Friday, April 12, 2013

Braaaaaaiiiiins

Lately I've been on something of a "zombie kick" when it comes to my entertainment choices. And as I've looked at those around me, it occurs to me that I am not the only one. So I'm curious why zombies have suddenly become such a huge cash cow in our society...

(although a movie trailer, the following clip might not be for all audiences.)


Thanks to George Romero we have what is widely held as the cannonized zombie rules, or "true doctrine". Yup it all started with "Night...........................of the Living Dead!" Since then the dead have been given a dawn, a day, a land, an island, and many other environments in which to eat sweet sweet brains. (On a side note George Romero was once asked how he felt about the new and fast angry zombies, he responded by saying that the reason his zombies couldn't run was because their rigamortis inflicted bones would break at the effort. So yeah, pretty scientific.)




The handguide also supports this idea. Also on a side note, it says that the best weapon combo is a semi-automatic rifle and a machete. Food for thought (get it?) when everyone trys to get the chainsaw to defend themselves with. Many are probably thinking "I am not obsessed with zombies, and how dare you insinuate so?!" Come on, be honost, you've though about what you would do in case of a zombie related emergency. What areas would be the most strategically fortafiable, what on hand object would be best to defend yourself with (for me at the moment my best bet would be to use my roommate's wood carving currently under the couch as a blunt object.)

I assume this has a lot to do with the obsession our country seems to be under:






But why is it that zombies have remained a culturally relevant fear since the 60's? My personal theory is that while Freddy Krougar is killing us in our dreams, and Bloody Mary is creepin' in our mirrors, and Bigfoot is stomping in our woods; zombies are taking our humanity. Like vampires and werewolves, zombies take away everything that is good about being human (music appreciation, complex decision making, and dental hygiene) and turn us into mindless angry people biters. Also like vampires and werewolves, zombies have recently become the love interest in movies geared towards teenagers:





Any itrovert would agree zombies are the ultimate worst case scenario:



Romero gave us a much more realistic thing to be afraid of, the neighbors. When it boils down to its most pure form, zombies are an introvert's perception of other people. Scary, aggressive monsters that want nothing more than to cause you discomfort.


It can also be argued with some validity that zombies are: communists, republicans, or apple fanboys.