I don't think that I can necessarily agree with what is being said about this though. Zombies are merely a silly horror creature. No different then the Werewolves, and Witches of the world. They in my opinion do not represent such a strong impact on our society. We all have faced great emotion with all the horrific occurrences in and out of our country and we are all skeptical and fearful with what could happen in the future, but I highly doubt that this os portrayed though a Zombie. I do not see how something so positively looked upon and so popular can be in the same light be associated with such horrible on goings. Zombies are such a horrible, cannibalistic, no escaping them monster how could you possibly associate that with destruction to our country. Having said this let me explain.Yes, we have had horrific and devastating events happen to us and our people but how can you compare when we have won wars, rebuilt countries, come together as a nation, sacrificed our own comforts to help others in need, and continued to become a stronger nation. I think even with our downfalls we cannot be look upon as weak. And in my opinion placing a Zombie in the mess of things is doing just that.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zombie
Zombies are definitely so popular in movies and books right now, and they have been for a while. I do believe that the whole zombie thing has really been played up, making it just foolishness especially during Halloween. I kind of see how the writer compared it to our world now and the events that have gone on. I think it is more of a depiction of demons myself.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it is a strange metaphor to use, considering the graphic nature of what happens in zombie movies, but I do agree with it's representation of societies fears (stress fear, not facts). Bishop said, "Initially, zombie movies shocked audiences with their unfamiliar images; today, however, they are more shocking because of their familiarity." He is simply stating that after all the images we've seen from 9-11, hurricane Katrina, and the war over seas, that the scenes of deserted streets, and fight or flight survival portrayed in zombie movies is frighteningly familiar. Also, that some of the most popular zombie movies were literally written with that shock in mind.
ReplyDeleteI agree, the article was very interesting. I think he made a great point in connecting the simalarity between the rising and falling of popularity of zombie movies and the level of fear of the United States people. But seriously, it is a bit comical to make such comparrison.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your response, and strongly agree. I do see how people can make Zombies symbolize things in our country, and in some areas they do make a perfect fit. But when you think about it, Zombies are meaningless creations of one's imagination. You can't make them symbolize major events that seriously effect the lives of people. That to me is just disrespectful. If the movie makers do mean to have the Zombies symbolize terrible trajedies then I think they should take a good look at themselves. Their morals could use some looking into, and maybe they should try to look at their "symbols" they way people effected by trajedy would. Overall I think that they are just a mere form of entertainment, they might fit into roles of symbolism but when looked into deeper, they just don't work out.
ReplyDeleteBravo! an excellent post!
ReplyDeleteI would like to agree with you on the impact of zombies, however, I would also like to point out their effectiveness in driving home a serious point. In my opinion, movies are a reflection of reality, be it in science fiction, horror or romance. Zombies are just one way of making a punchline on whatever topic may be at hand. Be it ostracized people coming back to take revenge or scientific impropriety creating an outbreak of Zobieitis (coined by me to mean inflammation of the social order by zombies :), zombies are just another tool at the disposal of the movie directors. And I must say, it is very effective. Keep up the good work! We are almost done!
I thought this was very interesting too and I think what made it a successful analysis of zombies is that you can argue with it and totally disagree and yet still see the author's point. I also have a little trouble seeing how the zombie's themselves represent some of the things mentioned, but one thing I do agree with is that the way they are portrayed and the circumstances surrounding them (infections, cannibalism, etc.) have changed with the changing of major cultural fears.
ReplyDeleteYou had a very different opinion on zombies, and I think I would agree. It does seems as though zombies movies were on the rise after traumatic events, but that does not necessarily mean that zombies directly tie into the horrible things that have happened in the past. I think that zombies are liked because people like to think, "Would I survive a zombie apocalypse?" and no you probably would not, because like the article said, the police and army would be all over that in a heartbeat. Great post!
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