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Zombies: A Cultural History
Add a gurgling moan with the sound of dragging feet and a smell of decay and what do you get? Better not find out. The zombie has roamed with dead-eyed menace from its beginnings in obscure folklore and superstition to global status today, the star of films such as 28 Days Later , World War Z , and the outrageously successful comic book, TV series, and video game— The Walking Dead . In this brain-gripping history, Roger Luckhurst traces the permutations of the zombie through our culture and imaginations, examining the undead’s ability to remain defiantly alive.
Luckhurst follows a trail that leads from the nineteenth-century Caribbean, through American pulp fiction of the 1920s, to the middle of the twentieth century, when zombies swarmed comic books and movie screens. From there he follows the zombie around the world, tracing the vectors of its infectious global spread from France to Australia, Brazil to Japan. Stitching together materials from anthropology, folklore, travel writings, colonial histories, popular literature and cinema, medical history, and cultural theory, Zombies is the definitive short introduction to these restless pulp monsters.
Luckhurst follows a trail that leads from the nineteenth-century Caribbean, through American pulp fiction of the 1920s, to the middle of the twentieth century, when zombies swarmed comic books and movie screens. From there he follows the zombie around the world, tracing the vectors of its infectious global spread from France to Australia, Brazil to Japan. Stitching together materials from anthropology, folklore, travel writings, colonial histories, popular literature and cinema, medical history, and cultural theory, Zombies is the definitive short introduction to these restless pulp monsters.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published September 15, 2015
19 people are currently reading
297 people want to read
About the author
Roger Luckhurst
62 books44 followersRoger Luckhurst is a British writer and academic. He is Professor in Modern and Contemporary Literature in the Department of English and Humanities at Birkbeck, University of London and was Distinguished Visiting Professor at Columbia University in 2016. He works on Victorian literature, contemporary literature, Gothic and weird fiction, trauma studies, and speculative/science fiction.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
January 27, 2019
This is one hell of a book. Forget the rot shambling walking dead of pop culture, this book takes readers back to where it all began... the Zombi in Haiti, one born of voodoo and near death plantation workers.
Zombi (yes I've dropped the 'e' deliberately) is the pre-Americanized name associated with the shambling, shuffling dead; scuffing feat on the pavement and leaving blood smears wherever they go.
Before they were herd, before they were legion, 'they' were one; a sole person suffering between life and death, commonly associated with other monsters of the night such as vampires and to a lesser extent, mummies. There's even a picture in this book of a single 'real life zombi' - spoiler alert, whilst thought to be legitimate at the time (1938), this zombi is just a person, albeit, a person in very poor health (for those interested, her name is Felicia-Felix-Mentor).
The cultural history is a little complex at times with social economical threads being pulled, capitalism, and politics weaved into the author's narrative but it all works - if you're patient and read slowly. Consume the book, don't be consumer by it.
Interestingly the herd or swarm mentality of the zombi didn't grace the pages of fiction or reels of film until post WWII. Other interesting factoids include the rise of medicine in correlation to the zombie (yes, I switched to the modern spelling here), and some insightful take-away's from George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead (1968).
Overall, Zombies: A Cultural History is a great read. Whilst I can't give it 5/5 stars (partly due to over-referencing World War Z in the later stages of the book) it's a solid 4/5 and a must read for fans of the zombie pop culture who want to know more about where this blood/meat thirsty phenomenon came from.
Review originally appeared on my blog: https://justaguywholikes2read.blogspo...
Zombi (yes I've dropped the 'e' deliberately) is the pre-Americanized name associated with the shambling, shuffling dead; scuffing feat on the pavement and leaving blood smears wherever they go.
Before they were herd, before they were legion, 'they' were one; a sole person suffering between life and death, commonly associated with other monsters of the night such as vampires and to a lesser extent, mummies. There's even a picture in this book of a single 'real life zombi' - spoiler alert, whilst thought to be legitimate at the time (1938), this zombi is just a person, albeit, a person in very poor health (for those interested, her name is Felicia-Felix-Mentor).
The cultural history is a little complex at times with social economical threads being pulled, capitalism, and politics weaved into the author's narrative but it all works - if you're patient and read slowly. Consume the book, don't be consumer by it.
Interestingly the herd or swarm mentality of the zombi didn't grace the pages of fiction or reels of film until post WWII. Other interesting factoids include the rise of medicine in correlation to the zombie (yes, I switched to the modern spelling here), and some insightful take-away's from George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead (1968).
