Previous Post – Advent Giveaway
It seems that every few years a new monster takes the main-stage of popular interest. Books, movies and TV shows burst onto the scene, each trying to cash in on the current interest. Now, the vampire craze is giving way to an interest in zombies. There are many reasons for this new shift, but I want to focus on a couple that stand out to me.
I’ve never been a fan of highly gory films, which is the nature of most zombie flicks. However, when I read “World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War” by Max Brooks (yes, son of Mel), I was drawn in. Instead of the bloody violence, it was the complexity of humanity surviving in a post-apocalyptic world that drew me in. Further, as horrible as the scenario was, there was a part of me that was fascinated by considering how I would respond to such a challenge. On some level, it was almost as if I hoped it would happen. (I suspect most zombie enthusiasts would admit a similar appeal).
As our culture faces the uncertainty of a world defined by recession, unemployment, broken relationships and empty consumerism, is it at all surprising that the stark reality of a zombie apocalypse is an appealing fantasy? After all, confronted by challenges we are so often powerless to face, let alone overcome, the idea of having a tangible problem that could solved with a blunt object is deeply appealing. People long for simple solutions to simple problems. However, that is not the reality we live in.
On a darker note, the zombie threat also provides us with a guilt free way to live out our violent impulses with impunity. Suddenly we are offered a context in which we can kill our enemies, our neighbours, even our family members without the burden guilt. They are, after all, already dead. Further, because they are a threat to our very survival, killing them is a noble act of heroism. It is an explicit example of what is all too common in popular culture today- creative means in which we can participate in so-called “redemptive violence” while maintaining our integrity and “moral purity”.
So what good is knowing this about our fascination with zombies? More often than we know, our interest in things in popular culture reveal something about ourselves. Examining these all-too-often unconscious motivations allows us the opportunity to consider how such interests shape our perspectives and choices. Being conscious of such dynamics is a gift.
What do you think? Is this a stretch?
