree of uncertainty about my future and an over-looming sense of being powerless to stop it, I have since removed that feeling in my adult life, and my love of zombies has only grown. I attribute most of my interest to my fascination with all things macabre.  It is a preoccupation with the great unknown and an attempt (however feeble) to understand it, but moreover, be comfortable with it when my time comes.

www.chrismadden.co.uk

     

 I will still not truly understand the sudden fervor around zombies in the last few years. I suppose why they have become more popular than the Universal Studios monsters of yesteryear in due in part to our new found abilities to communicate. Had there been an internet in the days of Boris Karloff and Bella Lugosi, I’m sure there would be meme’s about Lolzwerewolves.

And truly they are still popular, with a longer proven track record than the standard zombie. Kids have dressed as these classic characters from fiction for Halloween for nearly half a century, maybe longer. Will kiddies out Trick-or-Treating in 2072 still be dressing as the reanimated dead? Only time will tell.

Ok. The green furry knight is a little out of place.
safety.lovetoknow.com

                

By far, I think the idea of a zombie apocalypse has had a more positive effect that our obsessions with creatures and boogeymen of the past have. They have presented the idea of being independent and self-reliant. As any person who has ever watched a zombie movie, or read a zombie graphic novel is aware, that it is ultimately up to ones self to depend on themselves, because you never know when someone in your party or a loved one will be bitten and turn on you.

This idea has sprouted a “Prepper” type lifestyle not seen since the beginning of the Cold War.

"Honey, could you turn on the news please?"
www.art.com 

People are taking the time to stockpile supplies in the event of an emergency, (zombie related or not.) and learn important first-aid skills, radio communication and marksmanship. The last thing you need in an uprising of the undead is someone that’s a lousy shot.

This brings me to my final source of research for the subject of Zed’s. They are the Center for Disease Control.

walkingdead.wikia.com

        (http://www.cdc.gov/phpr/zombies.htm) 

Often intertwined with zombie fiction, both positively and negatively, the CDC taken an active stance towards the recent movement. While on their page, they admit that it started as a joke around the office, they have used this trend in pop culture unlike any government agency has before, as a means of educating the public, even proceeding the Obama administration's response to a public petition demanding a Death Star (https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/response/isnt-petition-response-youre-looking) 

I commend the CDC in its actions as I myself  (being a former Boy Scout and all) have always believed in being prepared and having a plan in place for any emergency event that might present itself.

I keep this right next to the front door
anguishedrepose.com

In total, I will keep myself up to date with this trend as it’s just too much fun not to. As a human being, horror fan, and all around geek, my love of zombies will never fade. That is until I have to start defending my home and family from them as they destroy the fabric of civilization as we have come to know it. Then, and only then, I may change my mind.

My daughter attempting to eat her brother.

Apocalypse..... NOW!

So why does a zombie apocalypse seem to appeal to so many? Good ol’ fashioned American violence.

It always starts so innocently.
lifeasahuman.com

It’s the triumph of good over evil. Action movies have been a staple of Hollywood fare since the beginning of the film industry. Back in the days of the spaghetti western, the good guys always wore white and the bad guys always wore black.

Evil personified.
www.mycutegraphics.com

Pretty cut and dry, right? As the years progressed, our villains changed. During the 80s, it was the Russians. Nowadays, it’s Arab terrorists.

Certainly not this clean-cut fellow.
www.nypost.com

But with everyone wanting to be politically correct and not hurt anyone's feelings, our list of bad guys is next to nil. In come the zombies. It’s hard to feel bad or offended by a moldering ghoul that is trying to eat your sweet, gooey grey matter.

thelizarmy.com

They are anonymous walking putrid's that you can fill with lead, all guilt free! There has yet a group of people coming to your neighborhood carrying “Save the Zombies” signs. Yet.

Maybe I spoke too soon.
www.keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk

On a base level, humans are horrible beings. We love to lie, cheat, and steal as well as kill one another. A zombie apocalypse offers us a guilt free murder spree, unleashing hell upon the newly dead denizens. After all, that’s why we have games like Grand Theft Auto.

