Can somebody explain the cultural fixation on zombies?

[killtrocity]

First off, I'm not hating on zombies. Walking Dead is a decent show and the gore is cool and whatnot. But why does it have 8 million viewers while something like Mad Men has peaked around 3 million? What is the fascination? It seems rather one dimensional to me: survive zombies, kill zombies, etc.

Left 4 Dead is a pretty fun game with 4 people, but to me that has nothing to do with the zombie aspect. It could be nazis or aliens or something, in fact that might actually be cooler.

Then there are all the movies and shit. Shaun of the Dead was fuckin hilarious, and that is probably my favorite zombie related thing.

The vampire thing seems to be going away now (are Twilight and True Blood over yet?), but zombies seem to have a certain staying power.

tl;dr anyone care to enlighten me?

[butthurt]

check wiki

[reprise85]

i dont get it either but i saw shaun of the dead in the theater thinking it was a real zombie horror movie (which i would have hated) and laughed probably more than at any other movie i've ever seen in a theater

[killtrocity]

this chick just killed three zombies with a katana by decapitation and that was pretty cool. But like, that's it.

[butthurt]

Can somebody explain the cultural fixation on football?
Can somebody explain the cultural fixation on movie stars?
Can somebody explain the cultural fixation on automobiles?
Can somebody explain the cultural fixation on drinking alcohol?
Can somebody explain the cultural fixation on (fill in the blank)?

[Rider]

It's the fear of death and the fear of losing control. It's the fact that no mater what you do at some point you will loose and become a zombie.

They seem like a really dumb simple monster but when you think about it there is some really complex stuff going on.

Also there is so much about walking dead that has nothing to do with zombies.

[teh b0lly!!1]

it's probably the psychological horror element of it.
it's an apocalyptic scenario that could happen to everyone, anywhere. it's much more relatable than almost any other horror premise there is, because it's self contained and doesn't rely upon anything else (intelligent machines, monsters and aliens, etc) besides the notion of a mysterious epidemic.
audiences shudder at the thought of what would they do if they were in the survivor's shoes and wonder how they would fare if it happened to them, what would they do, etc. and maybe even makes them appreciate life a little more.

or they just like seeing grunting, gory corpses i dunno

[Trotskilicious]

p. sure it's over

[vixnix]

Humans love ghost stories but now heaps of guys are all like I don't believe in that supernatural stuff like God and ghosts because that is all like so irrational, so instead they come up with more science fiction type ghost stories, like zombies. They're still monsters, ghouls, whatever...but we have to believe that they could exist before they can frighten us. Otherwise it doesn't.

That's about it. I used to love Stephen King stuff as a kid. Actually I still love it. But then you know I have no trouble imagining that God exists, and stuff like that. I have a fairly wild imagination. People who are a little more hemmed in need a scenario more closely aligned with their own experiences before they can buy into it, I think. And culture in general has drifted away from thinking that more supernatural horror stuff might exist.

[Toby]

not a fan at all. I've only been playing res evil because my buddy likes playing it co-op and im always down for some co-op

[Toby]

never seen walking dead either

[mxzombie]

look at all this intelligent discourse, pretty sure it's cause people would love the opportunity to kill something human-like and suffer any consequences

[exactlythesame]

wat about vampyres u guys

[Funbags]

I think it's just "cool" to like zombies. LOOK AT ME!!! I'M A GEEK!!! ZOMBEEZ HUR HUR

[killtrocity]

Originally Posted by butthurt

Can somebody explain the cultural fixation on football?
Can somebody explain the cultural fixation on movie stars?
Can somebody explain the cultural fixation on automobiles?
Can somebody explain the cultural fixation on drinking alcohol?
Can somebody explain the cultural fixation on (fill in the blank)?

I could explain three of those, but I don't have the time to type a dissertation. Good questions though, and important ones.

Originally Posted by teh b0lly!!1

it's probably the psychological horror element of it.
it's an apocalyptic scenario that could happen to everyone, anywhere. it's much more relatable than almost any other horror premise there is, because it's self contained and doesn't rely upon anything else (intelligent machines, monsters and aliens, etc) besides the notion of a mysterious epidemic.
audiences shudder at the thought of what would they do if they were in the survivor's shoes and wonder how they would fare if it happened to them, what would they do, etc. and maybe even makes them appreciate life a little more.

or they just like seeing grunting, gory corpses i dunno

I get the psychological aspect, but to me an alien apocalypse seems more likely. Even though I'm probably wrong. You're right though about "what would you do in the survivor's shoes?". It's one of those fucked up kind of questions where both outcomes are shitty. Would you shoot your best friend in the head or let him eat your face? In that way it's kind of a masochistic fantasy. And horrifying.

