World War Z by Max Brooks is a book of interviews with survivors of a zombie epidemic, a worldwide event that ended before the interviews take place. The survivors tell stories of their experiences both with the living dead and with humanity during that time. In World War Z, it has been ten years since the United States declared victory in the fight against the living dead. The population has declined greatly and for those who survived, life has changed drastically. The man who compiled the final report on the effects of the war collected many first hand accounts of all fronts of the Zombie War. From government officials, military personnel, and civilians all across the world, World War Z is a chronicle of the war from those who saw the front lines. I really like this book because it uses vignettes, it is spookier than any horror movie, and that the book is just a bunch of interviews from different people.
Through the use of vignettes, or small stories which could stand alone, Brooks gives a realistic presentation of the story because it covers different aspects for what would happen in a zombie apocalypse. Two of my favorite vignettes are the ones of North Korea and Japan. The interview about North Korea is about how the interviewee doesn’t have the slightest clue on how the population in North Korea, the world’s most secluded country, almost completely vanished without a trace. The interviewee said their satellite images showed fewer farmers, less foot traffic in city streets, and fewer laborers on public works projects which has never happened before. The one about Japan is hilariously ironic. The interviewee in this one is researching the entire zombie outbreak but doesn’t have the slightest clue that it already had occurred. ...
... middle of paper ...
...e. There are other zombie-themed shows, books, and movies but I think World War Z tops them all, since it is during the post zombie apocalypse as well as in the modern world; this setting puts the readers’ universe in perspective with the very similar world that Brooks has constructed. This, paired with the interview format, creates a realistic effect which leaves the reader introspective.
All in all, this book is a definite must for those who seek a bone chilling zombie apocalypse theme, those who enjoy short stories, a good spook, or a realistic feeling. The variety shown in the different vignettes illustrate Brook’s mastery over different kinds of people, which feeds to the realism aspect of the novel. The realistic feeling is what makes the story so spooky - readers are left wondering what they would do in the different situations posed by the interviewees.
World War Z was written as a collection of stories from all around the world about the war against zombies. These stories cover the events that happened before and after the war. I really appreciate how Brooks took the initiative to describe the initial stages of the infestation all the wa...
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,
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
“The zombie frenzy is growing, and it has cast its shuffling shadow on nature, mathematics, biology, and survival. So what can these shambling monsters teach us?” (Seifert 62) Before one can talk about zombies, one must first understand what a zombie is. The Oxford English Dictionary is known to be the most comprehensive dictionary in existence, its definition for the word ‘zombie’ may not be up to date anymore. In the dictionary, it describes a zombie as one of the Vodou zombies from Africa and Haiti and not any of the un-dead creatures seen today. Informally, zombies nowadays are described as a very aggressive, reanimated human corpse that is driven by a biological sickness or infection (Mogk 5-6). The effects these informal zombies have on people are starting to show in recent generations from young children up to grown adults. Whether these changes are for the better or not remains to be unseen but to prevent these changes to worsen, the portrayal of zombies in media should be changed to positively affect current generations.
World War Z helps readers see how the society we live in is messed up. It doesn’t make sense that, for the most part, the people that are the most successful are the ones that do the least for our society. In this novel, Max Brooks makes it so the people that are willing to work hard are the ones that survive. People that can survive on very little and will go to no end to fight the zombies succeed in this book, while the incompetent wealthy people do not. World War Z is a reminder to work hard towards what you want, rather than getting caught up in the materialistic world that we live
World War Z, written by Max Brooks, is an apocalyptic novel that follows an interviewer on a quest to piece together the global history twelve years after the zombie apocalypse that came to be know as “The Dark Years”. This novel is said to be an “oral history” because the plot is structured around the personal experiences around the world that is documented by an agent of the United Nations Postwar Commission. For the majority, oral histories are seen as beneficial because they allow for a unique perspective in historical records that readers do not usually get a sense of in a basic textbook. In order for one to understand its critical influence in this novel and its plot structure, it is important for readers to fully grasp what exactly
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
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. Boschs essay uses rhetorical devices such as ethos, foil and satire to make her
I had never intended to read World War Z before this class began. In fact, I did not realize there was a text version in addition to the film version. This collection of personal stories from different aspects of the zombie wars was a mixed bag for me. There were some recollections that pulled on my heartstrings, and others that I could have gone without ever reading. In times of great turmoil, people are shown to be exactly who they are, their true colors shining through all of the masks and deception they have created. The entire world lived in fear during the time period of this novel, and watching their loved ones disappear or become part of the army of the undead had to be terrifying. The author might have chosen this topic because the threat of zombies invading the world is a fear that is as real to some as the war overseas is to others.
Michael C. C. Adams' book, The Best War Ever: America and World War II, attempts to dispel the numerous misconceptions of the Second World War. As the title suggests, Americans came out of the war with a positive view of the preceding five turbulent years. This myth was born from several factors. Due to the overseas setting of both theaters of the war, intense government propaganda, Hollywood's glamorization, and widespread economic prosperity, Americans were largely sheltered form the brutal truth of World War II. Even to this day, the generation of World War II is viewed as being superior in morality and unity. The popular illusion held that 'there were no ethnic or gender problems, families were happy and united, and children worked hard in school and read a great number of books.' (115)
Though fictional, this novel illustrates the fear surrounding disease, viruses, and contamination and how if uncontrollable, could lead to a global spread that could jeopardize the human race. Traveling internationally, World War Z represents a zombie epidemic that brings forth infection, which can be considered an unconscious actor during this time of confusion and destruction. Scientifically, fear is defined as a natural response found in almost all organisms that revolve around the emotions and feelings induced by perceived threats and danger. Max Brooks illustrates the societal interaction with fear, “Fear of aging, fear of loneliness, fear of poverty, fear of failure. Fear is the most basic emotion we have. Fear is primal. Fear sells. That was my mantra. ‘Fear sells.’” (Brooks 55). The fear of a zombie virus spreading in fact just produces more fear into the mind of the individual. Through research and scientific advancements, fears and anxieties have been proven to put an individual more at risk of developing health issues. How ironic, right? Our fears and anxieties surrounding diseases and the spread of them cause our society to be more susceptible to obtain and contract more health related problems. The fight against the zombie metaphor within World War Z gives the reader a purpose for finding a way to hold
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
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