The Zombie Genre Isn't Dead
I've had a few interesting conversations with various groups and individuals over the last few days, and the blissful realization has finally hit me - the zombie genre isn't dead. Undead, and crawling over the corpse of paranormal romance maybe, but far from cooling on the slab.
An interesting point was brought up in a discussion yesterday - why is zombie literature becoming so popular at present?
It's an interesting question, but I think the explanation is a little more complex than a simple three-word answer - 'because it is!'
Over the decades, it seems that readers connect with literature - particularly horror - that strikes a chord with the reality in which they dwell. No, I don't mean that intergalactic space-dwellers from Dimension X are a big fan of cookbooks - I mean that people like to read and explore some of their deepest fears in literature to come to a better understanding of the situations that make them afraid.
Looking back, it's easy to see why post-apocalyptic fiction used to be so incredibly popular. With the advent of nuclear power, came the advent of nuclear weapons - and not necessarily in that order. People had seen the devestating effects of the blasts in Japan, and the subsequent problems arising from localized fallout.
It's no great stretch to see why then when theories arose about the outcome of a global nuclear war why there were so many 'cozy catastrophies' written about a world-wide nuclear apocalypse. The stories were usually far from dealing with a true end of the world, but more referring to 'the end of the world as we know it.' The survivors would be thrust into a horrific scenario - the worst fear of the reading public - but would somehow find a away to adapt and change to better reside and continue life in the wasteland.
When oil scarcity was a real threat, there was a section of literature dedicated to dealing with the end of fossil fuels. At the time, living without carbon-based oil was unthinkable - how could people get around? How would materials be shipped? It makes sense that people were afraid before any green-alternatives had become more fully realized.
When the environment became the hot issue, we saw global warming taking hold, nuclear winters and second ice-ages playing second fiddle. With terrorist attacks, we saw a huge rise in military fiction and movies.
So how do zombies play into this?
Well, for me the answer is simple. Zombies represent, to some in any case, the ultimate doomsday scenario where the planet is left intact. People know what it feels like after Hurricane Katrina and SARS to be afraid of society really falling apart in earnest, with nothing else to hold on to but their own wits and survival means.
Think of the military buffs - what is more terrifying than a foe that gets stronger in a direct relationship with casualities inflicted on your troops? Every one you lose becomes one of their number, without question. The opponents are self-contained one-man armies, never needing to sleep, eat, rest or relent. They have no communication networks to sabatoge and no supply caravans to interrupt. You cut off a zombies arm, and it will come at you just the same as it had before. You break its back, and it will crawl towards you without batting a glazed eye.
For me, it's easy to see - we all want to have some kind of reassurance that even after such a horrific event like the zombie apocalypse that life has a possiblity of continuing, if even only for a few select individuals. If someone can make it through the zom-pocalypse, then everything else should be easy. Pandemics may come, but they don't turn your wife into a slavering attack machine. Nuclear war may become a reality, but it isn't going to scratch and your doors and windows until the nails fall from its fingers before hammering on the walls with the stubs.
Zombie horror is only just beginning to become popular, but I don't see the trend decreasing anytime soon.
Get out there, and read yourself a zombie novel. Who knows? Will the dead rise tomorrow?
Cheers,
IDGS
Grey Dogs: Zombie Survival
An interesting point was brought up in a discussion yesterday - why is zombie literature becoming so popular at present?
It's an interesting question, but I think the explanation is a little more complex than a simple three-word answer - 'because it is!'
Over the decades, it seems that readers connect with literature - particularly horror - that strikes a chord with the reality in which they dwell. No, I don't mean that intergalactic space-dwellers from Dimension X are a big fan of cookbooks - I mean that people like to read and explore some of their deepest fears in literature to come to a better understanding of the situations that make them afraid.
Looking back, it's easy to see why post-apocalyptic fiction used to be so incredibly popular. With the advent of nuclear power, came the advent of nuclear weapons - and not necessarily in that order. People had seen the devestating effects of the blasts in Japan, and the subsequent problems arising from localized fallout.
It's no great stretch to see why then when theories arose about the outcome of a global nuclear war why there were so many 'cozy catastrophies' written about a world-wide nuclear apocalypse. The stories were usually far from dealing with a true end of the world, but more referring to 'the end of the world as we know it.' The survivors would be thrust into a horrific scenario - the worst fear of the reading public - but would somehow find a away to adapt and change to better reside and continue life in the wasteland.
When oil scarcity was a real threat, there was a section of literature dedicated to dealing with the end of fossil fuels. At the time, living without carbon-based oil was unthinkable - how could people get around? How would materials be shipped? It makes sense that people were afraid before any green-alternatives had become more fully realized.
When the environment became the hot issue, we saw global warming taking hold, nuclear winters and second ice-ages playing second fiddle. With terrorist attacks, we saw a huge rise in military fiction and movies.
So how do zombies play into this?
Well, for me the answer is simple. Zombies represent, to some in any case, the ultimate doomsday scenario where the planet is left intact. People know what it feels like after Hurricane Katrina and SARS to be afraid of society really falling apart in earnest, with nothing else to hold on to but their own wits and survival means.
Think of the military buffs - what is more terrifying than a foe that gets stronger in a direct relationship with casualities inflicted on your troops? Every one you lose becomes one of their number, without question. The opponents are self-contained one-man armies, never needing to sleep, eat, rest or relent. They have no communication networks to sabatoge and no supply caravans to interrupt. You cut off a zombies arm, and it will come at you just the same as it had before. You break its back, and it will crawl towards you without batting a glazed eye.
For me, it's easy to see - we all want to have some kind of reassurance that even after such a horrific event like the zombie apocalypse that life has a possiblity of continuing, if even only for a few select individuals. If someone can make it through the zom-pocalypse, then everything else should be easy. Pandemics may come, but they don't turn your wife into a slavering attack machine. Nuclear war may become a reality, but it isn't going to scratch and your doors and windows until the nails fall from its fingers before hammering on the walls with the stubs.
Zombie horror is only just beginning to become popular, but I don't see the trend decreasing anytime soon.
Get out there, and read yourself a zombie novel. Who knows? Will the dead rise tomorrow?
Cheers,
IDGS
Grey Dogs: Zombie Survival
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