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Where do zombies come from???
I have been wondering where the notion of living dead came from and what this construct satisfies in the human psyche. What question do they answer?
I can only reach back to voodoo culture and I cannot say I know or understand anything about that.
Does anyone know where the literary tradition begins?
It is easy enough to understand the vampire cult - the promise of eternal life is a compelling one. (Nevertheless, I wish the whole thing would go away - booooring) Likewise, apocalyptic fiction draws on the all-too-real modern fears that we have engineered our own demise. But the rotting dead re-animated and preying on the living? Where/when why did this idea arise?
Where do zombies come from???
I have been wondering where the notion of living dead came from and what this construct satisfies in the human psyche. What question do they answer?
I can only reach back to voodoo culture and I cannot say I know or understand anything about that.
Does anyone know where the literary tradition begins?
It is easy enough to understand the vampire cult - the promise of eternal life is a compelling one. (Nevertheless, I wish the whole thing would go away - booooring) Likewise, apocalyptic fiction draws on the all-too-real modern fears that we have engineered our own demise. But the rotting dead re-animated and preying on the living? Where/when why did this idea arise?
In modern times, They have represented social concerns such as excessive consumerism (Dawn of the dead 1978) to a representation of detachment to to others and social conflicts, Original Night of the Living dead and modern Walking dead is an example with the conflict between the survivors during a breakdown of civilization. The folklore idea of "zombies" goes back a long time originating with the fear of the dead rising as creatures to attack the living, As evidenced by burial plots lined with heavy concrete in earlier times where much of the vampire legend originated. Voodoo reference were later portrayed in films like White zombie, And there is an element of truth to where certain tropical toxins could cause shuffling, zombie like behavior in living people.
We as people have a morbid curiosity of the fall of civilization because it offers movie escapism for many. escape from the day to day grind, for some a notion of getting back to "basics" and our hunter-gatherer instincts. Though this is a double edged sword realistically as we rely on our technology and especially electricity of all things. Getting back to a pre-modern world would be disastrous for most people. We are not mentally or physically equipped for this in the modern age. There would be no playing video games and eating Dorito's comfortably while zombies roamed outside banging on the front door.
As for the notion of the modern take on the zombie and it's grotesque appearance, This really is scary to imagine. You would have to deal with friends, family and neighbors possible in this state and become like them ourselves. The genre has certainly expanded, from comedy to romance like Shaun of the dead and Warm bodies and it shows some of the horror element to this has broadened.
Various monsters have been popular, depending on the fears of the times.
Dracula came into vogue in the early 1900s because he was the Big Evil Aristocracy sucking the blood out of the peasantry, and our intrepid heroes rise up to vanquish him.
Invading aliens were popular at the height of the cold war, because it was classic Us vs. Them.
Monsters and mad scientists were also popular throughout the 50s and 60s, because society was convinced that nuclear holocaust was right around the corner. Our own creation was going to rise up to destroy us.
Vampires were really popular throughout the 80s and 90s because you had a culture obsessed with youth and sex. The baby boomers were getting older, and they were NOT happy about it. Throw in the AIDS virus that combines blood with a death sentence, and you've got a culture ripe for vampires.
Zombies are popular now because we're all convinced that society is on the verge of collapse. We aren't really worried about invaders or the aristocracy. We're worried that our neighbors might try to eat us (metaphorically speaking).
One nitpick: Thanks the movies, people are now constantly misusing the term "apocalypse." It does NOT mean what 90% of people think it means. It does NOT mean "the end of the world." It comes from the Greek, meaning "unveiling," or "revelation." So when you talk about a "zombie apocalypse," your'e talking about a "zombie revelation," not about a zombie takeover.
One nitpick: Thanks the movies, people are now constantly misusing the term "apocalypse." It does NOT mean what 90% of people think it means. It does NOT mean "the end of the world." It comes from the Greek, meaning "unveiling," or "revelation." So when you talk about a "zombie apocalypse," your'e talking about a "zombie revelation," not about a zombie takeover.
Thank you for sharing that etymology re the end of times. I am wretchedly embarrassed that I never discovered this myself. However it does seem that the current usage of the term has overtaken the Greek meaning. Pity.
I know the zombie genre began earlier in the 20th century, but I believe the modern zombie genre is more related to the generalized sense that society could break down, in response to some natural or man-made disaster, that will leave us trying to survive at the very basic level. It could be nuclear war, a global pandemic, a global natural disaster, etc, doesn't matter. The people who are better prepared and better able to survive will constantly be assailed by those who are ill-equipped and not prepared. That's what the zombies symbolize.
