When I was looking through the course catalog last semester I was aiming to find fun classes that would make my last semester of college interesting. I didn't want anything that would bore me or put me to sleep. I found a couple of other courses that looked like they were interesting, then I ran across this course. I couldn't help but sign up!
I'm going to be honest, I've never really been into zombies. I probably shouldn't admit this, but I got sucked into the whole Twilight craze. Once I read all of the Twilight books I moved on to other series that involved vampires that may or may not sparkle. After I read about three or four vampire series, I got tired of that fictional love. This is when one of my friends introduced me to The Walking Dead. We would try to coordinate schedules and watch the show together, but it was just too difficult to not continue with the seasons on my own. I was addicted. I finished up the second season this summer and somehow forgot about zombies and how much I enjoyed the show. Then, when I saw this course, it came back to me. I can't explain how excited I was when we started talking about the show in class.
So far, my interest in this topic has immensely deepened. I find myself reading about zombies for the course and thinking that it is reality. I then have to remind myself that we haven't had a zombie-apocalypse, well not yet anyways. The readings and videos that we have been watching do more than engage your imagination, they actually get you to wonder what you would do if you were in a situation with a zombie.
I chose to read Zombocalypse Now for tomorrow. When I first started, I found the book to be a bit weird and I couldn't really get into it, but the more I read it, the interested I got. I found myself trying out different scenarios. I tried to make the decisions as I would make them and, no surprise, I ended up dying. Then I tried to take a path of a morally right person, and once again I died. I then tried many different other paths and it seems that the ones I succeeded to live in were ones where I wasn't afraid of the zombies and didn't hold on to the highest moral standards. This reminded me of our discussion in class when we were talking about what it would be like if you were a human who survived the zombies. Would you be the same person? It seems that morality and the idea of what is right and what is wrong changes. Today, I couldn't imagine helping the U.S. government create a military of undead soldiers, but if I was living during the apocalypse could I? I honestly don't know. I hope that my survival instincts would kick in and I would be able to make decisions that could potentially keep me alive, but I have no real idea.
I came across this same question of "What would I do" when we were watching Rick trying to get the little girls attention at the gas station. As I was watching it, I was thinking about everything that I would've done differently. First, I would've read the sign that says "No gas" before I got all the way down the hill. Secondly, I would've moved much faster as I was walking through the cars. Third, I wouldn't have bent down to look under the car to see what the noise was. Fourth, I like to think I would've been smart enough to realize that the little girl was not alive. Part of watching this show and other horror movies of this sort is analyzing everything the character does. It is like when I watch a scary movie, I find myself talking to the characters and telling them they are dumb for yelling "hello" when they walk into the house. I mean, it's not like the murderer is going to respond and tell you they are there.
The Spoiler Film added a different perspective to the view of zombies. I found this film very relate-able. The husband is concerned about his daughter while he is holding his zombie wife down. To me, this seems like a much more realistic view because it starts with a single case. We see one family suffering and doctors and policemen trying to figure out what is wrong. In The Walking Dead, the apocalypse has already occurred. We see a little bit of the beginning, but there is no calm point. Everything just breaks out at once.
Not only have I found the assignments and class discussions fun and interesting, but it had me questioning my reaction in desperate situations. Not only if there was a zombie apocalypse, but if I was in a scary situation in some other regard. How would I react? So far, this course has made me realize that no one really knows how they are going to react until the time comes. Rick is a sheriff and I'm sure that he never thought he would shoot a little girl, but to save his life he has to shoot a little girl who is a zombie. His survival instincts kick in. I'm looking forward to understanding more about how not only I would handle these situations, but also how all of you would handle them.
"I hope that my survival instincts would kick in and I would be able to make decisions that could potentially keep me alive, but I have no real idea."
"it had me questioning my reaction in desperate situations."
These sections of your post really caught my eye and provoked some thought. Throughout the choose your own adventure books, as well as in the game we played for today "Choice of Zombies", I tried my best to make decisions that I thought I would make in a real zombie scenario. I often found myself wondering how much more difficult some of these choices would be when confronted with the actual possibility of becoming a zombie and if I would be able to act in a timely fashion. While I would like to think I would be the hero, killing lots of zombies and saving lots of lives, I think it is entirely possible that I would be hiding under a table (as depicted in the graphic above) sobbing and paralyzed in fear. It is impossible to tell what a person would do given this farfetched situation, though it is easy to assume one would not make as many brave decisions in reality as they would in simulations such as in "Zombocalypse Now" or "Choice of Zombies".