Overall, Zombies: A Cultural History is a great read. Whilst I can't give it 5/5 stars (partly due to over-referencing World War Z in the later stages of the book) it's a solid 4/5 and a must read for fans of the zombie pop culture who want to know more about where this blood/meat thirsty phenomenon came from.
Review originally appeared on my blog: https://justaguywholikes2read.blogspo...
January 5, 2019
Zombi canlı görünen bir ölü veya ölmüş olan bir canlı kişidir. Zombi bir yerin ruhu da olabilir, genellikle kötüdür ve teskin edilmesi gerekir.
Zombi sözcüğünün on altıncı yüz yıldan itibaren Afrika, Avrupa ve Amerika kıtası arasındaki köle ticaretinin ürünü olan bir inanç sisteminden doğduğunu biliyor muydunuz?
Birkbeck Üniversitesinde İngiliz Dili ve İnsani Bilimler bölümünde profesör olan Roger Luckhurst 'ın bu enteresan kitabını okumaya başladığımda açıkçası fazla bir beklentim yoktu. Eğlenceli, çerez bir zombi kitabı bekliyordum. Karşıma beklentimin çok ötesinde, inanılmaz derinlikte bir araştırma kitabı çıktı. Zombi ve vampir mitlerinin kökenine inmek için kitapta Karayipler'e ve Haiti'ye uzanıyor, Afrika dillerini inceliyor, (ndzumbi: Gobon'un Mitsogo dilinde ceset, nzambi: Kongo dilinde ölen birinin ruhu, zumbi: Kikongo dilinde fetiş veya hayalet, jumbee: Jamaika folklorunda değişmiş varlıklar) sömürgecilik ve kölelik hakkında çarpıcı bilgiler ediniyor, ilk bilim kurgu hikayelerine göz atıyor, pulp edebiyatı irdeliyor ve 1930ların Hollywood filmlerinden günümüzün filmlerine ve dizilerine kadar pek çok şeyi ayrıntısıyla okuyoruz.
Kitaptan güzel bir alıntı ile sonlandırayım incelemeyi:
Zombi nereye yolculuk ederse etsin yerel inançlara sirayet eder ve sınırdaki söylenti, batıl inanç ve hikaye anlatıcılığı dünyalarında mutasyon geçirir. Bu esnada aktarım izlerini üzerinden atarak yerel korku ve hayret ekonomilerine gömülür. Nihayetinde tek bir açıklamaya indirgenebilecek basit bir metafor değildir zombi. Her hali dikkat gerektirir ve kolayca yorumlanabilecek olsaydı bu kadar karmaşık toplumsal gerçekleri özetleyemeyeceğinin bilinmesi gerekir. Zombi işte bu yüzden ısıra ısıra ilerleyerek şaşırtıcı ölçüde çeşitli pratiklere ve söylemlere girmeyi başarmış, düşünce disiplinleri arasındaki sınırları belirleyen çitleri iterek aşmış, son yüz yıl boyunca amansızca ilerleyerek çok sayıda beyni yeyip yutmuştur. Yürüyen ölüler hareket halinde bir hedef, kolayca yakalanmaya direnen bir gizemdir. Bu virüsü hala kapmadıysanız söylecek tek bir şey var: Senin için geliyorlar Barbara!
Zombi sözcüğünün on altıncı yüz yıldan itibaren Afrika, Avrupa ve Amerika kıtası arasındaki köle ticaretinin ürünü olan bir inanç sisteminden doğduğunu biliyor muydunuz?
Birkbeck Üniversitesinde İngiliz Dili ve İnsani Bilimler bölümünde profesör olan Roger Luckhurst 'ın bu enteresan kitabını okumaya başladığımda açıkçası fazla bir beklentim yoktu. Eğlenceli, çerez bir zombi kitabı bekliyordum. Karşıma beklentimin çok ötesinde, inanılmaz derinlikte bir araştırma kitabı çıktı. Zombi ve vampir mitlerinin kökenine inmek için kitapta Karayipler'e ve Haiti'ye uzanıyor, Afrika dillerini inceliyor, (ndzumbi: Gobon'un Mitsogo dilinde ceset, nzambi: Kongo dilinde ölen birinin ruhu, zumbi: Kikongo dilinde fetiş veya hayalet, jumbee: Jamaika folklorunda değişmiş varlıklar) sömürgecilik ve kölelik hakkında çarpıcı bilgiler ediniyor, ilk bilim kurgu hikayelerine göz atıyor, pulp edebiyatı irdeliyor ve 1930ların Hollywood filmlerinden günümüzün filmlerine ve dizilerine kadar pek çok şeyi ayrıntısıyla okuyoruz.
