It is believed that art imitates life, it is the very fabric of our society. The human life has become an imitation of a sheep or even worse a zombie. Chuck Klosterman’s essay “My Zombie, Myself: Why Modern Life Feels Rather Undead” sets out to prove the similarities between man and zombie. The life of a zombie is repetitive by the fact that they all die the exactly the same way. Klosterman points out the demise of a zombie is comparable to one’s daily routine. A daily routine involves simple tasks that people repeat at the same hour almost every day. The author expands his argument by pointing out how zombies walk around aimlessly without thinking. Which leads to the comparison to humans being consumed by the Internet and media for no real purpose. Just as humans enter the same websites and …show more content…
watch the same TV shows without actually recognizing what they are really doing, zombies walk around haunting and killing people without a real purpose.
Klosterman’s concluding thought to close his essay is the fact that one cannot really get rid of zombies. Even if some are killed, usually a huge group that follows. This is equivalent to the impossibility of humans never get rid of their “zombie” traits, but they should still keep fighting them. By comparing human traits to zombies, Klosterman proves how the world resembles a zombie apocalypse.
The main premise of the Kolsterman essay is reflective of how it is written stylistically. Chuck Kolsterman sets out an objective to connect the numerous amounts of tasks we are given on a day to day basis with the task killing never ending zombies. He effectively communicates his opinion through his unique writing style, which both
supports and hinders his argument. Firstly, this essay is written universally, through the use of simple language and concepts. This allows the digestion of this essay to be accessible to people of different ages, reading abilities, etc. The use of pop culture references creates a connection with the reader. For example, he mentions AMC's popular TV show The Walking Dead and the infamous Twilight series to solidify the connection between the reader and the topic. This creates a feeling that the subject he has chosen is completely relevant to the reader. However, the universal style of this essay also hinders his argument because of it is unconventional. The lack of scholarly resources shows weakness in his argument. The tone of the essay had a feel of a laissez-faire attitude which can bring arguments of the essay into question. For example, the last paragraph of the essay is simply filled with sarcastic and humorous metaphors dealing with zombies and everyday life, such as "The zombies you kill today will merely be replaced by the zombies of tomorrow...Keep your finger on the trigger". While it makes the point he's trying to make more entertaining, it also hurts his argument. All in all, Klosterman's distinct voice in this paper help make an extremely unique and charming piece that convinces us that we are all truly just zombie hunters.
No book has captivated the zombie apocalypse better than World War Z. Max Brooks creatively presents “a worldwide zombie pandemic from outbreak to aftermath” (Boyd, Tristan). His book encompasses many social and political themes in the world today. The book reveals true fear and shows the strength of the human race.
Torie Boschs “First eat all the lawyers” appeared in Slate october 2011. Her piece was to reach out to horror fans and to explain to them why zombies are a great monsters in current media. Zombie fanatics who read this short essay will love her vast knowledge of zombies while others who still do not understand why zombies are horribly terrifying can get behind her argument. Bosch explains that the current zombie craze has to do with our current society and how white-collar workers would be left defenceless in a world over run with a rampant horde of zombies. While blue-collar workers can flourish in this current state as they have more skills suited for survival.
Max Brooks explains in his article ‘’The Movies That Rose From The Grave’’ [2006], that zombies and the supernatural forces have impacted and have become popular in the world today. The first main idea that Brooks points out is the way society has changed the meaning and glimpse for the supernatural creatures like zombies causing them to become increasingly popular. To support this zombie movies have changed from darkness and mystery to violent and bloodier scenes therefore making them more prevailing. The second main idea that is discussed by Brooks is how the media has helped to increase the popularity of zombies, vampires, ghosts. Highlighted by the author particularity both ‘’resident evil,
...r can not be satisfied. The zombie is a consumer. Zombies are most often used as a metaphor these days for uncontrollable consumerism that plagues our generation. We blindly buy without thinking, either because of a low price, lust, or simply we just want more. We are guilty of “Zombie Consumerism”. Zombie consumerism is evident in George Romeros' film, Dawn of the Dead. In this movie, a shopping mall is where the characters take refuge and becomes the setting in which the humans stay in the battle of the zombies. They gorge themselves in free food and are delighted about having almost everything at their fingertips all to themselves. It sound's perfect. They can consume anything they want and they will be okay, forever. It is ironic then when there is nothing left and they must find new sources of shelter and food and resources, or become the resources themselves.
James Parker essay “Our Zombies, Ourselves,” informs readers that the zombie has almost outranked the vampire, and why they’re so popular. This undead monster originated from a Caribbean folk nightmare and was adapted over time by, the Halperin brothers, William Seabrook and George Romero and numerous others. Much like the vampire, zombies owe their fame to the progressiveness of technology, allowing them to consistently invade various media forms. The zombie has infested countless tv shows, movies, video games, and books, throughout the 21st century. Zombies themselves are soulless corpses who were regurgitated back into the world of the living. This making them rejects from the underworld, this presents the zombie as rejected yet inexpungable. What makes the zombie so popular, however, is that symbolizes everything that is rejected by humanity. “Much can be made of him, because he makes so little of himself. He comes back, He comes back, feebly but unstoppably” (Parker). The zombie represents humanity itself as well as what is rejected by humanity. Much like individuals today, the zombie is burdened by life’s demands, converting to nothing but a rotting, groaning human shell that stumbles through life without a purpose. The zombie is symbolizer of the real world, and all things irrepressible, whereas the vampire is a symbol of an alternate world and all things
The texts ‘I am legend’ and ‘Children of men’ are both set in post-apocalypse times where humans are on the brink of extinction. These texts explore how these post-apolitical environments can causes us as humans to sacrifice ourselves for the survival of society. In I am legend, Robert Neville a virologist, who is immune to a man-made virus originally created to cure cancer, works to create a remedy. Near the end of the film, Robert is forced to commit the ultimate price for the survival of society by sacrificing his own life. In the final scene, moments after Robert discovers “the cure is in the blood”, he realises “their not going to stop” as the zombies continue to attack. In order to protect the only other two living humans in New York, he hands over the newly found cure and takes his life along with the zombies’ with a grenade. Similarly in the film children of men society is also on the brink of collaps...
