Adapt Zombie Apocalypse. That is what most individuals think of when they hear of bomb shelters, hoarding, and turning on eachother. But to Melisa Allen, this is a flashback leading up to the New Year's Eve of 1999. When asked about this particular time of her life, Melisa recounts her unique story with a chuckle. Working as an IT analyst at Maritz at the time, Melisa and her team were the first to know about the upcoming disaster. “At work we started talking about it well ahead of time” (Allen). The talk was about the Y2K bug which was a problem in the coding of computerized systems that was projected to create havoc in computers and computer networks around the world at the beginning of the year 2000. This was because until the 1990s, many computer programs were designed to abbreviate four-digit years as two digits in order to save memory space. These computers could recognize “98” as “1998” but would be unable to recognize “00” as “2000,” perhaps interpreting it to mean 1900. Many feared that when the clocks struck midnight on January 1, …show more content…
2000, many affected computers would be using an incorrect date and thus fail to operate properly unless the computers’ software was repaired or replaced before that date (The Editors). This knowledge gave Melisa’s entire department the jump start needed to prepare. “We did a lot of testing and development before any of it came about… at work we had to back up absolutely everything on the network and print out hard copies of all of our data just incase we weren't able to access it. We were just trying to prevent it so if it did crash, we were going to have to go in and manually enter everything off of the papers that we download” (Allen). The workers wasted not only time, but the company’s resources as well. While many countries in America wasted time and resources, other countries had no such problem. “Countries such as Italy, Russia, and South Korea had done little to prepare for Y2K. They had no more technological problems than those countries, like the U.S., that spent millions of dollars to combat the problem” (Y2K Bug). America relies so heavily on technology, and that led to a fatal flaw when it came to the potential of it being destroyed. Melisa didn’t look at this difficult task as an inconvenience, but as a responsibility. “We are paid to prevent disaster” (Allen). On the other hand, the news of Y2K struck the rest of the world like a bolt of lightning. Citizens freaked out because “as the year 2000 approached, computer programmers realized that computers might not interpret 00 as 2000, but as 1900. Activities that were programmed on a daily or yearly basis would be damaged or flawed” (Y2K Bug). Melisa told about the mass chaos around her as this major catastrophe approached. The fear of death led people to react irrationally. “They went crazy… literally. Not just at work. People in the community were going crazy: rationing things, buying stuff ahead of time, acting like they were going to build safe rooms and getting extra ammo for their guns incase people started trying to steal to survive” (Allen). This led to many problems in the community. “There were ammunition shortages. People withdrew all their money from the banks, thinking they wouldn't be able to get to it” (Allen). This was expected, though, seeing as the people of the community had a reason to worry about their money. “Banks, which calculate interest rates on a daily basis, faced real problems… Instead of the rate of interest for one day, the computer would calculate a rate of interest for minus almost 100 years!” (Y2K Bug). This problem would have led to another stock market crash and the world would return to the way it was in the 20’s. The media helped in leading the world to believe that Y2K was going to be much worse. “The challenge is not compliance or readiness for Y2K, but the public’s perception of such things” (Y2K-Truth). The media made the public perceive that all the computers were going to quit working, causing electronics, businesses, and banks to be destroyed. “They completely enabled the chaos just like they do with situations that happen today. They blow it out of proportion, get everybody on high alert, worried, concerned, stressed out and getting a reaction, waiting for the worst thing to happen and then when nothing happens everybody has all of this stuff done and nothing happened at all” (Allen). The media was taking advantage of the public because “ At the present time people have faith in technology, progress, and government programs” (Before). They also take advantage that “The brain goes into fear states very fast.” (Psychology). The media brought fear to the public months ahead of time putting out big news stories all the way up until the time it happened (Allen). Now, Melisa was a lot more rational. “I was the only one who wasn't concerned at work. I was the one who did all the testing and development and I knew it was working there, so I had no doubt it would work in production also” (Allen). Melisa figured out what was wrong and learned how to fix it. No matter what was to come, she was prepared. “In many cases people are worried about the wrong things” (Y2K-Truth). But, Melisa knew what she was doing and what to worry about. Most fears of others were irrational anyways. “The biggest myth going around is that everything that might go wrong will go wrong at midnight, when that is not necessarily the case. Norman Dean says “the Y2K problems people should most fear will actually happen later in the year” (Y2K-Truth). During the infamous New Year's Eve, the workers at Maritz had to be calm and collected. The entire night rode on their shoulders. “I’m level three support, so I had level one and two people in there all night. We all had to be on campus and all of my level one and two people were literally sitting on the edge of their seats. Every Time one time zone would get ready to change they'd just be sitting on the edge of their seat waiting for something to crash and the time zone would change and nothing happened. We did this for every time zone we support and nothing happened.” (Allen). The stroke of midnight came and went. “We constantly had to be in contact with our operation centers in the different countries and every different time zone and try to make sure everyone was on the same page… all of managment and the vice president, the CEO, the owner… they were calling into our swat lines all night checking on things” (Allen). So, all of this chaos was for nothing.