Kitaptan güzel bir alıntı ile sonlandırayım incelemeyi:
Zombi nereye yolculuk ederse etsin yerel inançlara sirayet eder ve sınırdaki söylenti, batıl inanç ve hikaye anlatıcılığı dünyalarında mutasyon geçirir. Bu esnada aktarım izlerini üzerinden atarak yerel korku ve hayret ekonomilerine gömülür. Nihayetinde tek bir açıklamaya indirgenebilecek basit bir metafor değildir zombi. Her hali dikkat gerektirir ve kolayca yorumlanabilecek olsaydı bu kadar karmaşık toplumsal gerçekleri özetleyemeyeceğinin bilinmesi gerekir. Zombi işte bu yüzden ısıra ısıra ilerleyerek şaşırtıcı ölçüde çeşitli pratiklere ve söylemlere girmeyi başarmış, düşünce disiplinleri arasındaki sınırları belirleyen çitleri iterek aşmış, son yüz yıl boyunca amansızca ilerleyerek çok sayıda beyni yeyip yutmuştur. Yürüyen ölüler hareket halinde bir hedef, kolayca yakalanmaya direnen bir gizemdir. Bu virüsü hala kapmadıysanız söylecek tek bir şey var: Senin için geliyorlar Barbara!
August 4, 2021
A really good source for all your zombie needs from the origins to the movies and shows in pop culture.
October 13, 2015
I've heard Roger speak several times and he's always interesting to listen to. I read his book on the mummies curse and enjoyed it greatly, so picked up a copy of this recently. The book is an interesting and well researched look at the rise of the zombie in 20th and 21st century culture. What Roger covers is interesting but I felt like there were quite a few gaps in his research that deserved to have been further filled in.
The book starts with the early 20th century exploration of Voodoo and Zombies in the context of colonialism. To me this was by far the most interesting part of the book. I hadn't considered the colonial implications before and it was fascinating to see the way that race, and America's portrayal of a country they were trying to take over influenced the discussions. It was a little disheartening to see that the only woman of colour to write on the topic was dismissed by the white male academics. In these stories it wasn't the zombies who were terrifying but the attitude of the white colonialists that was truly horrendous.
From the original "anthropological" interpretations Roger then went on to look at the way the zombie was fictionalised in pulp stories and early films. Likewise this was also very interesting and stuck with the colonial roots and exposed the racism of these early interpretations. Unfortunately, beyond the names and a couple examples the world of comics was largely ignored, this was a shame, particularly as I think it was the world of comics that bridged the gap between the two sections of the pulp zombie in the early 20th century and the reinvention by Romero into the flesh eating zombie hordes we all think of today.
The weakest part of the book to me was the link between these two quite different zombie interpretations. Roger mentions the horror of concentration camp victims and the horror of the nuclear bombs in Japan, but neither of these quite fit with the new interpretation, they are not hoards and they aren't ghouls. He mentions that in fact the Zombies in Dawn of the Dead are more ghouls than zombies, but he doesn't tie in the traditions in anyway, besides one line.
His look at the modern zombie focuses almost entirely on film. While discussing the modern interpretations such as World War Z and the Walking Dead he barely discusses their original print versions as both book and comic. Indeed in the later chapters no mention of zombies in comics is included, which considering the Walking Dead comic is significantly more graphic than the tv series, it should be worth examining. Likewise the WWZ book was focusing on survival after the event, rather than simply the apocalypse as it happened.
The other thing he seemed to ignore was that the focus in Romero's films was always that the humans were the villains not the zombies. He mentions how people dress up as zombies for zombie walks, but fails to address why there is this attraction. Zombies are talked of as infection, but fails to pick up on the horror that they are also our friends, neighbours and loved ones. While he discusses a lot of different world wide interpretations of the modern zombie film, he misses the new wave in zombie literature, of the thinking and self aware zombie. That is being carried out in later Romero films, comics and most interestingly in Mike Carey's The girl with all the gifts. He mentions that the zombie is copying patterns, but fails to identify this as a development in the zombie myth. A change from the mindless hordes into the self aware and reasoning undead.
