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