For many years, zombies have been the monster in the darkness, lighting up movie screens, and terrorizing people across the world with their actions. They are the infected. People without control, whose soul is departed but the body moves completely on instinct, and Zombies are more than just a figment of science fiction. Zombies are the product of human imagination for a creature that both defines humanity as a whole and as an individual.
The word Zombie first started appearing in the English language officially in 1871, it started as a West African word written as “zumbi” and was “originally the name of a snake god” according to the Online Etymology Dictionary . The word later changed when it crossed the sea into the America's were voodoo, and met other varieties of African cultures religions started combining and changing to later on mean “reanimated corpse” with words appearing in the linguistic records in almost completely similar pronunciation, in languages such as French, Spanish, and Russian which is an occurrence that does not often happen without regard. Normally when a word crosses language lines the word is transformed almost in entirely or to a lesser portion of its basic roots. The word Zombie does not do this; in fact, the word revamped its self as it advanced through time particularly culturally and religiously taking on new meanings, and changing into something far different then its basic beginning.
As its starting point, the word “zombie” began as a culturally specific word distinct to a certain number of cultures outside of the main stream pop culture. However, there are huge differences between zombies as noted through the huge contrast in religions. In West African culture, specifically Voodoo, a zombie is...
... middle of paper ...
... movie were similar to folklore but changed completely, most notably in Night of the Living Dead
Novel that was highly influential in the development of the Zombie, written by Richard Matheson
Interview George Romero on Diary of the Dead, Marianna McConnell, Cinema Blend, Jan 14,2008
Author of the Zombie Survival Guide, and well-known expert in Cryptozoology
Scurvy, Malnourishment, infection and a list of other medical problem are likely to occur and be the death of many people.
BBC Article Oct 25. 2013 “Why are Zombies so Popular?” By Nicholas Barber
Washington Post June 24 http://bobarnebeck.com/children.html talking about humes and medicine from contemporary times.
Washinton Post, Ron Charles, John Blu Buhs
Mentality break apart of prolonged chaos, and violence and morality falls to pieces.
Sarah Lauro, an English professor at Clemson University
Victor Harplin’s black and white film, White Zombie, and W.B Seabrook’s short story, “Dead Men Working in the Cane Fields”, both were produced in the early twentieth century and were among the first works to capture the nature of the zombie. The zombie being a unique monster, it originated in the folkloric and ritual practices of the New World, specifically in the Republic of Haiti (The Sub-Subaltern Monster). They both centralize around Zombies, however they do differ in the way that they are portrayed. Both were set in Haiti where the zombie originated. Also around this time the U.S. occupied Haiti and American businesses were moving to the island. America was going through serious social change in this time as well. Both women and African Americans were trying to get more rights. Women were also acting more provocative and doing things that would have been seen as inappropriate at the time. The social mold was being shattered. America was in a boom period with big business and new technological innovations. Also both the story and the film relate closely to Cohen’s first thesis. These two literary works have similarities and differences to them, however both tend to play on social and political differences of the 1920’s and 1930’s.
Max Brooks explains in his article ‘’The Movies That Rose From The Grave’’ [2006], that zombies and the supernatural forces have impacted and have become popular in the world today. The first main idea that Brooks points out is the way society has changed the meaning and glimpse for the supernatural creatures like zombies causing them to become increasingly popular. To support this zombie movies have changed from darkness and mystery to violent and bloodier scenes therefore making them more prevailing. The second main idea that is discussed by Brooks is how the media has helped to increase the popularity of zombies, vampires, ghosts. Highlighted by the author particularity both ‘’resident evil,
Torie Boschs “First eat all the lawyers” appeared in Slate october 2011. Her piece was to reach out to horror fans and to explain to them why zombies are a great monsters in current media. Zombie fanatics who read this short essay will love her vast knowledge of zombies while others who still do not understand why zombies are horribly terrifying can get behind her argument. Bosch explains that the current zombie craze has to do with our current society and how white-collar workers would be left defenceless in a world over run with a rampant horde of zombies. While blue-collar workers can flourish in this current state as they have more skills suited for survival.
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,
: From Suggestion to Contagion in the book Generation Zombie: Essays on the Living Dead in Modern Culture (2011) writes “What is important is that, for now “zombie” effectively operates as an “empty signifier,”
Before the zombies arrived, the hardcore horror fan needed something gruesome and zombies really gave it to them. A zombie is the living undead that has been awakened by some phenomenon such as the heat of the moon. The zombie then roams the earth in constant hunger for human flesh and brains. Every victim is then infected with the “zombie disease” and turns into a zombie themselves. The birth of the first zombie is attributed to the low-budget, locally made film “Night of the Living Dead”. This film helped “reanimate the horror genre, bringing a much more realistic vision of terror to the screen” (Machosky). Gary Streiner, the sound engineer for Night of the Living Dead said, “Bottom line, it was the first horror film to do what it did, which was devour flesh...
Kirkman describes zombies as an infectious horror in order to establish a close relationship between zombies and contagions. One of the The Walking Dead’s most brilliant successes has been the characterization of the zombies , and it may be the secret of their popularity. In his book, The Walking Dead, Kirkman
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?)
The zombie is used to constantly representing different types of people in society. The zombie can represent ordinary citizens in society who are just trying to survive and live in the world, sick or unhealthy people, or even as people who are brainwashed by terrorist organizations. Due to the zombie entering pop-culture, most people understand what a zombie is. When it is used as a metaphor people have literature and their own preconceived notions about what a zombie is. The zombie can be a humorous character in literature or movies. Although, using the zombie as a metaphor for a member of a terrorist group is not humorous and allows people to understand potential reasons to why people would join different terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda or
The undead are everywhere in popular culture. Zombies appear in video games such as Doom, Zelda and Left 4 Dead. They are in movies like 28 Days Later, Dawn of the Dead, Shaun of the Dead, and Zombieland. They are in books like those of Max Brooks. However, I am no expert when it comes to everything that zombies are in, just what has caught my attention.
Zombies are everywhere... in the media. Popularity for the undead has soared in the 21st century but where did that horrifying idea first come from? The idea of a zombie comes from the Vudon or more comm...
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
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.