In recent years there have been a surge in the popularity of monsters, namely sparkling vampires and werewolves, but neither of these creatures can claim to be top monster anymore. Groaning and dragging a decayed foot into first place is none other than the zombie.
A 2011 CBS News report claimed that the fascination around zombies is due to the ever-growing popularity of the hit show “The Walking Dead.” While I agree this show contributes a lot to zombie culture, I cannot agree that this is the sole reason our brain-eating friends have managed to stay on top in the world of popular culture.
The zombie fad is not new to the pop culture scene. It made its debut in the cinematic world in 1932 with, what some considered a cult classic, “White Zombie,” which starred the famous monster-man Bela Lugosi. From then on the zombie tradition made appearances in films like “Valley of the Zombies,” “Night of the Living Dead,” “Zombieland” and “Resident Evil.”
In comparison to film, zombie literature is a smaller field but has grown exponentially since the 1954 novel “I am Legend” to include titles such as the popular “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies,” “The Zombie Combat Manual” and “The Zombie Autopsies: Secret Notebooks from the Apocalypse.” Even the Center for Disease Control has joined in, releasing the graphic novel titled “Preparedness 101: Zombie Pandemic.” But what attracts us to the living dead when they symbolize the end of humanity as we know it?
“You can’t shoot the financial meltdown in the head—you can do that with a zombie,” said Max Brooks, author of best-selling “Zombie Survival Guide” and “World War Z.” “All the other problems are too big.”
In a world where we can’t visualize and eradicate many of the problems we face such as the financial crisis mentioned, genetic modification, atomic weaponry and radiation, the idea of a zombie apocalypse gives people something to grasp onto.
Something to grasp onto is what we see in “The Walking Dead” and “Zombieland.” If we aren’t turned into brain-eating, leg-dragging zombies when the proverbial crap hits the fan and the apocalypse ensues, then we can fight the living dead, find food and shelter and we can survive. Is this simple solution—and I use the term simple loosely—really what drives us to venture into zombie culture or is it all for the imagination and the fun?
Brooks said, “90 percent are saying, ‘We all know it’s fake; we’re playing along.’ The other 10 percent are saying, ‘We’re ready!’ And I’d say 10 percent of that 10 percent can’t wait for it to happen.”