This was an interesting book and I found this historical perspective fascinating. It had some limitations but was still enjoyable.
The book starts with the early 20th century exploration of Voodoo and Zombies in the context of colonialism. To me this was by far the most interesting part of the book. I hadn't considered the colonial implications before and it was fascinating to see the way that race, and America's portrayal of a country they were trying to take over influenced the discussions. It was a little disheartening to see that the only woman of colour to write on the topic was dismissed by the white male academics. In these stories it wasn't the zombies who were terrifying but the attitude of the white colonialists that was truly horrendous.
From the original "anthropological" interpretations Roger then went on to look at the way the zombie was fictionalised in pulp stories and early films. Likewise this was also very interesting and stuck with the colonial roots and exposed the racism of these early interpretations. Unfortunately, beyond the names and a couple examples the world of comics was largely ignored, this was a shame, particularly as I think it was the world of comics that bridged the gap between the two sections of the pulp zombie in the early 20th century and the reinvention by Romero into the flesh eating zombie hordes we all think of today.
The weakest part of the book to me was the link between these two quite different zombie interpretations. Roger mentions the horror of concentration camp victims and the horror of the nuclear bombs in Japan, but neither of these quite fit with the new interpretation, they are not hoards and they aren't ghouls. He mentions that in fact the Zombies in Dawn of the Dead are more ghouls than zombies, but he doesn't tie in the traditions in anyway, besides one line.
His look at the modern zombie focuses almost entirely on film. While discussing the modern interpretations such as World War Z and the Walking Dead he barely discusses their original print versions as both book and comic. Indeed in the later chapters no mention of zombies in comics is included, which considering the Walking Dead comic is significantly more graphic than the tv series, it should be worth examining. Likewise the WWZ book was focusing on survival after the event, rather than simply the apocalypse as it happened.
The other thing he seemed to ignore was that the focus in Romero's films was always that the humans were the villains not the zombies. He mentions how people dress up as zombies for zombie walks, but fails to address why there is this attraction. Zombies are talked of as infection, but fails to pick up on the horror that they are also our friends, neighbours and loved ones. While he discusses a lot of different world wide interpretations of the modern zombie film, he misses the new wave in zombie literature, of the thinking and self aware zombie. That is being carried out in later Romero films, comics and most interestingly in Mike Carey's The girl with all the gifts. He mentions that the zombie is copying patterns, but fails to identify this as a development in the zombie myth. A change from the mindless hordes into the self aware and reasoning undead.
This was an interesting book and I found this historical perspective fascinating. It had some limitations but was still enjoyable.
November 19, 2019
"They are the perfect emblem of decline coupled with denial: the zombie condition of the Western world unwilling to face itself after the peak of its power.".
The history part is very interesting, the rest is complete bullshit disguised in academese and literary theory jargon. His connections are tortured, his arguments are stretched. I often disagree with him or find the connections too far-fetched, but big chunks of the book are enjoyable due to the historical and anthropological perspective and/or anecdotes.
He has an axe to grind and it becomes tedious after a while: "Wherever it comes to stop, the zombie is still branded by the murderous history of slavery and colonial dispossession that underpins its origins.".
The history part is very interesting, the rest is complete bullshit disguised in academese and literary theory jargon. His connections are tortured, his arguments are stretched. I often disagree with him or find the connections too far-fetched, but big chunks of the book are enjoyable due to the historical and anthropological perspective and/or anecdotes.
He has an axe to grind and it becomes tedious after a while: "Wherever it comes to stop, the zombie is still branded by the murderous history of slavery and colonial dispossession that underpins its origins.".
March 27, 2022
The author treats the transition from Caribbean zombi to American zombie with such detail and care that the rest of the zombie’s cultural history suffers in comparison. I’d like to read a history that hit each of the major transition points with equal regard.
December 20, 2024
Zombi kelimesi, tarihi, kültürü hakkında daha kapsamlı nasıl bir çalışma yapılabilirdi bilmiyorum. Kitap Amerika'daki sömürgecilikten ve köleleştirmekten başlıyor. Yazarımız da İngiliz bir profesör. Bu sebeple başlarında acaba kendine iltimas geçer mi diye düşündüm fakat büyük bir mutlulukla yanıldım. Tamamen bir akademisyen titizliği ile hazırlanan bir çalışma olmuş. Tabii ki bir makale değil, kitap olması dolayısıyla da zaman zaman kendi fikirlerine yer vermiş ve bu tarih boyunca gerçekten zulüm uygulamış kişilere de hicvetmekte, yermekte geri durmamış. Fakat kitap kesinlikle objektif bir biçimde yazılmış. Zulüm yapan kimse, ırkçılık, sömürgecilik yapan, köleleştiren kimse hiçbirine iltimas göstermemiş. Bu yönden de çok tatmin edici.
