Ferrin Humanities II

One of my favorite points made by this author is that in popular culture it is possible to relate our everyday lives and Zombie killing. Day after day, people slave away at desks, writing out code, responding to emails, and doing things over and over again and getting paid to do so. In a post-apocalyptic state we find the exact same concept, except you are being paid in being able to live. You take zombie after zombie down, but at the end of the day there are still more left. Never will the war be over, never will there be no more zombies. At the end of the work day, you know that tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day, you will have to come back and continue what you just finished. What are we in this society? Are we the zombies, or are we something worse? Are we the all-singing, all-dancing crap of the world?

I enjoyed another point made by the author. The Twilight series was made into film and the original film was released in 2008. Since then, many other series have popped up. True Blood also started in 2008, and as a fan of the show I advocate for its viewing much more than Twilight simply because it can tackle real life issues if need be. However, popular culture has since decided to move its focus to Zombies. In 2009, Zombieland, starring an Oscar winning cast, was released and was hugely successful because of its no holds barred look at gruesome Zombie comedy. The Walking Dead started in 2010, starting a huge fan base that continues to grow. Warm Bodies took a couple young actors and made a zombie flick out of it, that actually used Romance as a tool to win over the audience. What is the difference between Zombies and Vampires? In the article, the author states that the primary difference is that people can have a favorite vampire, or even identify with their problems. A zombie is just something you can kill. I agree with this, however as Warm Bodies (2013) showed me, there can be an identification in things such as Zombies.

Personally I don't see the fascination of zombies, though it's interesting as to what this author said as to the reason why it's popular. Simply because it's similar to our day to day life except it's a way less complicated version such. For instance what he said, "Zombie killing is philosophically similar to reading and deleting 400 work e-mails on Monday morning". I see what he means by that in a sense that it's a drag and redundant. Though I reckon you should get a job in the field you're interested in so that sort of thing could be avoided. We don't live in the days in which the only occupation is farming, we have plenty of choices. Plus zombie attacks are something we can't avoid, frankly if you don't like the work you do in your job, then you can always find another. It may not be easy to do so, but in the end it's really up to you as to what you want to do. "Zombies are just so easy to kill." That is really the only reason I can possibly understand the affection for them. Sometimes, for me at least, there are things I just want to get rid of. That for instance are bugs, though the only problem is that I don't even want to go anywhere near them to start with, so getting rid of them is kind of a hard task to do. Therefore if I had pick out a relationship between people's interest in zombies, my guess would be that zombies are something that can just die (or technically die again since they are dead) and we won't even feel bad about them because they aren't really 'human' nor 'alive'.

I agree with the author in that we are all communal zombies. Nowadays, everyone seems to be very much attached to their computers and iphones as if life cannot go on without them. Technological advancements have indeed helped us and made life easier in many ways, but at the same time they corrupt the minds. It is up to the individual to get rid of these bad habits and take control of his life rather than being controlled by machines.

I think the reason why monsters, vampires and zombies have flourished is because movie makers want to tap into the likes of the audience. In this way, they can make big money while the movie is still popular; and they can always reverse the trend as the market changes. This is evidenced by the revival of the Swedish film "Let the Right One In" due to the success of Twilight.

"The Walking Dead" on AMC is benefitting from record breaking ratings, and the audience of the show seem more interested than ever in the concept of zombies. Clemson University Professor Sarah Lauro states that there is a direct correlation between the "zombie culture" and capitalism and the economy. She has been researching about the zombie culture for years, and she has discovered that the rise in popularity of such culture happens when a large number of people are beginning to get unemployed. Instead of viewing the zombie culture as a type of trend, she believes that it can be more conveniently stated as a metaphor for the way that people are feeling powerless within the system. Not only does modern life relate with zombies due to the fact that it is similar to the act fo repetitively killing zombies, however, I believe it can also be interpreted as a type of "silent protest." People are sick and tired of repetitive daily lives, and want a change from such lifestyle.

i agree with his thinking. everyday life if you think about it is so repetitive. what seems like an easy and fun thing to do later comes to run your life. like making your facebook account, it seems like a good idea at first, socializing with friends and al that, but for many people, it becomes a necessity that they must check every hour of the day. to me, everyday life does remind me of zombies. everybody walks around and does the same thing everyday, work, study, life. it keeps pushing at us, and we keep pushing back. although it makes us sound like the survivor fighting the zombie horde, it really does not matter. both the zombies and the survivors are just doing one thing over and over again. zombies try to kill you, you try to kill zombies