In "prepper" culture, we refer to people who have not prepared, and who prey on those who have, as "zombies." Preppers will have food and water stored, the means to grow food, provide shelter, rebuild a small self-sufficient society, etc, but they have to have weapons to protect themselves, because there will be masses of hungry people wandering without a plan, trying to take what others have. A Zombie is a pretty fair image of that kind of person.
A couple years ago, I was reading about how popular horror genres reflect what's happening in our culture at the time and what the big concerns are in that culture (e. g. vampires rising in popularity during sexually repressed Victorian times).
This was one of the books I read back then: The Monster Show: A Cultural History of Horror by David Skal.
But I'm not certain if the modern zombie discussion came from that book or another source. The book was published in 2001, so there wasn't much in the way of 21st century zombie popularity, but maybe it came up with the Y2k scare? The book focusses mostly on film, not literature, but the themes are pretty much similar.
Where do zombies come from???
I have been wondering where the notion of living dead came from and what this construct satisfies in the human psyche. What question do they answer?
I can only reach back to voodoo culture and I cannot say I know or understand anything about that.
Does anyone know where the literary tradition begins?
It is easy enough to understand the vampire cult - the promise of eternal life is a compelling one. (Nevertheless, I wish the whole thing would go away - booooring) Likewise, apocalyptic fiction draws on the all-too-real modern fears that we have engineered our own demise. But the rotting dead re-animated and preying on the living? Where/when why did this idea arise?
One aspect in the differences between the vampiric cult and the zombie apocalypse is that vampirism is pure fantasy, whereas some elements of the zombie disease are more plausible (or, less implausible, if you will). I'm thinking of 28 Days Later, or The Walking Dead. I'm not saying the science presented in those shows is perfectly sound, mind you, because it is not - but basically, you have a form if science fiction-horror rather than fantasy-horror. This makes the zombie apocalypse hit closer to home, as it looms as conceivable, though not likely (to put it mildly) - whereas the possibility of being turned into a vampire is non-existent.
Also, there is the apocalypse itself. In the zombie apocalypse, you have the setting of societal regression, which appeals to some as a fictional setting, whereas the cause (the zombies) is a somewhat secondary situation. With vampires, the scourge tends to be more isolated - an issue for a small number of protagonists, rather than all of society. In that regard, it is a more intimate, if you will, threat.
Finally, the zombie is non-intelligent, primal, repulsive, visceral - the modern vampire is intelligent/cunning, seductive, even erotic in some presentations. So the antagonists are very, very different. One is elemental and inhuman, the other is very human in many respects.
I sorta abandoned this thread, but I got a rep for my post today so I am re-visiting.
I thought that the responses were very thoughtful and I don't have much of anything to add. What I am getting out of the discussion is that zombie culture reflects the fear that we may lose our humanity. Of course that veneer of civilized behavior is pretty shallow for most of us even in the best of times. It's interesting to me that the genre seems not to be waning. Some of us older folks think that there is a general decline in social manners - that topic has been hashed around ad nauseam in various forum threads. Suffice it to say that I am one of those who does believe that there is a decay in considerate behavior. Zombie culture is the extreme end of that decay.
I sorta abandoned this thread, but I got a rep for my post today so I am re-visiting.
I thought that the responses were very thoughtful and I don't have much of anything to add. What I am getting out of the discussion is that zombie culture reflects the fear that we may lose our humanity. Of course that veneer of civilized behavior is pretty shallow for most of us even in the best of times. It's interesting to me that the genre seems not to be waning. Some of us older folks think that there is a general decline in social manners - that topic has been hashed around ad nauseam in various forum threads. Suffice it to say that I am one of those who does believe that there is a decay in considerate behavior. Zombie culture is the extreme end of that decay.
I just wish it would go away. Had enough.
I see what you're saying,but I still find the whole zombie thing absolutely and totally ridiculous/disgusting,and creepy.
I can't help but feel all this crap,including the obsession with vampires,ghosts and the paranormal/occult has come from some really sick minds,and that is far,far scarier than any asinine fictional zombies,and other fictional monsters!
Must come from all those minds on drugs!
Last edited by i_love_autumn; 05-22-2014 at 08:44 AM..
The concept of a Zombie is increasingly relevant as we "progress" toward Artificial Intelligence and a global digital grid. If a previously living human is wired so that all his functions and motivations arise from sources other than his free will, but his appearance and actions resemble those of a human, and survival no longer depends upon natural organ function, he basically meets the criteria of a Zombie.
Read forum discussions about The Singularity, where an effort will be made to convince you that this will happen by 2030. Some will even "prove" scientifically that it is certain to happen, and the planet will be entirely populated by Zombies under the control of AI..
I can't help but feel all this crap,including the obsession with vampires,ghosts and the paranormal/occult has come from some really sick minds,and that is far,far scarier than any asinine fictional zombies,and other fictional monsters!
Supernature abhors a vacuum.
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