Okudukça şaşırdığın, insanların zulmüne sinirlendiğin, bilgilendiğin ve hiç aklına gelmeyecek bağlantıları görüp çok mantıklı diye diye ilerlediğin bir kitap. Okuması da bir o kadar zevkli bu ve bunun gibi sebeplerle.
Kitaba dair tek eleştirim çevirmenine. Yazarın yüksek ihtimal akademisyen olmasından da kaynaklı zaten çok kolay bir dili yok. Ama buna rağmen çevirmen de bunu kolaylaştırmak için hiçbir çaba harcamamış. Üstüne, olabilecek en bilinmeyen, uzak anlamını kullanmış diye düşünüyorum kelimelerin.
Ayrıca gönül isterdi ki bu kitap pandemiden sonra yayınlanmış olsaydı. Çünkü salgınlarla alakalı da çokça kısımlar var. Yazarın pandemi sonrası kitaba ne gibi eklemeler yapabilecek oluşu ben de büyük meraklar doğuruyor.
Okudukça şaşırdığın, insanların zulmüne sinirlendiğin, bilgilendiğin ve hiç aklına gelmeyecek bağlantıları görüp çok mantıklı diye diye ilerlediğin bir kitap. Okuması da bir o kadar zevkli bu ve bunun gibi sebeplerle.
Kitaba dair tek eleştirim çevirmenine. Yazarın yüksek ihtimal akademisyen olmasından da kaynaklı zaten çok kolay bir dili yok. Ama buna rağmen çevirmen de bunu kolaylaştırmak için hiçbir çaba harcamamış. Üstüne, olabilecek en bilinmeyen, uzak anlamını kullanmış diye düşünüyorum kelimelerin.
Ayrıca gönül isterdi ki bu kitap pandemiden sonra yayınlanmış olsaydı. Çünkü salgınlarla alakalı da çokça kısımlar var. Yazarın pandemi sonrası kitaba ne gibi eklemeler yapabilecek oluşu ben de büyük meraklar doğuruyor.
September 17, 2018
Zombileri bilirsiniz. Doğaüstü veya sözde bilimsel bir el çabukluğu marifetiyle gelen yaşayan ölülere zombi denir. Zombiler konuşmazlar, beyinsizdirler, zombiye dönüşmeden önceki hayatlarını veya bağlılıklarını hatırlamazlar, kayıtsız bir kalabalığa katılarak ve sayıca katlanarak büyürler. Bulaşıcı bir hastalığa benzerler, anlamsız fakat doymak bilmez açlıkları ile son canlıya kadar silip süpürmek ve nüfuz alanlarını kıyamet gününe dek genişletmek isterler.
Zombi nereye yolculuk ederse etsin yerel inançlara sirayet eder ve sınırdaki söylenti, batıl inanç ve hikaye anlatıcılığı dünyalarında mutasyon geçirir. Bu esnada aktarım izlerini üzerinden atarak yerel korku ve hayret ekonomilerine gömülür. Nihayetinde tek bir açıklamaya indirgenebilecek basit bir metafor değildir zombi. Her hali dikkat gerektirir ve kolayca yorumlanabilir olsaydı bu kadar karmaşık toplumsal gerçekleri özetleyemeyeceğinin bilinmesi gerekir. Zombi işte bu yüzden ısıra ısıra ilerleyerek şaşırtıcı ölçüde çeşitli pratiklere ve söylemlere girmeyi başarmış, düşünce disiplinleri arasındaki sınırları belirleyen çitleri iterek aşmış, son 100 yıl boyunca amansızca ilerleyerek çok sayıda beyni yiyip yutmuştur.
Yürüyen Ölüler hareket halinde bir hedef, kolayca yakalanmaya direnen bir gizemdir. Bu virüsü hâlâ kapmadıysanız söylenecek tek bir şey bir şey var: "Senin için geliyorlar."
