The return of The Walking Dead

I can’t wait until Valentine’s Day because that is the day my true love returns. I am not talking about my husband – I am talking about AMC’s The Walking Dead.  My love affair with The Walking Dead started in the summer of 2014 when Dr. Alicia Crosby showed the pilot episode as part of a cult film course.   Because I am not someone who is into video games or graphic novels, I had never watched what I just assumed would be a zombie gore-fest.  Just ten minutes into the video, I discovered that my assumption was “dead” wrong. It turned out to be about people, community, and adapting under the worst imaginable circumstances.   So I went home and binge-watched the entire series on demand so I could catch up before the season premier.  I have now become a devoted and enthusiastic viewer with a desire to learn to use a cross-bow.                                                                   

In an interview, Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman said, “Zombies are inherently about people. Your average vampire or werewolf is about a supernatural monster that’s completely unrelatable.  But zombie stories are about human struggle, which is relatable to anybody. And I also think zombies are a physical embodiment of death, which is a fear we all have.”   Yes, the show is set in the aftermath of the zombie apocalypse but the show’s title can be seen as a reference to the survivors as well as the zombies because what it means to be human is forever altered once the virus is unleashed.

 

Take the quiz to see if you can survive

Blogger Dan Birlew writes “The zombie apocalypse scenario changes all the rules for the people who must live on afterwards.” Those who continue to survive are in constant danger, not only from the threat posed by the “walkers” but also from other survivors - everyone knows what the zombies want but it is difficult to determine the motives of the remaining human population.   Sanity and morality erode. The stress is unimaginable.  Surviving depends on doing whatever is necessary coupled with luck. But there’s no way to determine if the characters are behaving appropriately because there is no situation like their horrific experiences that we can use as a yardstick.  What defines a hero or a villain?

“If our understanding of what it means to be human is constantly betrayed by the disappointment of pernicious actions and schemes of others, why continue on with any human values at all?” – Loren-Paul Caplin

 

Each episode brings a fair amount of death –a reality in a zombie apocalypse- and neither Kirkman nor producer Scott Gimple is opposed to killing off major characters in order to further the plot.  So, it seems irresponsible, even perhaps a bit cruel, to bring a child into a world filled with so much inhumanity.  Not to mention the fact that babies cry.  Noise attracts the “walkers” so a newborn poses danger for the entire group.  Nevertheless the birth of baby Judith, nicknamed Little Asskicker, symbolized the hope that life will go on and the world will adapt.  She will never know a time without “walkers” so she will not be as emotionally damaged as her older brother. I can’t wait for the new season to begin now that Maggie is expecting a child.  

5 Scientific Reasons a Zombie Apocalypse Could Actually Happen

 

While the zombie apocalypse may be the stuff of science fiction, the concept ties in quite well with emergency preparedness. As a result, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) hosts a zombie preparedness blog on its website.  What started out as a humorous campaign to promote emergency preparedness evolved into an effective platform for getting the public to think about emergency preparedness before disasters like hurricanes or pandemics occur. The blog uses The Walking Dead to illustrate the need for planning before it's too late.

 

 

Zombies have become quite popular in the media.  In addition to The Walking Dead, there is the spin-off Fear the Walking Dead, the CW’s iZombie, and SyFy’s Z Nation – not to mention movies like World War Z and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.  Robert Kirkman believes that this zombie popularity reflects our culture. “ [The] current world climate and situations that are on the news today kind of give people an overwhelming sense of dread about their everyday lives. It means that Walking Dead can be a way to sit down and experience those feelings of fear and dread in a manageable way. Like, I’m working through my issues of worrying about if my boss is going to lay me off because [things are] not going well at the company by worrying about Daryl Dixon dying because zombies are attacking him.”