For years, people have speculated about zombies and the Zombie Apocalypse. What would trigger it? Perhaps some sort of virus developed in a lab and accidentally let loose like in "28 Days Later," or perhaps radioactive contamination from a space probe exploding in the Earth's atmosphere? Other interpretations believe in a more religious cause, stating that "When there's no more room in Hell, the dead will walk the earth" (Dawn of the Dead).
A zombie as defined by the Meriam-Webster dictionary is "the supernatural power that according to voodoo belief may enter into and reanimate a dead body." In popular culture, the voodoo belief is removed, usually substituting some form of virus as the cause. The common factor is that zombies are the dead who have risen again with a taste for human flesh. Any living human bitten by a zombie will soon die and turn into a zombie. The only sure way to kill a zombie is to remove the head or destroy the brain.
Zombies are perhaps one of the most infamous horror/science fiction creatures. Entire books have been written solely for the purpose of informing the public on the anatomy of a zombie, real life accounts of "zombies," and the best way to survive a zombie outbreak under any circumstances. One of the most famous zombie books, Max Brooks's "World War Z," gives a detailed account of the "Zombie War" from the perspectives of multiple survivors. From the same author comes "The Zombie Survival Guide," which gives an incredible in-depth report on what to do before, during, and after the zombie outbreak.
Today, zombies have "infected" almost every aspect of entertainment. Many video games come standard with a zombie killing level or mode. Colleges across America have begun playing a week long zombie tag game called "Humans vs Zombies." Popular posters have depicted the signs of zombification and how to dispose of said foe. Friends get together and form impromptu think-tanks on what to do in case of a zombie outbreak.
Some reasons about zombies appear so connected to real science that many speculate that zombies are a possible outcome of the future. With modern technology, zombies could be a viable danger in the future. So ready your shotgun and baseball bat, fortify your bunker filled with non-perishable food and lots of ammo, and get ready for the most intense battle for survival of your unlife.
Dawn of the Dead. Dir. George Romero." Perf. Emge, David. United Film Distribution Company: 1978, Film.
Garland, Alex, Script. 28 Days Later. Dir. Danny Boyle." Perf. Murphy, Cillian. Fox Searchlight Pictures: 2002, Film.
Streiner, Russell, Perf. Night of the Living Dead. Dir. George A. Romero." Perf. Steiner, Russell. The Walter Reade Organization: 1968, Film.
Sorry to say but I do not see zombies in my future. We had to deal with a zombie invasion in our "utopian community" project in the bridge COR program it was difficult to imagine a real zombie attack and how our communities would handle it. Or how we would destroy them? While a zombie attack it basically impossible in the real world imagine the paradigm shift that would occur!!!
ReplyDeleteThe zombie apocalypse is such an interesting topic. Movies started out as having a very vague or even no mention of a cause of what triggered the zombie apocalypse. The more movies that come out with zombies in them, the more they try to explain what triggered the event. As time goes on, people become more and more interested in the zombie apocalypse and I guarantee there are people out there who are actually hoping for one. While I do not foresee a zombie apocalypse in the near future, I think that with the great advancements of technology, and of course humans being incredibly accident prone, there very well may be a zombie apocalypse someday. That is, if something else doesn't kill us first.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I too do not believe we'll ever have to worry about a zombie attach, the idea is a horrific one. Weirder things have happened, so I will not shut your idea completely. Also I am such something else will take us out before zombies, like another "bird flu/ H1NI" type epademic. It has happened time and time again; mass bodies "hitting the floor" because of illnesses.
ReplyDeleteThe zombies apocalypse has been made into a big thing. I think we as humans are interested in this matter, and that's why the media keeps feeding us information about it, by creating more movies, board games, and video games about zombies. I think it's just a matter of belief, and a zombie apocalypse is not going to happen anytime soon in my perspective.
ReplyDeleteWhile I don't forsee a zombie apocalypse occuring anytime soon, it's an interesting subject. I don't know if it's just me but zombies just suddenly began pooping up everywhere. It's not something I have ever thought about realistically happening, but if it did I'm sure those who have been taking part in those think tank groups will be prepared.