Zombi nereye yolculuk ederse etsin yerel inançlara sirayet eder ve sınırdaki söylenti, batıl inanç ve hikaye anlatıcılığı dünyalarında mutasyon geçirir. Bu esnada aktarım izlerini üzerinden atarak yerel korku ve hayret ekonomilerine gömülür. Nihayetinde tek bir açıklamaya indirgenebilecek basit bir metafor değildir zombi. Her hali dikkat gerektirir ve kolayca yorumlanabilir olsaydı bu kadar karmaşık toplumsal gerçekleri özetleyemeyeceğinin bilinmesi gerekir. Zombi işte bu yüzden ısıra ısıra ilerleyerek şaşırtıcı ölçüde çeşitli pratiklere ve söylemlere girmeyi başarmış, düşünce disiplinleri arasındaki sınırları belirleyen çitleri iterek aşmış, son 100 yıl boyunca amansızca ilerleyerek çok sayıda beyni yiyip yutmuştur.
Yürüyen Ölüler hareket halinde bir hedef, kolayca yakalanmaya direnen bir gizemdir. Bu virüsü hâlâ kapmadıysanız söylenecek tek bir şey bir şey var: "Senin için geliyorlar."
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 25, 2025
It is a very-well written work centered around the figure of the zombie; starting from its Haitian origion to modern day representations.
Luckhurst looks at how zombie has emerged from the roots of slavery and voodoo practices and then focuses on the zombie as a cultural construct.
The book offers an endless list to extra materials which I crucillay need to read some of them. Absolute masterpiece, I love it
Luckhurst looks at how zombie has emerged from the roots of slavery and voodoo practices and then focuses on the zombie as a cultural construct.
The book offers an endless list to extra materials which I crucillay need to read some of them. Absolute masterpiece, I love it
August 5, 2025
Sadece zombiler hakkında üç beş çerezlik bilgi edineceğini düşünerek okumayı düşünenler çok yanılır. Dolu dolu, okurken bol bol da film izlediğim bir kitaptı.
March 21, 2017
Kan rekommendera denna även om man inte studerar. Så himla intressant hur konstruktionen av zombien som monster är del av kolonialismens demonisering av allt icke-europeiskt/västerländskt/kristet, och vad den kommit att symbolisera i populärkulturen genom åren.
January 15, 2018
Cet ouvrage est aussi lumineux que son sujet est sombre. L’analyse est franchement brillante et éclaire de nombreux recoins de nos sociétés. Au passage, toute la partie concernant les comics antérieurs aux années 60 peut être accompagnée de la lecture de ces bandes dessinées tombées dans le domaine public : à vous le plaisir de découvrir par exemple les trésors de Weird Tales!
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December 4, 2015398.21 L9416 2015
May 6, 2021
Bok i åtta kapitel om historien om zombien. De första nedtecknade historien handlar om berättelser om “zombi” från Haiti, som verkar vara ett svårtolkat begrepp, men som verkar ha att göra med döda som återvänder. Det kopplas samman med voodoo, de döda kontrolleras och används som arbetare. Det skrivs om zombi i pulp-serier, och det kommer filmer om dem, den första heter White Zombie (1932).
Zombien förändras efter andra världskriget. Intryck efter judarnas massgravar i koncentrationsläger, atombomben samt den efterkommande radioaktiva strålningen hade stora influenser. Det är även en förklaring till att det finns en inte obetydlig subgenre med nazizombie-filmer.
- “The zombie is that species of the undead that returns by some supernatural or pseudo-scientific sleight of hand. Zombies are speechless, gormless, without memory of prior life or attachments, sinking into an indifferent mass and growing exponentially. They are a contagion, driven by an empty but insatiable hunger to devour the last of the living and extend their domain until we reach the End of Days.”
- Efter framgångar med Dracula och Frankenstein, gjordes en zombiefilm 1932 White Zombie, varefter den återkom i pulpserier på 40- och 50-talet. Den återkom på film 1968 i Night of the Living Dead.
- “Zombies are [...] anomalies that that straddle crucial cultural boundaries, ‘necessarily ambiguous, since this condition and these persons elude or slip through the network of classification that normally locate states and positions in cultural space’.”
- “The vodou context might have fallen away to a large extent from the cinema depictions of zombi since the 1970[.]”
- “The cannibalistic act remains the index of savage otherness to Western civilization[.]”
Första pulp berättelser om zombie från sent 1920, tidigt 1930 i tidningar som Weird Tales.