Therapy.
cungkringnarupiece.blogspot.com

It doesn't have to be a zombie apocalypse either. Humans just love ‘em period. As nice and cushy as our lives have become, they somehow lack any real challenges. What sounds more appealing, going to work in a retail environment, listening to baseless complaints from people with too much time on their hands, or fighting for survival in a lawless world having only yourself to answer to and a zombified version of your boss in the cross-hairs of your hunting rifle?

"This'll teach you not to call HR on me!"
news.bigdownload.com

A lawless world always seems appealing at first, until we realize that we all can’t hole up inside a Walmart forever. Some people like Matt Mogk and Max Brooks have taken a decidedly more serious look at the realities of such an end of days. “It’s Hurricane Katrina. It’s neighbors knifing each other for food, women being raped, the cops not showing up, children dying of starvation, an old lady dying in a wheelchair.” Brooks said in a New York Times Interview. (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/23/magazine/max-brooks-is-not-kidding-about-the-zombie-apocalypse.html?_r=0) Mogk runs a website and organization called the zombie research society, (http://zombieresearchsociety.com/) And looks at the event of a zombie outbreak in real world terms and develops real word stratigies for survival.

               
All in all, the zombie apocalypse is just a fun fantasy to have day dreams about when you should be focusing on a real exploratory blog for your ENG121 professor.

Does that include priority shipping!?

If you have ever been a member of the Boy Scouts of America, then you’d know that they’re main motto is “Be Prepared.”

Only the essentials.
 www.supervivencia.org

 It’s a good motto, and more people should be mindful of it. As I have mentioned before, the purpose of this blog is to explore why society has become so zombie obsessed in the last five or so years. I am doing my best to stay on the psychological aspect of our love of zombies, but with so much information out in the ether's, it’s difficult to find information that is not related to the animated corpses themselves.

One aspect did catch my interest is that Americans LOVE to consume.

abcnews.go.com

 Whether it is pizzas with cheese in the crust, sports cars, or television shows, we are a consumer culture. Unlike Dracula and the Mummy, there is little to buy in order to ward off these demons, aside from some garlic and holy water furnished by your local priest.

This beats garlic and holy water, any day.www.hdwallpapers.in

 Zombies on the other hand are a perfect creature that not only scares us, but engages us in our baser instincts of excess. 

www.facebook.com

We all have that creepy uncle, or know that weird guy that’s always wearing camouflage that’s prepping for the end of the world, zombie or not.

Yeah. These people.vimeo.com 

There is an entire cottage industry to help outfit you for the coming zombie plague. There are survival guide books, home defense kits, and all manner of goods that can be had (for a price) to help aid your survival in the event of a plague of the stinky rotten beasts. 

REI has no shame.
www.infographicszone.com

 A quick Google search or a look at Amazon will yield pages upon pages of gear and supplies for just such an event. Heck, a group called the Zombie Research Society (http://zombieresearchsociety.com) has an entire website dedicated to exchange of ideas on how best to plan for an outbreak. They even have an outbreak map (http://www.mapofthedead.com/) to help determine the feasibility of your survival based on your location!

The firearms industry isn't letting this fad go by without making a few bucks either. Hornady, one of my favorite brands of ammunition has a line of munitions dedicated to the elimination of the walking dead. They even have a commercial for them.

Zombies are the perfect monster for a consumer culture such as ours. They provide us with a common enemy, and an excuse to buy lots of stuff to stop them. It almost boils down to the original intent behind Romero’s 1978 classic “Dawn of the Dead” with mainly takes place in a shopping mall.

Orange Julius, anyone?www.tumblr.com

 Zombie culture and consumerism are a match made in heaven, and there are no signs of it stopping any time soon.

More Than Just a Horror Show.

"We're out of doughnuts!!!"

The end of the world has been a popular fascination with humans, especially in the last half century since the U.S. decided to drop the atom bomb on Japan. Visions of the worlds end have ranged from a nuclear holocaust to the Christian rapture.

I KNEW I should have given that homeless guy money.