In the end, there were very few problems, and none of them were computer related. A nuclear energy facility in Ishikawa, Japan, had some of its radiation equipment fail, but backup facilities ensured there was no threat to the public. The U.S. detected missile launches in Russia and attributed that to the Y2K bug. But the missile launches were planned ahead of time as part of Russias conflict in its republic of Chechnya. (Y2K Bug). As expected by Melisa, not much happened. “It just seemed like overnight, it went back to normal everyday activity“ (Allen). After the stroke of midnight, and nothing happening, all the chaos cesed. There was no after effect of Y2K on the Maritz workers other than the difficulty of having to learn how to write the year 2000 instead of 1999 on all of the paperwork (Allen). When asked if it still affects her today, Melisa responded with a simple “no, not at
all” The next day there was a lot of talk.“I think there was probably a lot of people who wasted a lot of money on ammunition and food for their basement and safehouse crap... and they ended up not needing it” (Allen). People wasted time and money on something that didn’t even happen all because of their reliability on technology. The reliance caused people to freak out at the mention of Y2K and the fact that technology could cease to work. “At work that’s all everyone was talking about. Mostly people who didn’t get to have New Years. Everybody at work was like ‘I missed New Year’s Eve for this? Nothing happened’” (Allen). The hype was all for nothing. “ I guess, probably for a couple weeks it was the talk at work and then it just kind of fizzled out because there just wasn’t anything to talk about.” (Allen). As with most news stories, it is relevant for a short amount of time, then slowly dwindles down to nothing. The only remembrance of that fear ridden time is the people who lived it. The one thing Melisa learned, and still reminds herself, from this ordeal is that “things change, you have to adapt to them” (Allen). Even though she went through a difficult, stressfull situation, it didnt stop her. After months of working and wasting her time, it was all for nothing. But, that isn’t what Melisa focused on. Instead, she moved ahead with her life. She still had to support her toddler and get ready for one on the way. She still had a family to support. “I was so wrapped up in work for a while that I didn’t notice much of the community, but I obviously had to get groceries and go to the bank and run errands just like I did before” (Allen). Everyone is going to have something bad happen to them, but how they react to the situation is how their real character shows. “Of course we had to reprogram some of our applications and databases and manually do that stuff, but that’s just part of your job. You have to adapt and no matter what career you have, you have to adapt to change and that's all we did. It did take a lot of programming, but we have to reprogram for other stuff too, not just this disaster that was coming” (Allen). All in all, no matter what happens in someone’s life, they will have to adapt in some way. In order to move on from something difficult, one has to overcome the obstacles. Adapting with it will bring a sense of peace and helps move forward with life.
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.
The realm of myths and magic have captivated the attention of masses for decades. Most of the myths and creatures originated from folklore from diverse cultures around the world. The mythological world usually contains myths and stories about fantastic beasts, immortal gods and goddesses, unearthly beings, and bizarre creatures that rule or roam the depths of the earth. Since the rise of the internet, classic myths like mermaids, vampires, dragons, werewolves, zombies, and unicorns continue to have a certain appeal to the public. Due to this advancement of technology, myths like vampires and zombies can tap into people’s needs or yearnings. Either by filling a psychological need, symbolizing the rejected and inexpungable or by creating an
Although the zombie metaphor focuses primarily on fear involving unconscious contributors and their mission of adding to their population, the fear of governmental control and how society responds to the epidemic is also an issue that needs to be considered. In this scenario, the viral outbreak is not only a threat to individual health but also to the stability of society as a whole.
You suddenly awake from a coma in what seems to be an abandoned hospital in downtown Atlanta. As you leave your hospital bed looking for any signs of life, you see a barricaded door that reads “Don’t Open Dead Inside”. As you walk past the door, hands of the undead reach out in attempts to consume you. This is how main character, Rick Grimes, was introduced into the zombie ridden post apocalyptic world of AMC’s “The Walking Dead.” If you are a fan of the series and have been watching it since season 1, you absolutely know that the “walkers” are not the only thing that Rick and the other main characters have to protect themselves from.
