Zombies As American Zeitgeist Proxies

blackbearnh writes "No doubt, there will be more than a few brain-munching glassy-eyed zombies showing up on the typical doorstep tonight, demanding brains, brains, brains, or at least some Milk Duds. But according to this essay over on Forbes.com, zombies are more than just the trendy monster on the block, they are to Americans what Godzilla is to Japanese: a personification of our fear of science and technology. 'It seems you can't throw a half-eaten cerebrum these days without hitting a posse of zombies brought to life by some kind of biological mishap (28 Days Later, Resident Evil, Planet Terror, Quarantine). Like Godzilla, zombies keep up with the times, always ready to mirror whatever aspect of science and technology people feel most uncertain about at the moment.'"

Comments

Not necessarily of US origin..

[Dr_Barnowl]

Both 28 Days Later and Resident Evil were made respectively by a UK director (in the UK), and by a UK company (FilmFour)....

Re:Not necessarily of US origin..

[__aagctu1952]

Both 28 Days Later and Resident Evil were made respectively by a UK director (in the UK), and by a UK company (FilmFour)....

And "Quarantine" is a remake of a Spanish movie, [Rec].

Re:Not necessarily of US origin..

[spymagician]

Both 28 Days Later and Resident Evil were made respectively by a UK director (in the UK), and by a UK company (FilmFour)....

Resident Evil (film) was based loosely on the Capcom (Japanese) videogame series Biohazard (Resident Evil in the US). The original games were intentional homages to classic zombie and "science-gone-awry" films and stories, although the latest installments have moved away from that somewhat.

Re:Not necessarily of US origin..

[Jah-Wren Ryel]

Zombie Strippers

Re:Way to over-analyze, Forbes

[Philip K Dickhead]

> For your next trick, can I get an article about how movie vampires represent world-wide fear of religion?

How about a scary story about the American, Kennedy - it includes a body, the real "un-dead" and even... brains.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steven-m-gillon/a-new-wrinkle-in-the-jfk_b_339026.html

According to the newly declassified transcript, Mrs. Kennedy was becoming desperate to leave. "Mrs. Kennedy was getting very warm, she had blood all over her hat, her coat...his brains were sticking on her hat. It was dreadful," McHugh said. She pleaded with him to get the plane off the ground. "Please, let's leave," she said. McHugh jumped up and used the phone near the rear compartment to call Captain James Swindal. "Let's leave," he said. Swindal responded: "I can't do it. I have orders to wait."

Re:Oh, FFS

[ruiner13]

Then they'll come back (they always come back ...)

that's because you didn't shoot them in the head! Double-tap, man!

Re:Way to over-analyze, Forbes

[hey!]

Actually, vampires represent two things.

A few years ago I read an interesting book of bona fide vampire legends collected by a professional folklorist, and he makes a convincing argument that nearly all such real legends (as opposed to literary creations) are associated with events consistent with and strongly suggesting tuberculosis outbreaks. It fits: the increasing pallor and weakness, the slow decline of one, then another family member. In rural populations a single family member might bring the disease back, dooming the entire family, but their neighbors would be hardly exposed at all, giving an effect much like a curse on a single family.

So vampires represent infectious disease in the true folk imagination.

A long time ago I read an account by a psychologist who believed that people have a latent fear that the dead will return to life. He convinced a local funeral parlor owner to offer locks on caskets as an option and they sold extremely well.

So the second thing vampires represent might well be ... fear of vampires.

Re:Fear of Science and Technology?

[Zak3056]

Now, I suspect if you surveyed a lot of people, most of them know of the Zombies - Brains connection, but most of those think it's something from original myths and legends, not George Romero.

IIRC, both they, and you, would be wrong. :) The "Brains" connection comes not from Romero's zombie movies, but from the "Return of the Living Dead" series, which is unrelated.