When thinking back to all the zombie stories we have read/watched/heard so far this semester, I am struck by the fact that for being about the same topic, they are all very different. In light of the fact that we have not yet experienced a real "zombie apocalypse," the genre does leave room for creativity in each piece of fiction. For the most part, the essentials have stayed the same, (you get bit, turn into a zombie, and as a zombie you feed on flesh and brains) but apart from that there are many directions in which a story could go. As a zombie in The Donner Party, this is particularly fascinating to me, as I have, until this point, been fairly certain my fate would consist of an eternity of being motivated solely on brains. Now I am not so sure.
Warm Bodies, though a comedy, portrayed a much different idea from what we typically see from the zombie. Not only were they able to communicate with each other through simple words and broken sentences, they clearly were able to think to themselves proving at least some form of agency. We were also introduced to the idea that there is a fate worse than being a zombie. Bonies, are the next step which I thought gave the movie an interesting twist. What ultimately brought the humans and the zombies together was their need to defeat the bonies, who like zombies, feed on flesh. By adding another group who was even more removed from being human than the zombies, the humans, for lack of better words, chose the lesser of the two evils. I find it interesting that (despite the fact that the bonies are portrayed much more violent than the zombies) both groups could potentially be misunderstood. The zombies had an advantage in the fact that they could communicate. Until R, there wasn't much of a difference between the zombies and the bonies to the humans, despite the differences between the two groups. Although the bonies cease to exist, after the zombies are accepted by the humans, would the bonies just have taken the place of the zombies?
From a zombie perspective, I also find it interesting that if you were to compare Julie's father to R, who seems more like a monster? I would argue that the humans in Warm Bodies, with the exception of Julie of course, act in a very monster-like fashion. As a human in an apocalyptic position, how would you react to discovering that you have become more the monster, and the monster has become almost human? Is this transformation necessary in order to survive a zombie apocalypse?
I think based on most of the zombie fiction that we have seen and read that some transformation on the part of the survivors has to occur for them to be "successful" post apocalypse. It's a different world and thus to survive in it people must change. I think monster might be a strong term but a definite callousness seems to be necessary for survival in a world where humans have become prey.
ReplyDeleteI would imagine that the post-apocalyptic lifestyle would be rather cutthroat and unfriendly, e.g. player vs. player. As a survivor it is probably not worth taking chances that could endanger yourself or your companions, such as making a compatriot out of someone who could conversely make a meal out of you. I couldn't see myself even considering an alliance with the undead, even if they were among the lesser of many present evils (I'm looking at you, vampires).
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