The concept of a zombie apocalypse has been popular in pop culture for a few decades now. The zombie apocalypse does however bring up a lot of ethical and social hierarchy issues on what is most important to survive in the event of an apocalypse. The three most important issues to consider in the event of a zombie apocalypse are individualism or communitarianism, when is a person considered dead, and how to fight back the advance of the zombies. Individualism or communitarianism the two complete opposites on the political compass. Individualism the hands off approach in which the government allows the individual to do as they see as the best for themselves. Promoting self-reliance–individual hard work, ingenuity, and entrepreneurship. Communitarianism is the thought process that 2 minds are better than one in which people come together and cooperate to make a better society. Promoting the ideals to put the needs of the society above their own individual desires. These two are explored greatly in document A but the better ideology for survivng in a zombie apocalypse is Communitarianism. Document A …show more content…
However if zombies are only partly brain dead then is it still wrong to end there life without regard. If a person were able to restrain them to the point that they are no longer a threat to your life thus removing any notion of self defense is it still right to kill them. In document B it discusses other ways to use zombies after they are tamed and or restrained using them as manually labor. Then their is the issue of if a person should kill the zombie out of respect of what the human represented. Answering this question is fundamentally important for surviving in the event of a zombie apocalypse. Once the person is fully changed to the point of the virus can developed the person should just be put down out of respect and to eliminate any chance of it spreading
James Parker essay “Our Zombies, Ourselves,” informs readers that the zombie has almost outranked the vampire, and why they’re so popular. This undead monster originated from a Caribbean folk nightmare and was adapted over time by, the Halperin brothers, William Seabrook and George Romero and numerous others. Much like the vampire, zombies owe their fame to the progressiveness of technology, allowing them to consistently invade various media forms. The zombie has infested countless tv shows, movies, video games, and books, throughout the 21st century. Zombies themselves are soulless corpses who were regurgitated back into the world of the living. This making them rejects from the underworld, this presents the zombie as rejected yet inexpungable. What makes the zombie so popular, however, is that symbolizes everything that is rejected by humanity. “Much can be made of him, because he makes so little of himself. He comes back, He comes back, feebly but unstoppably” (Parker). The zombie represents humanity itself as well as what is rejected by humanity. Much like individuals today, the zombie is burdened by life’s demands, converting to nothing but a rotting, groaning human shell that stumbles through life without a purpose. The zombie is symbolizer of the real world, and all things irrepressible, whereas the vampire is a symbol of an alternate world and all things
As said in the previous discussion regarding the second chapter of Better Off Dead: The Evolution of the Zombie as Post-Human, zombies and their culture are examined and broke down in order to understand their motives for the progression of zombies globally. Through different perspectives from individuals based around the world, the discussion of the zombie culture debates over the idea that zombies have not just evolved within the narratives that have brought them to life, but they have evolved in such a way that ultimately transforms the narrative itself. However, in this specific chapter, “They are not men…they are dead bodies!”: From Cannibal to Zombie and Back Again, Chera Kee breaks down the introduction of zombies into mainstream consciousness,
Individualism regards man—every man—as an independent, sovereign entity who possesses an inalienable right to his own life, a right derived from his nature as a rational being. Individualism holds that a civilized society, or any form of association, cooperation or peaceful coexistence among men, can be achieved only on the basis of the recognition of individual rights—and that a group, as such, has no rights other than the individual rights of its members.
A zombie is a monster that has been a horror movie legacy for many years now. Zombie is defined as “a dead person who is able to move because of magic according to some religions and in stories, movies, etc.” Zombies haven’t always been the creature that we see today though. George A. Romero merged the old-forgotten zombie into the standardized version we see today. James Conroy writes, “With his 1968 film Night of the Living Dead, George Romero brought the concept of the slow-moving, flesh-eating zombie into mainstream American culture.”
In Night of the Living Dead, the zombies were eventually eliminated. Or were they? Theorists argue that the monster’s elusiveness is due to its physical, psychological and social characteristics that cross the lines of classification. Human’s innate fear of the unknown is due to their inability to make a distinction or draw a clear conclusion. This is explained further in Jeffrey Cohen’s second thesis in “Monster Theory” that claims that; “the monster never escapes” (Cohen, 14). The zombie as a monster can never be destroyed completely and if it is, it leaves a remnant the make people feel uncertain of its destruction. Base on Cohen’s theory, the zombie’s different interpretation allows it to emerge in other forms (a faster, smarter zombie?)
