Z is for Zombies

Fantasy literature and media have always appealed to me. This fascination began with Mary Pope Osborne's Magic Treehouse series, continued on to Jacques' Redwall, then to Lewis' Narnia, Rowling's Harry Potter, and most recently Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Amidst all of this love for fantasy worlds and alternate realities, zombies have never appealed to me. Well, I guess that's not entirely true. I really enjoyed the films Shaun of the Dead and I am Legend. Also, as embarrassing as it is to admit, I enjoyed The Colony, a reality show/ experiment that aired on The Discovery Channel for a few seasons about a post-apocalyptic world. Rather than me try to explain the show, just check out the video below:

I guess it's not that bad, is it? I do admit that much of the show seems to be staged, but the show does offer a pretty interesting scenario. Although there are no zombies in the show, looters and thugs threaten the colony following the world's viral breakout.

Anyways, back to what I was saying. Other than these few aforementioned forms of media, zombies have really never appealed to me. I guess I've just always been more interested in magical tree houses, talking warrior mice, and never-ending closets. I always thought of zombies as stumbling piles of flesh without any real significance or adventure behind them. That is, until Z is for Zombies began.

Ever since last Tuesday, I've had a hard time getting zombies off of my mind. Hell, I was midway through season 3 of Dexter before this class started, but now I can't take my eyes away from The Walking Dead. Sorry, Dexter, but as much as I admire your strategically planned murders of societal scum, Rick splitting a "geeks" head with a shovel is more visually appealing.

Today, I walked across campus during a pretty busy hour and couldn't stop imagining if the tall dude walking by me were a zombie or if the entire student body were just one big horde of zombies. Being the defense specialist in my community, Home On The Brainge, I immediately wondered what it must feel like to destroy a zombie's face with a shovel or baseball bat. I certainly would avoid using a loud firearm as best as I could. I thought about where I would go if all hell broke loose. The library? Davis Center? My mind has been going astray.

I still have so many questions about these undead humans. What is their purpose? Are they really just figments of our imagination? Can zombies communicate amongst each other? Do their eyes work as well as their sensitive ears? Are zombies real? Ok, I guess I know the answer to that last question. Of course they're real.



After tirelessly reading Zombocalypse Now, I've come to the conclusion that I may not do so well in a world overrun by zombies. I can't even begin to tell you how many times I died as a result of lackluster decision making. I knew I should have given my blind date a chance! Or should I have? Let's just say that I got a little too confident in my chainsaw abilities...

Your Zombie and You was an absolutely fantastic read regarding the philosophy of zombies, our fear of them, and the "flavors" of fear that we have towards them and how they relate to other more recognizable fears. As Wayne Davis says, "all fears are fears of being harmed"(p.13). So, are we afraid of being ripped apart by a zombie or are we afraid of literally becoming a zombie and hurting others (p.20)? The interpretations are endless and I'd love to hear some of my classmate's opinions on this matter.



I was originally going to discuss the theme of "agency" amongst our fellow zombies, but we ended up having a great conversation about this very topic today in class. We also discussed the notion of Uncle Rege, which was a piece of the reading that stuck with me more so than the rest. While reading this, I couldn't help but think of the scene from the very first episode of The Walking Dead, when Morgan struggles and ultimately fails to kill his undead wife. Morgan and Duane had to struggle as their wife/mother died and eventually became a geek. In two instances, Morgan fails to kill his deceased wife. Even though he knows that she is no longer the same woman that she used to be, killing her is inherently difficult because of the memories associated with her (hence the photo albums, etc). Morgan's wife does some interesting things though. Although she died and "ceased to have psychology" (p.18), she still showed signs of remembrance as she approached the Jones' door. Maybe her brain was still slightly in tact? How will we ever know and are all zombies this way in some shape or form?

Zombies have quickly taken over a large portion of my daily thinking and I look forward to more of this as the semester goes on! Let's just hope my imagination doesn't become reality. I really don't want to have to shelter myself in the library for any longer than I already do.