The fight against the zombie metaphor within World War Z gives the reader a purpose for finding a way to hold on to hope, and to ultimately celebrate life, ideally a healthy one, itself. With the zombie metaphor referring to uncontrollable fears in today’s modern society, the thriller is a realistic speculation about an airborne virus entering the human species and spreading on a global scale. With influenza outbreaks being a familiar scenario within modern society, the fear of an uncontrollable disease sends shockwaves of fear through the human race, especially when a vaccine has yet to be found and distributed, as in the film. The fear of a viral infection spreading stems from the idea that people do not simply “give” another individual the virus; a virus is a form of life that evolves and mutates in order to survive environmental changes.
The zombie race is very different. It doesn't not have many abilities and is not advanced like humans. Their behavior patterns are different. They cannot stand cold or winter weather. Their behavior is very different and difficult to calculate. They usually stand around lingering and waiting to attack when they hear something. They follow noises.Some abilities that they do have is that they have excellent hearing and can walk but aren't blind.The also can smell human blood. Zombies are generally weak but don’t underestimate what they can do to a human.
The idea of a zombie is made up and it comes from nzambi, the Kongo word for the spirit of a dead person. In states such as Louisiana, or the Creole culture they believe zombies represent a person who has dies and brought back to life with no speech. Kings psychological argument on how we have an urge to watch horror movies because it helps to re-establish our feelings and feel natural again. Klusterman’s sociological essay helped us see the comparison of zombies and humans in real life. In conclusion zombies are not real, they are make believe but help bring a sense of normality to
Zombies have become very popular due to their depictions of being easy to kill and being communal. Zombie apocalypses are also very relatable due to the fact that they are set in lives similar to our society and seem easy to overcome. Zombies, themselves, can be identified with because we see ourselves when we look at a zombie. Zombies drudge on through the same task of finding human flesh to consume every day just like we drag ourselves to either class or our job in order to sit through another boring lecture or perform the same menial task every day. Just like the zombie, R, in the book, Warm Bodies, said, “I am Dead, but it’s not so bad. I’ve learned to live with it,” we have learned to succumb to our daily routines and just live with
In the movie “Night of the Living Dead” by George A. Romero, we are thrust in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. During this apocalypse, many themes and aspects of human nature are present. This conflict seems to bring out the aspects of humans that show how imperfect we are, in addition to how we function in groups. Before I delve into these topics, I shall begin by summarizing key aspects of the film.
The hypothesis holds that being in a mental state (such as being angry) is the same as being in a physical state. In other words, the mental state is “disposed to act in certain ways in a given circumstance” (Warriner 8, slide 10). According to this theory, Loyal Edgar can be suspected as a ravenous zombie, he aims to bite Shaun when Shaun visits him in the basement. His actions of savagery are bonded to his mental state, which we can say that he behaves like a zombie, therefore he thinks like a zombie. Ed, just like any other zombies out there will attempt to have the act of desire to devour human beings. Edgar’s behaviour as a zombie is equivalent to his mental state of mind. However, after Shaun gave Zombie Edgar a game controller, the zombie no longer attempted to hurt Shaun and they were peacefully playing the video game together. Edgar is able to play video games and not attack Shaun, therefore he does not think fully as a zombie. At this point, we can strive to a conclusion that Zombie Ed is still conscious as a human being. His mental state of mind is able to behave as a human being. Therefore, this theory proves that Ed’s state of mind still exists, but partially
Kirkman describes zombies as an infectious horror in order to establish a close relationship between zombies and contagions. One of the The Walking Dead’s most brilliant successes has been the characterization of the zombies , and it may be the secret of their popularity. In his book, The Walking Dead, Kirkman
In Night of the Living Dead, the zombies were eventually eliminated. Or were they? Theorists argue that the monster’s elusiveness is due to its physical, psychological and social characteristics that cross the lines of classification. Human’s innate fear of the unknown is due to their inability to make a distinction or draw a clear conclusion. This is explained further in Jeffrey Cohen’s second thesis in “Monster Theory” that claims that; “the monster never escapes” (Cohen, 14). The zombie as a monster can never be destroyed completely and if it is, it leaves a remnant the make people feel uncertain of its destruction. Base on Cohen’s theory, the zombie’s different interpretation allows it to emerge in other forms (a faster, smarter zombie?)
In the article, “A Zombie Manifesto: The Nonhuman Condition in the Era of Advanced Capitalism” by Sarah Juliet Lauro and Karen Embry, the authors’ evaluate the idea of the zombie and its connection to capitalism and post-humanism. According to the authors, the zombie represents much more than just a fear, it represents a loss of oneself to many different things, primarily to a capitalist society. The authors have come to the conclusion that humans have a fear of what they cannot control, and that is why the zombie is so big in entertainment. We see zombies everywhere, in movies, books, tv shows, fundraisers, marathons, and so much more. They have been around for decades, but recently they have become very popular. The authors believe this is