Collectivism, is another style of government which is similar to altruism many ways. Collectivism is, in theory, the collective effort of all citizens towards a single or multiple communal goals, which will benefit the group as a whole, not only a certain demographic. This style of government is the basis of Socialism, and it’s more extreme form Communism. An American law which can be considered collectivist is the requirement for all residents to pay taxes to the government. The reason that this can be considered collectivist is that the money collected from the taxes is used towards programs which benefit all people, not just taxpayers (even tax evaders), like improving infrastructure and law enforcement payment, and goes towards causes which not all people are in support of, like Planned Parenthood. Another collectivist, or more socialist, law in America, is the tiering of taxes. The income tax brackets’ intent was to take the more from the rich, and less from the poor. This is similar to the concept of equal distribution of wealth among the population; since the rich make the majority of income per year per capita in the USA, they also pay the most taxes per year per capita. This proves that even though pure altruism can not produce anything productive, implementing it within
It is human nature to see those who are different and group them into distinct categories. The distinction of Individualism versus Collectivism is one that is currently being studied extensively. On one side, individualism sees individuals as the fundamental unit of a society. Individuals are supposed to be unique, independent, and most importantly, willing to put their own interests above all others. On the other hand, collectivism views the basic building block of society as social groups, stressing the interpersonal bonds between people. Collectivist values dictate that group goals and values have higher precedence than an individual’s. Due to the seemingly polar opposite nature of these ideologies, it is inevitable that they will be compared to see which is more beneficial to the country and its people. Some might point to the success of the US, an extremely individualistic country, in support of individualistic values. They will point to the freedom of choice and diversity that individualism boasts of. Others stress the flaws of the US in response, and while both sides do have their truths, the costs that come with individualistic values are too great to be ignored. Highly individualistic attitudes have caused many large scale problems which have long been identified as difficult to resolve issues. These problems include, but are not limited to, promoting aggressive acts, creating an obsession with social power, and allowing a system of injustice to be born.
When the focus is put on the unique concerns of every individual, societies always work for the better. The principles of individualism become more apparent in a society once we put our focus on every unique human being rather than the collective. The economic freedom associated with individualism allows for more competition in the market place, an important aspect that always leads to higher quality products. Although equality is more present in collectivism, individualism creates an equal environment where everyone has the chance to act according to their own goals and eventually benefit the collective. Individualism also allows for private property, where individuals own the land rather than the government. This principle allows for companies to be established and for the economy to grow as a result. All these values support the superior ideas of individualism and how the associated characteristics are better than those associated with
In Home Delivery, the zombies of this story are created by an extraterrestrial ball of worms. The zombies in this tale are not destroyed by severing the head, heart, or any other body part. It seems that every part of the resurrected corpse is independent of itself and remains reanimated. A decapitated head is seen still moving and blinking and the only way to exterminate the threat is by fire (King 2099). The nature of this zombie type leads the main character through the plight that is typical of a story in this genre. The reanimated corpses are dealt with in an aggressive way because they are actively hostile and seemingly undying, even when bifurcated or decapitated. This leads the survival to the path of carnage rather than submissiveness seen in Dead Like Me.
Are you one of those people who thinks the world is going to end any day now? Many people do, and experience it vicariously through television shows like the Walking Dead, which deals with a zombie apocalypse. However, these visions of destruction can also appeal to people as a kind of utopian society, one with perfect or desirable qualities. In his article, The Apocalyptic Strain in Popular Culture, Paul A. Cantor explains that “popular culture has stepped forward to offer Americans a chance to explore these possibilities imaginatively and to rethink the American Dream” (287). Many people in our society have been let down by the American Dream, since it is extremely difficult or impossible to achieve, so this translates into an attraction
In recent times, people have debated whether or not we would survive the zombie apocalypse. Though zombies do not actually exist in our world at this moment, people wonder if we would survive in case of such an event. As a matter of fact, here are many existing articles on the subject of zombies like “From CDC - Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse” by Public Affairs, “These States Are Totally Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse” by the Huffington Post, and “Pentagon document lays out battle plan against zombies” by Jamie Crawford. While some people believe that the human race would succumb to the zombies, there is more than enough evidence to assure that humanity will survive the zombie apocalypse, including the advanced technology
In the article, “A Zombie Manifesto: The Nonhuman Condition in the Era of Advanced Capitalism” by Sarah Juliet Lauro and Karen Embry, the authors’ evaluate the idea of the zombie and its connection to capitalism and post-humanism. According to the authors, the zombie represents much more than just a fear, it represents a loss of oneself to many different things, primarily to a capitalist society. The authors have come to the conclusion that humans have a fear of what they cannot control, and that is why the zombie is so big in entertainment. We see zombies everywhere, in movies, books, tv shows, fundraisers, marathons, and so much more. They have been around for decades, but recently they have become very popular. The authors believe this is
The idea of a zombie is made up and it comes from nzambi, the Kongo word for the spirit of a dead person. In states such as Louisiana, or the Creole culture they believe zombies represent a person who has dies and brought back to life with no speech. Kings psychological argument on how we have an urge to watch horror movies because it helps to re-establish our feelings and feel natural again. Klusterman’s sociological essay helped us see the comparison of zombies and humans in real life. In conclusion zombies are not real, they are make believe but help bring a sense of normality to
There are many possibilities where a human can be turned into a “zombie”. Disease, disease has been with humans as long as humans have lived on this Earth. When we look throughout history, we can see the evolution of disease. In England during the Middle Ages, the Bubonic Plague is a perfect example. It hit the British pretty hard, taking them absolutely by surprise.
Now a high-school senior, I still remember my freshman year with a shudder; it was the year my friends and I joked about as the "Year of the Zombie." It wasn't that I had contracted a rare medical disorder that transformed me into one of the walking dead. I had done what many diligent students do: sacrifice most of my sleep time for the sake of academic success.