Other scenarios have included the breakdown of government, and the end of the resources that human depend on, (see: Mad Max [1979], Revolution [2012]) and widespread plagues. (Outbreak [1995]) Now popular culture has focused these apocalyptic scenarios with a coming hoard of the undead. But why? Why are we so smitten with the idea of our own demise? Death is inevitable, it cannot be avoided. It is the great equalizer. No matter your wealth or social standing, the bell tolls for us all. 

"We ALL float..."

By and large, most people are not content with the idea of fading away in a nursing facility or in a hospice suffering from a crippling disease; we want to go out fighting. The idea of an apocalypse lets our imagination fulfill that need, particularly in the event of a zombie apocalypse.

"Not on my watch, sonny!"

              Believe it or not, the idea of zombies taking over the world is not a concept that is exclusive to chat rooms and fan pages on the internet. Several grad students have created dissertations on the subject in order to gain their doctorate degree and a better understanding of human nature. One popular theory amongst academics is that societies obsession over zombies may come from a sense of helplessness with regards to the government and the economy. Clemson University professor, Sarah Lauro notes, “Zombies are infecting popular culture, from television to movies and video games, and it has to do with how people feel today.” Scientists and psychologists seem to agree that even if it is on an unconscious level, most people are drawn to zombies because of this, and not just the copious amounts gore and violence.

I can't imagine why?

               Professor Lauro continues, “We are more interested in the zombie in times when as a culture we feel disempowered.” “The facts are there that, when we are experiencing economic crises, the vast population is feeling disempowered. …Either playing dead themselves … or watching a show like ‘Walking Dead’ provides a great variety of outlets for people.” Lauro Went on to say, “If you were to ask the participants, of a zombie walk, I don’t think that all of them are very cognizant of what they’re saying when they put on the zombie makeup and participate.” “To me, it’s such an obvious allegory. We feel like, in one way, we’re dead.”

Only 47% of these people still live at home with mom and dad.

              

To be continued…..

-WKIV

Zombies: Why Now?

"They're coming to get you Barbara...."

                

Humans have always been fascinated by the things that go bump in the night. Ghost stories and tales of horror have been around since before the written word, and who doesn’t like a good scare now and again? Throughout the ages, the faces have changed, but the intent behind them has remained relatively the same. As society evolves, so do the things we fear. In modern times during the 1920s – 1950s we were afraid of Frankenstein’s monster and the Mummy. In the 1960’s we were afraid of Satanists. In the late 70’s and through the 80’s  we were afraid of the masked maniacs wielding chainsaws and butcher knives. In the last ten years or so, the monster that has climbed to the peak of popularity is the zombie.

Zombies have become a staple of recent pop culture, and you would be hard pressed to be able to turn on a television show, venture onto the internet, or even go out into public without coming across one. The creature itself can trace its origins all the way back to the Sumerian society of Mesopotamia. There are even mentions (albeit brief, and with little context) of zombies in the bible, so the zombie is by no means a new creation. Nearly all cultures around the world have some sort of legend regarding the dead coming back to life and seeking some sort of retribution. So why have zombies become such a hit today?

And to think, my parents got me a dog for a pet.

Are zombies just the latest fad that hasn't been monetized to death already, (pun intended) or is there a deeper subconscious meaning behind the public’s new found obsession? Are people so jaded that Dracula and Michael Myers just seem hokey? I myself have been fascinated with zombies since the first time I wandered away from my parents in the video store and discovered the horror section. I think I was drawn to them because their motivations were so basic. Unlike the slasher superstars of my youth, like Freddy Kruger and Jason Voorhees, Zombies didn’t require a convoluted backstory as to why they went on their killing sprees. They just roamed about, not seeking any individual in particular because anyone was a victim in their milky, decomposing eyes. They were mindless, autonomous eating machines.

Nightmare fuel? Check.

I like to think of myself as a sort of zombie hipster, in that I enjoyed zombies before they became a cultural norm. In this series of posts I hope to explore some of the factors that are responsible for zombies finding their new found fame and why they seem to have gained more traction in pop culture than their monster brethren. 


-WKIV