When I read this article, I found it fascinating of how it examined the psychology underneath our burning addiction of the idea of zombies. However, I think that the author's idea and even our obsession of zombies would not be true if the Industrial Revolution never happened. Before the Industrial Revolution, agriculture and village communities were the dominant life style during that age. The only thing that mattered at that time was to survive and to serve for the greater good (such as helping family, joining the army to serve the king, etc.). This meant that fulfilling oneself's desire was the last priority. When the Industrial Revolution began, products and goods at markets were sold at an affordable price that middle and low classes could afford, increasing the general welfare of the public. With more wealth, people started focusing on their selves instead on relying on others. The point is, before the Industrial Revolution, people had tighter and more social relationships and when they had to face a fear or problem, they usually relied on their community. But now with the industrial revolution passed, everyone relies on technology to solve their problems, which is where zombies come in place. They serve as a self-esteem booster to make people feel themselves better.

@James H I strongly agree with you that The Walking Dead is a very efficient example of proving the fact that we want to see our fears conquered. "The Walking Dead" had over 2.5 million views on the first few episodes, which proves the fact that many people really would like to see their fears and problems easily killed

The author also states that an alternative reason for the public's immense craving for zombies was because "Zombies are easy to kill." I believe that overanalyzing her point will just add a lot more complexity to the topic. If I just simply think about the reason to why I enjoy playing zombie games and watching zombie shows, its merely because zombies are just so vulnerable. Just like the gratifying feeling you get when you feel multiple buzzes from the mosquito swatter, and when you kill hundreds of zombies with a single machine gun in a survival game, I believe killing numerous extremely-vulnerable zombies just have the same effect. Thus, generating popularity for the "zombie culture."

I agree with the metaphor that the author uses to describe the similarity between a zombie and a human. Every day as humans, we establish routines that we repeat on a daily basis. This action is continuous and we tend to never stop. Similarly, the author gave an example of killing a zombie. "IF THERE'S ONE THING we all understand about zombie killing, it's that the act is uncomplicated: you blast one in the brain from point-blank range (preferably with a shotgun). That's Step 1. Step 2 is doing the same thing to the next zombie that takes its place. Step 3 is identical to Step 2, and Step 4 isn't any different from Step 3. Repeat this process until (a) you perish, or (b) you run out of zombies. That's really the only viable strategy."

I also agree with the author when he states "But above all, do not assume that the war is over, because it never is. The zombies you kill today will merely be replaced by the zombies of tomorrow." I believe that what the author is trying to say is that in life, every action has a consequence, and there will always be good times as well as hardships. Yet we have to face it with a pinch of salt, because there really isn't anything you can do about it. It is the way life works.

"There are slow zombies, and there are fast zombies- that's pretty much the spectrum of zombie diversity." This part actually made me laugh out loud, mostly because of how ridiculously simple and true the sentence is. Zombies in a traditional sense don't really have feelings or minds of their own; their only instincts are to eat, destroy that which cannot be eaten, and to stay alive/undead. There is no actual diversity amongst zombies, unlike in humans. We have such a wide range and spectrum of inner and outer feelings and characteristics that it is entirely possible to be standing in the same room as someone whose qualities are completely opposite to yours. This, I think, is what's so beautiful yet terrible about the human race in general. As the diversity of our species is so great, we have some pretty terrible people, such as serial killers, as well as good people in our world, such as humanitarians. I think that this face of the human race is what helps defines us as humans. The moment we get too lost into technology and stop recognizing this, as Alice Gregory noted, we become the soulless undead ourselves. For a while, we forget who we are just to go online, and we mindlessly consume what we see on the web until we decide that we're bloated and go offline. Talking to someone in real life as they're searching things up is almost like talking to a wall, as they're engrossed in whatever they're doing and won't respond very actively or with much character at all.

I found this overall article to be kind of funny, because I wasn't sure what the author was trying to convey through this article. He was just describing about zombies and how our lives seem to focus around it. However, I liked the analogies he made by comparing it to checking our mail inboxes because that was interesting. It gave a general idea of what he was saying about zombies.

I disagree with the author when he says that zombies are just so easy to kill. I disagree with that statement because I've seen movies when a zombie has to take more than just putting a bullet to the head to die.