Concepts are how we give meaning to everyday things. We make, name, communicate, and imagine concepts all day everyday; concepts are vital to understanding this world we live in. A concept is an abstract idea or a cognitive unit of meaning. Zombies, for example, are a concept, but where did this concept of the living dead arise? Is there some religious link to this concept or is it an image of imagination?
A zombie is defined as a fictional undead demon or a person in a rapt state being controlled by a bokor, sorcerer, or a wizard. The origin of the zombie appears to of first emerge from Western African Vodun and Haitian Voodoo. Vodun is the traditional organized religion of coastal West Africa. In this religion a deceased person can be revived by a bokor, like a sorcerer or priest, and these “zombies” will remain under the control of the bokor since they have no will of their own, according to the tenets of West African Vodun. Another tradition of this religion is that of the zombi astral. Elizabeth McAlister, of Wesleyan University, reports that this is part of the human soul that is captured by a bokor and used to enhance the bokor’s power. The zombi astral is usually kept inside a bottle in which the bokor can sell to clients for things like luck, healing or business success. Vodun legend proclaims that feeding a zombie salt will make it return to the grave. The concept of zombies exists within the West African Vodun religion, as well as within Haitian Voodoo.
The existence of zombies in Haitian religion was brought attention to by Wade Davis, a Harvard ethnobotanist. In 1982, he traveled to Haiti to investigate the concept of zombies and from his investigations he concluded that a living person could become a zombie. He i...
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... of the undead. Either way an outbreak is caused that is a growing crisis. With this is the proliferation of a zombie plague that overtakes military and law enforcement leading to the collapse of a civilian society. This collapse leads to isolated packs of survivors scavenging for food, supplies and life in a world abridged to hostile extremes. The day that a zombie apocalypse begins is sometimes referred to as Z-Day; the movie Shaun of The Dead and the book World War Z reference this term.
Zombies can be one of two things: a fictional undead monster or a hypnotized human being controlled by a bokor. These two kinds of zombies arise from that of theorized actual happenings and from the mind of those in pop culture. Zombies are a concept that will forever remain in the minds of those around us, but the possibility of the world succumbing to zombies is very dubious.
No book has captivated the zombie apocalypse better than World War Z. Max Brooks creatively presents “a worldwide zombie pandemic from outbreak to aftermath” (Boyd, Tristan). His book encompasses many social and political themes in the world today. The book reveals true fear and shows the strength of the human race.
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,
When one first hears the word Vodou, immediately images of curses and little model dolls come to mind. We tend to synonymize it with words like sinister, evil and revenge. However, Vodou is nothing like what mainstream North American media has brainwashed people into believing. As best put by Patrick Bellegarde-Smith, “Vodou is far more than [a religion] it's a spiritual system” (Tippet and Bellegarde-Smith 145). Haitian Vodou is a spiritual system that syncretizes the practices of Roman Catholicism with West African spirituality. This paper will contextualize Vodou and give a brief history on what it is, explain how I came to gain an interest in Vodou and close off with an introduction to Chouk Bwa Libète a traditional Haitian Mizik Rasin—roots
New Orleans, Louisiana is soaked in the made picture of the spooky, strange enchantment that Voodoo speaks to all that is forbidden and taboo in our society. The pattern that Voodoo follows through its inception in New Orleans has an extraordinary pattern that leads from to a strange darken veritable practice, mutating into a multi million dollar tourist trade industry. Personality and utilization are emphatically hitched as to Voodoo in New Orleans, and even gives authenticity to the practice, deal, and perceivability of this Afro-Caribbean religion in the twentieth and twenty-first century. According to Saumya Arya Haas, Harvard University, Voodoo embraces and encompasses
Romero and Brooks both have a passion for the undead. As they further their careers with zombies our society is becoming more fascinated with the idea of the undead. In the beginning Romero did not call his creature’s zombies but as his fans started to he went along with the idea. These brilliant authors both modernize their work to appeal to our society. The idea of a slow gut eating zombie transformed into a fast eating zombie after the living. Both authors do a good job showing their own personal ideas but at the same time some of their characteristics of zombies are similar. Romero and Brooks are talented authors who show what they believe in through their works for everyone else to read.
In this essay, I will be critiquing two articles “Monsters and Messiahs” by Mike Davis and “My Zombie, Myself: why Modern Life Feels Rather Undead” by Chuck Klosterman, to show the different fallacies along with the argumentized style that is being used. Both of this articles can be found in the book Monster A Bedford Spotlight Reader by Andrew J. Hoffman.
Zombies have become very popular due to their depictions of being easy to kill and being communal. Zombie apocalypses are also very relatable due to the fact that they are set in lives similar to our society and seem easy to overcome. Zombies, themselves, can be identified with because we see ourselves when we look at a zombie. Zombies drudge on through the same task of finding human flesh to consume every day just like we drag ourselves to either class or our job in order to sit through another boring lecture or perform the same menial task every day. Just like the zombie, R, in the book, Warm Bodies, said, “I am Dead, but it’s not so bad. I’ve learned to live with it,” we have learned to succumb to our daily routines and just live with
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
The zombie race is very different. It doesn't not have many abilities and is not advanced like humans. Their behavior patterns are different. They cannot stand cold or winter weather. Their behavior is very different and difficult to calculate. They usually stand around lingering and waiting to attack when they hear something. They follow noises.Some abilities that they do have is that they have excellent hearing and can walk but aren't blind.The also can smell human blood. Zombies are generally weak but don’t underestimate what they can do to a human.
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?)
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
Mass amounts of people will die, families will be separated, and peaceful ways of life will be long gone. Guard your loved ones, board up your windows and keep your gun under your pillow because you’re gonna need it. I have taught the facts, the opinions, and the theories on the possibility of a zombie apocalypse. I have explained with facts and statistics the ramifications of it if it was to happen, the way and speed at which it can spread, and the cruelty that will follow. You can protect yourself and the ones closest to you, but first you have to believe it.