What We Can Learn From Zombies: An objective look at the world of the living dead and their reflections on modern American society.
Article I: An Introduction to Zombie Basics
Article I: An Introduction to Zombie Basics
Please take your time to read. I hope it is in some ways enlightening.
I’m a zombiphile, or one who is immensely enthralled with zombie lore, myth, theory, and science. Zombies are by far are the most terrifying and thusly interesting “monsters” in existence. Notice no quotes on existence.
Zombies, as I see them can be used as a barometer for out preparation, reaction, and tolerance for thinking of the most unthinkable, yet imminently feasible threats to our existence as living beings and as a nation. What I intend to do with these writings is to parallel the “fictitious” battle of man kind vs. the living dead, with our battles with everything from religious fundamentalism, global warming, and war, to being a huge tool and/ or a douche or douchette in the public eye. It is my hypothesis that we as a people, Americans that is, are in serious, serious trouble of losing sight, and thusly grasp of all the things that have truly made us great as a modern culture and a nation. So I hope that you will take something from this, and that it will help to spark discussions of your own. Please enjoy and feel free to comment.
I intend this commentary to be politically neutral, but, as I consider myself to be a “pragmatic progressive” as is the term en vogue, you may notice some obvious leanings to the proverbial left.
I will lead with this disclaimer; much of my “research” is based on the books of Max Brooks, author of the Zombie Survival Guide and World War Z. I must give much credit to Mr. Brooks for furthering the study of Zombies and the potential threats they represent.
To begin I must argue that zombies are in fact not true monsters. A monster can be best described as a being that has a motivation, rational or not, that leads it to commit unthinkable, grisly, often murderous acts without the barriers of reason, compassion, self-preservation, or fear. Vampires are monsters. Wolfmen/ Wolfladies are monsters. Child-abusers are monsters. Hitler was a monster. Zombies are not monsters. Zombies are, well, zombies. Zach, a term borrow from Max Brooks’ “World War Z, is unthinking, unknowing, and unfeeling. It doesn’t really give a shit why its wants to rip you apart and devour your flesh. In fact Zombies actually CAN’T give a shit. They don’t have the mental capacity for such reason. Zombies eat because that’s what zombies do. They are much more like the Ebola virus than they are like the hoards of hellhounds they pulled out of Mike Vicks basement. The dogs are like “FUCK YOU! I’m gonna rip your face off!”, before they rip your face off. Zombies are like, “ “, before they rip your face off. They eat humans because it is what they are inherently programmed to do. Zombies and viruses ravage our bodies with our conscientious thought without a thought for a moment about the pain we are in, which is in turn why we must respect them and the damage they can inflict. I guess that’s the point I’m most trying to make, that monsters kill us because of the pain is causes while Zombies do so without so much of a glimmer of thought on the subject.
Zombies are really easy to kill with the right training and tools, or rather; A Zombie, in the singular, is really easy to kill given the right tools and training. Zombies, in the plural, actually, are potentially the most devastating natural disaster to reach the shores of humanity. Destroying the brain, as it is widely agreed, is the single means to stop a single zombie. I argue that you must destroy the entirety of the Zombie head to toe, but I’ll save that one for the boys at the think tank. The average sized American, armed with a medium weight garden spade, in average American shape, which is knowingly abysmal, can stop the average Zombie, given that they do not panic, and think through their situation. I want you to consider two potentially major issues with this scenario. 1.) People are prone to panic, and 2.) A Zombie may in fact be one of many, many, unyielding pursuers of your demise. Another thing to also consider is that we tend to prepare for disastrous events, six months or more after a disastrous event. Consider Katrina, Pearl Harbor, 9/11, and the rise of sub-prime lending. Even with warning signs potentially beating down our doors (with Zach this may be literally), we tend to think of what we will wear to meet pretty betty or bobby at the bar, instead of what is necessary for our sweet pretty asses to simply exist for one more day. You can equate this on a larger scale, to our political leaders, thinking of what will get me into office, and not so much what is truly best for the people of my constituency. I agree, looking great for Betty can feel like it holds all the weigh of the world, but as some of us Californians can known, if you spend all that time preening and fawning only to walk outside to see your whole world burning to the ground, finding out what’s really important is so much easier, when you aren’t at risk of being, reluctantly to say the least, torn from the roster of the living.