Originally Posted by Rider

It's the fear of death and the fear of losing control. It's the fact that no mater what you do at some point you will loose and become a zombie.

I thought about this - the nagging fear of death that most people have. Death definitely plays a factor since zombies are literally death staring you in the face.

Originally Posted by vixnix

Humans love ghost stories but now heaps of guys are all like I don't believe in that supernatural stuff like God and ghosts because that is all like so irrational, so instead they come up with more science fiction type ghost stories, like zombies. They're still monsters, ghouls, whatever...but we have to believe that they could exist before they can frighten us. Otherwise it doesn't.

That's about it. I used to love Stephen King stuff as a kid. Actually I still love it. But then you know I have no trouble imagining that God exists, and stuff like that. I have a fairly wild imagination. People who are a little more hemmed in need a scenario more closely aligned with their own experiences before they can buy into it, I think. And culture in general has drifted away from thinking that more supernatural horror stuff might exist.

This is the camp I find myself in except that zombies are only slightly more plausible (IMO) than something like a demon or a literal ghost, since some type of an explanation grounded in physics can be obtained - disease outbreak, biological weapon, parasitic life form, etc. I still don't believe for a second that zombies would ever occur and that probably plays into my indifference toward the zombie theme.

Originally Posted by mxzombie

look at all this intelligent discourse, pretty sure it's cause people would love the opportunity to kill something human-like and suffer any consequences

This makes sense. Kind of like American Psycho. People suck and i want to beat them all to death. If only they were mindless hunks of flesh...

[samuel redman]

social norms are retarded

OR i prefer to shout at the world from my computer than go out into it

[IAMTHEDOORWAY]

modern zombie obsession came from people trying to find new ways to be "quirky" - think high school girls with pink-an-black scheme myspaces with cutesy decapitated teddy bears and lots of XXxXx and hearts, who like b-grade horror movies (once again, in an attempt to be quirky)

http://ak.buy.com/PI/0/350/217292374.jpg

[The Omega Concern]

anyone watching a zombie tv show would have little problem identifying with zombies as one is already in a low-level state of hypnosis just watching tv. Might make is easier to relate to the general disconnection from reality zombies represent.

don't forget the dystopian push from the elites onto the masses in more ways i care to mention but definitely including hollywood's plethora of productivity in the genre to soften up the public for the future dystopia they wish to enact. here's hoping they fail.

[MyOneAndOnly]

http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/..._river_default

Zombie Fail in Michigan

KALAMAZOO, MI -- Chants of “We want brains!” echoed across the Arcadia Creek Festival Place in downtown Kalamazoo on Saturday as more than 3,000 people wearing zombie makeup gathered for Zombie Festival.*

Energy was high as people poured onto the grounds with the hopes to break a world record for Most Zombies Gathered, but the effort came up a little more than 100 zombies short. The record of 4,093 that was set in Asbury Park, N.J., on Oct. 30, 2010 still stands.*

The event also served as a food drive, as each zombie was asked to bring a canned food item to donate to Loaves and Fishes.

“We love Loaves and Fishes. We think it is a great cause,” said Bill Gardner of Kalamazoo, who accompanied his wife, Beno, as a zombie doctor and patient. “I am not sure if they will break the record or not, but this is a lot of fun,” said Beno Gardner.

A vast array of costumes and makeup was on display, including the homemade makeup of Kalamazoo's Christina Olinger. She did the zombie makeup for her daughter Natalie, 10, and her friend Sophie Decker, 9.*

“I used Elmer’s glue and facial tissue, used some cheap eye shadow for the eyes and layered on some colors to make the rest work," Olinger said.

Zombies filed into the quarantine area, grabbing a numbered wristband as they entered. As the time deadline approached, the volunteers realized they were about 100 zombies short of the record. Bystanders were asked to get in makeup and join the fun. Kalamazoo Mayor Bobby Hopewell was one of the people who wandered back to get some zombie makeup applied in the spirit of breaking the record.

Osha Kelley, organizer of the Zombie Festival, was enthusiastic as she called out for last minute zombies to help break the record. As the final deadline passed, and after three months of planning and organizing and the hard work of 18 volunteers, the Kalamazoo Zombie Festival came up just 107 zombies short of breaking the record.*

“Our quarantine area was way too small,” said Kelley after being asked what she learned from organizing the event this year, “I didn’t realize that 4,000 people took up that much room. The participation blew me away.”

exciting new twist on the omega concern mythology