ReplyDeleteSo, we've discussed this before, Mike, but the fact that there is a zombie fungus is not very reassuring for the whole "zombies will never happen" thing. If a super zombie fungus was somehow... made... and was able to kill and reanimate humans to send them back into society and kill us all, I don't think it would be as bad as zombies in our movies.
ReplyDeleteAlso, people in zombie movies are THE DUMBEST PEOPLE ALWAYS. They are REALLY DUMB. For real. If zombies DID spring up, I think we'd be smart enough (especially our demographic of nerdy zombie geeks) to end the beginning of any sort of zombie outbreak.
And that would be super fun.
Our societies fascination with zombies and the like, intrigues me. I think out culture feeds off of fear of the unknown and that's why we jump at the opportunity to predict the next possible apocalypse whether it be SARs, Avian Flu, or swine flu. There are many parallels between the classic "zombie" scenario, and our fears of what is naturally possible.
ReplyDeleteI found your post to be very interesting seeing as I know very little of zombies myself. The only thing was that I think you could have connected it to science a little more. Maybe you could have talked about that zombie fungus that Sam mentioned because I feel that it is something most of us have never heard of. Over all it was a very interesting insight to the zombie fad that seems to be sweeping our country.
ReplyDeleteA Zombie apocalypse is not something I am unduly worried about for several simple reasons. The first and foremost among these is that any "zombie outbreak" would be corralled and contained by the military before it gained any kind of momentum. For example, in the United States we have entire programs dedicated to rooting out terrorist agents living on our soil. These go as far as "sleeper cells" that are designed to remain undetected until activated. These people are doing their level best as clear thinking and fully functional human being to be unnoticed and they are still caught. Now imagine a zombie, stumbling down the street in broad daylight trying to eat human flesh. First of all who wouldn't call the police if someone was trying to eat other citizens? After that it is a matter of time before the "zombie outbreak" is contained and eliminated. The most time consuming factor would probably convincing the infected's families to let us put them out rather than trying to "cure" them. Overall, your article was interesting and informative I just don't find myself that worried which I take to be a good thing.
ReplyDeleteI thought that this was a very interesting topic, but I do not think that any of us need to worry about having zombies in our future. I really liked your reference to,"28 days later" because one of my friends recently made my watch the movie because I had never seen it. So this topic was present in my mind.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I doubt I, or anyone else for that matter, will ever have to deal with a zombie attack there are millions who have been preparing for such an event with a controller and a television screen. And who doesn't like to play a little zombos on call of duty. So stay alive and remember to save a crawler.
ReplyDelete~ Paul
I don't see a zombie takeover happening soon either. They are quite entertaining to play the games with them in it though because of the possiblity that it could happen is never completely out of the question. And as paul said "there are millions who have been preparing for such an event with a controller and a television screen." So I think if anything did happen they should know what to do.
ReplyDeleteEhh, zombies. If you want zombies just go the the Game Lab early in the morning when the Senior Projects are wrapping up.
ReplyDeleteSeriously though, even if there are fungi like that, who says they even affect humans. The human body and an ant's body are two very different things.
But who knows, if there ever really IS a zombie invasion I'm buying a boat and a fishing pole and staying out in the ocean until it blows over.
Zombies make okay movies, and are fun in games, but I don't see this ever happening. It's too hard for me to even begin to fathom it being possible. Its a good thought though...
ReplyDeleteWhat is the infatuation with zombies here? Like Austin said, there good in movies and fun in games but will always be non-existent in the real world. It's silly to even imagine having zombies walk about the earth.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cracked.com/article_18683_7-scientific-reasons-zombie-outbreak-would-fail-quickly.html
ReplyDeleteI stumbled on this Cracked article on why a zombie apocalypse could never happen like it does in the movies. Since it is Cracked.com there are exaggerations for comedy, but they do make some good points as to why a zombie apocalypse would not be as exciting as you might think.
The zombie crazy never really hit me. Maybe because I am a girl. Or maybe because I am not an avid science fiction reader, watcher, or follower. But if a day comes and down come the zombies, I'd embrace them because running can only get me so far (they'd surely catch up).
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