Next Time: More on the Basics of Zombies.
I’m a zombiphile, or one who is immensely enthralled with zombie lore, myth, theory, and science. Zombies are by far are the most terrifying and thusly interesting “monsters” in existence. Notice no quotes on existence.
Zombies, as I see them can be used as a barometer for out preparation, reaction, and tolerance for thinking of the most unthinkable, yet imminently feasible threats to our existence as living beings and as a nation. What I intend to do with these writings is to parallel the “fictitious” battle of man kind vs. the living dead, with our battles with everything from religious fundamentalism, global warming, and war, to being a huge tool and/ or a douche or douchette in the public eye. It is my hypothesis that we as a people, Americans that is, are in serious, serious trouble of losing sight, and thusly grasp of all the things that have truly made us great as a modern culture and a nation. So I hope that you will take something from this, and that it will help to spark discussions of your own. Please enjoy and feel free to comment.
I intend this commentary to be politically neutral, but, as I consider myself to be a “pragmatic progressive” as is the term en vogue, you may notice some obvious leanings to the proverbial left.
I will lead with this disclaimer; much of my “research” is based on the books of Max Brooks, author of the Zombie Survival Guide and World War Z. I must give much credit to Mr. Brooks for furthering the study of Zombies and the potential threats they represent.
To begin I must argue that zombies are in fact not true monsters. A monster can be best described as a being that has a motivation, rational or not, that leads it to commit unthinkable, grisly, often murderous acts without the barriers of reason, compassion, self-preservation, or fear. Vampires are monsters. Wolfmen/ Wolfladies are monsters. Child-abusers are monsters. Hitler was a monster. Zombies are not monsters. Zombies are, well, zombies. Zach, a term borrow from Max Brooks’ “World War Z, is unthinking, unknowing, and unfeeling. It doesn’t really give a shit why its wants to rip you apart and devour your flesh. In fact Zombies actually CAN’T give a shit. They don’t have the mental capacity for such reason. Zombies eat because that’s what zombies do. They are much more like the Ebola virus than they are like the hoards of hellhounds they pulled out of Mike Vicks basement. The dogs are like “FUCK YOU! I’m gonna rip your face off!”, before they rip your face off. Zombies are like, “ “, before they rip your face off. They eat humans because it is what they are inherently programmed to do. Zombies and viruses ravage our bodies with our conscientious thought without a thought for a moment about the pain we are in, which is in turn why we must respect them and the damage they can inflict. I guess that’s the point I’m most trying to make, that monsters kill us because of the pain is causes while Zombies do so without so much of a glimmer of thought on the subject.
Zombies are really easy to kill with the right training and tools, or rather; A Zombie, in the singular, is really easy to kill given the right tools and training. Zombies, in the plural, actually, are potentially the most devastating natural disaster to reach the shores of humanity. Destroying the brain, as it is widely agreed, is the single means to stop a single zombie. I argue that you must destroy the entirety of the Zombie head to toe, but I’ll save that one for the boys at the think tank. The average sized American, armed with a medium weight garden spade, in average American shape, which is knowingly abysmal, can stop the average Zombie, given that they do not panic, and think through their situation. I want you to consider two potentially major issues with this scenario. 1.) People are prone to panic, and 2.) A Zombie may in fact be one of many, many, unyielding pursuers of your demise. Another thing to also consider is that we tend to prepare for disastrous events, six months or more after a disastrous event. Consider Katrina, Pearl Harbor, 9/11, and the rise of sub-prime lending. Even with warning signs potentially beating down our doors (with Zach this may be literally), we tend to think of what we will wear to meet pretty betty or bobby at the bar, instead of what is necessary for our sweet pretty asses to simply exist for one more day. You can equate this on a larger scale, to our political leaders, thinking of what will get me into office, and not so much what is truly best for the people of my constituency. I agree, looking great for Betty can feel like it holds all the weigh of the world, but as some of us Californians can known, if you spend all that time preening and fawning only to walk outside to see your whole world burning to the ground, finding out what’s really important is so much easier, when you aren’t at risk of being, reluctantly to say the least, torn from the roster of the living.
Next Time: More on the Basics of Zombies.
This first entry is dedicated to David May, a man who shares my love for all things zombie, and who, as long as I’ve known him has never been afraid to share his passions with the world.
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