Night of the Living Dead is an iconic horror movie released in 1968 in America. The movie was directed by George Romero and premiered on October 1st of the same year. The movie follows the characters of Barbra and Ben and five other characters trapped in a rustic farmhouse in a rural town in Pennsylvania. The farmhouse is attacked by a large group of non-living human beings which are not named. They have characterized features of a monster and of a corpse. In the onset of the film, the main character Barbra and her brother Johnny drive to a town in Pennsylvania for a customary visit to the father’s grave. When in the cemetery, Barbra and Johnny encounter a peculiar looking man who had been walking around the cemetery. Fear overcomes Barbara as the deranged man walks towards her and proceeds to aggressively attack her. While trying to rescue his sister, Johnny is thrown into a gravestone and succumbs to his demise. After this occurrence, Barbra decides to escape in a car which gets involved in a mishap. This forces her to escape on foot and subsequently leads her to a farmhouse. Later, the news reports to the
In Robert S. Gottfried’s book titled “The Black Death”, he analyzes the 14th century outbreak from an epidemiological perspective. The book is written as a historical account of one of the greatest epidemics on record. Gottfried is a well renowned Professor of History as well as the Director of Medieval Studies at Rutgers University. Another one of his books titled, "Epidemic Disease in Fifteenth Century England” focuses on the additional outbreaks that occurred in Europe after the Black Death plague. The Black Death also called the Great Pestilence the was the second of three pandemic plagues known and is considered one of the most damaging pandemics in human history, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 25-50% of the Europe's population in the years 1348 to 1350. The origins of the plague began with east-west trade. In 1347 the Black Death entered Constantinople and spread throughout Byzantium and the Eastern Mediterranean, it is theorized that foreign rats migrating with the eastern trade carried the disease called Y. pestis to the west, fleas that were feeding on those rats then transmitted the infection to livestock and humans. The epidemic spread at an alarming rate and had devastating effects once contracted, at its peak the plague is said to have taken up to 1000 lives a day.
ScreenPrism. "ScreenPrism." Why Did "Night of the Living Dead" Spark Controversy after Its Release. Web. 19 Sept. 2017.
How to Survive a Plague (2012) is a documentary about the story of two coalitions, ACT-UP and TAG (Treatment Action Group). Both groups dedicate their time and energy to stop AIDS from being the deadly disease that it has been for years and is only getting worse. Those affected by the disease were primarily of the LGBT community. Those with AIDS struggled to see progress with research for a cure because of those who held leadership roles had in certain religious views along with a lack of political interest. As millions of individuals were dying from this abhorrent disease, the two coalitions continued to protest and advocate for change. Through their actions, an effective treatment was found for AIDS. Their actions even led to the LGBT community
I'm more than a little upset with myself that I allowed myself to go so long without watching this film. I've known about for what feels like forever, but for one reason or another I just never got around to watching it. Well, I can proudly say that's no longer an issue, time was made and Re-Animator was watched. Watching Re-Animator for the first time, reminded me of the first time I watched Return of the Living Dead. Both films have this vibrant atmosphere that I have a hard time putting into words. Both films share a lot in common, flawless use of humor, memorable scenes and some of the best practical effects shots that I can think of. But if I had to choose a favorite between the two, Return of the Living Dead would win out, mostly due
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
“Fear the Walking Dead” is set to shake its viewers’ minds when its first episode airs in the U.S. on August 23.
Many people have been discussing whether or not the human race can survive the zombie apocalypse. Though zombies aren't real, people wonder if the human race will survive. In fact, many articles have been written about the subject, including Document 1 by The CDC, Document 5 by Jamie crawford, and Document 2 by FEMA, which explore this issue. Although some people believe that the human race won't survive, others believe they will. Based on the evidence, we will survive the zombie apocalypse because the cdc is prepared, the government/military is prepared and people are prepared.
Avery Wells Professor Wilkenfeld English 102 02/08/14 “All Men and Women Are Created Equal” On July 4, 1776 it was said that all men are created equal. What the Declaration of Independence failed to mention was women. This seemed to be a common theme throughout the history of America and is still a problem to this day. Men are constantly being held up on a pedestal, while women are forced to assume the position of looking up to them. Zombieland (2009) tends to take these “old school” ways and sheds a new light on the fact that women too can be equal, if not better than some men.
Mass amounts of people will die, families will be separated, and peaceful ways of life will be long gone. Guard your loved ones, board up your windows and keep your gun under your pillow because you’re gonna need it. I have taught the facts, the opinions, and the theories on the possibility of a zombie apocalypse. I have explained with facts and statistics the ramifications of it if it was to happen, the way and speed at which it can spread, and the cruelty that will follow. You can protect yourself and the ones closest to you, but first you have to believe it.
The Walking Dead is an allegory for the real world. It presents audiences, the controversies of the conventional postmodern society amidst a post-apocalyptic drama. The series portrayal of dissolving humanity in unfeigned bleakness both reflects and inflames our societal perceptions and fears. Through an inhuman fallacy, (the zombie) The Walking Dead humanises the hopeless actualization of our corrupted world in all its postmodern traits. Therefore, the ambition for The Walking Dead is to exhibit a world pursuing a favourable equilibrium of peace and liberty but never achieving it as it is entirely a Sisyphean. In this essay, I will argue how cinema and humankind has fed into corruption within postmodernism.