- I George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead (1968) ändrades temat i zombiefilm från att gå från en ensam till en hord.Två historiska händelser säger Zuckhurst (2015) är avgörande, upptäckten av judiska fångar och döda i koncentrationsläger 1945 samt de desorienterade överlevande efter atombomberna i Hiroshima och Nagasaki, samt den efterföljande strålningen.
- “‘[T]hey used to sway in a peculiar fashion [...]. The movement was monotonous, horrifying.‘ They were described as ‘giant skeletons’, ‘strangely alike’, feral, with shining eyes, obsessed with food, driven beyond all taboos by hunger, even to eat corpses.”
- “The suppression of the horror comics reinforced the abject status of its emblematic mass monster, the zombie. It remains the case [...] that the zombie exemplifies the mindlessness of mass culture, since it is an orphan creature without the legitimating literary forebearers of Baron Frankenstein or Count Dracula.”
- Zombies har blivit en allegori för påhittade katastrofer som hotar mänskligheten.
- “It also largely abandoned supernatural explanations or Voodoo magic for an entirely medicalized explanation of the zombie horror. Zombification becomes a matter of viral contagion - a product of the interconnectedness of the modern world itself, rather than the ancient, primordial return more typical of the Gothic imagination.
- “Perhaps the zombie is [...] a literalization of the capitalist logic of the expropriation of dead labour from living bodies. ‘Biopower’, the extension of the system’s invasive control into bodies and the process of life [...] itself, marks a new stage of capitalist development.”
Zombien förändras efter andra världskriget. Intryck efter judarnas massgravar i koncentrationsläger, atombomben samt den efterkommande radioaktiva strålningen hade stora influenser. Det är även en förklaring till att det finns en inte obetydlig subgenre med nazizombie-filmer.
- “The zombie is that species of the undead that returns by some supernatural or pseudo-scientific sleight of hand. Zombies are speechless, gormless, without memory of prior life or attachments, sinking into an indifferent mass and growing exponentially. They are a contagion, driven by an empty but insatiable hunger to devour the last of the living and extend their domain until we reach the End of Days.”
- Efter framgångar med Dracula och Frankenstein, gjordes en zombiefilm 1932 White Zombie, varefter den återkom i pulpserier på 40- och 50-talet. Den återkom på film 1968 i Night of the Living Dead.
- “Zombies are [...] anomalies that that straddle crucial cultural boundaries, ‘necessarily ambiguous, since this condition and these persons elude or slip through the network of classification that normally locate states and positions in cultural space’.”
- “The vodou context might have fallen away to a large extent from the cinema depictions of zombi since the 1970[.]”
- “The cannibalistic act remains the index of savage otherness to Western civilization[.]”
Första pulp berättelser om zombie från sent 1920, tidigt 1930 i tidningar som Weird Tales.
- I George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead (1968) ändrades temat i zombiefilm från att gå från en ensam till en hord.Två historiska händelser säger Zuckhurst (2015) är avgörande, upptäckten av judiska fångar och döda i koncentrationsläger 1945 samt de desorienterade överlevande efter atombomberna i Hiroshima och Nagasaki, samt den efterföljande strålningen.
- “‘[T]hey used to sway in a peculiar fashion [...]. The movement was monotonous, horrifying.‘ They were described as ‘giant skeletons’, ‘strangely alike’, feral, with shining eyes, obsessed with food, driven beyond all taboos by hunger, even to eat corpses.”
- “The suppression of the horror comics reinforced the abject status of its emblematic mass monster, the zombie. It remains the case [...] that the zombie exemplifies the mindlessness of mass culture, since it is an orphan creature without the legitimating literary forebearers of Baron Frankenstein or Count Dracula.”
- Zombies har blivit en allegori för påhittade katastrofer som hotar mänskligheten.
- “It also largely abandoned supernatural explanations or Voodoo magic for an entirely medicalized explanation of the zombie horror. Zombification becomes a matter of viral contagion - a product of the interconnectedness of the modern world itself, rather than the ancient, primordial return more typical of the Gothic imagination.
- “Perhaps the zombie is [...] a literalization of the capitalist logic of the expropriation of dead labour from living bodies. ‘Biopower’, the extension of the system’s invasive control into bodies and the process of life [...] itself, marks a new stage of capitalist development.”
April 30, 2020
A really fascinating look at how the zombie morphed from little known facet of voodoo to flesh-eating monster. I do have to say though, I didn't realize how racist the early zombie was! I mean, I was expecting some racism, considering it was a cultural artifact from a largely african-american population appropriated for a largely caucasian-american audience, but holy crap! Any mention of zombies in early literature or movies was solely to enforce the idea of the backwards, superstitious native, and to, y'know, be careful because the sole purpose of the Haitians is to taint the superior, wonderful caucasian race (that's sarcasm, in case someone doesn't get it). But the idea that zombies eat flesh is super entwined with propaganda at the time which was used as justification to invade and occupy Haiti. It was explained that the practice of voodoo (with its zombies and such) encouraged killing people to make mindless slaves (ironic), and the eating of human flesh. Because its easier to violently oppress a people if you believe they're cannibals. But this aspect of the zombie didn't become iconic behavior until after the end of WWII, when the zombie as a monster began to take off. Which makes sense to me, that the zombie would become a sort of cultural coping mechanism for the horrors of WWII which, Holocaust aside, saw the highest civilian casualty rate of any war to date, and was the first war in which civilian casualties out-striped military casualties. The same thing happened at the end of WWI with the Spiritualism movement and the proliferation of mediums and people trying to communicate with the 'other side'.
After reading this, I'd love to see a return to the more traditional, voodoo zombie, as opposed to the flesh-eating mindless horde. I'm not much of one for the zombie genre, but a lot of the stories are starting to sound the same; zombie plague outbreak, now we must survive the mindless hordes bent on our death for no other reason than plot device! I think it's time to shake it up a bit.
After reading this, I'd love to see a return to the more traditional, voodoo zombie, as opposed to the flesh-eating mindless horde. I'm not much of one for the zombie genre, but a lot of the stories are starting to sound the same; zombie plague outbreak, now we must survive the mindless hordes bent on our death for no other reason than plot device! I think it's time to shake it up a bit.
December 10, 2024
4.75/5
This book is such a fascinating read on so much of how our history has impacted both our perception of the popculture zombie overtime but also the use of the word "zombie" when describing ourselves in society.
At times this reads quite dry, like a history textbook, but thats not entirely a bad thing, there's just a LOT of information here. This is a book you should take your time with, if you find your eyes starting to glaze over, put it down and come back to it later, this is information worth absorbing.
As another reviewer mentions, we spend so much thoughtful time exploring Haiti and Vodou and how this originally impacted the creation of zombies, that I honestly wish this book were longer and giving it the time to explore each facet of history and its impact so in depth as some parts felt comparatively glazed over.
This book ultimately was a terrific, insightful read with also tons of books and movies that I've since written down to explore later and taught me a lot on the colonizing, capitalistic history of zombies. Definitely worth your time if this stuff interests you and I plan to check out more of Luckhurst's works.
This book is such a fascinating read on so much of how our history has impacted both our perception of the popculture zombie overtime but also the use of the word "zombie" when describing ourselves in society.
At times this reads quite dry, like a history textbook, but thats not entirely a bad thing, there's just a LOT of information here. This is a book you should take your time with, if you find your eyes starting to glaze over, put it down and come back to it later, this is information worth absorbing.
As another reviewer mentions, we spend so much thoughtful time exploring Haiti and Vodou and how this originally impacted the creation of zombies, that I honestly wish this book were longer and giving it the time to explore each facet of history and its impact so in depth as some parts felt comparatively glazed over.
This book ultimately was a terrific, insightful read with also tons of books and movies that I've since written down to explore later and taught me a lot on the colonizing, capitalistic history of zombies. Definitely worth your time if this stuff interests you and I plan to check out more of Luckhurst's works.
June 27, 2018
Worth it.
El libro es, tal como dice el título, una historia cultural de los zombis, desde sus orígenes en las Antillas (no solo en Haití) hasta su llegada, arraigo y evolución en Estados Unidos y Europa.
Desde la alegoría del amo y el esclavo para el brujo y el zombi, pasando por los distintos significados de la palabra "zombi", las películas de Romero y las que lo precedieron, hasta las hordas de Zombis que pueblan los video juegos modernos y el temor a las pandemias.
Me pareció interesante el recorrido, había varias cosas que no sabía. Teóricamente denso y bien hilado aunque la lectura puede volverse un poco tediosa por lo mismo. Tomar apuntes es un 'must'.
El libro es, tal como dice el título, una historia cultural de los zombis, desde sus orígenes en las Antillas (no solo en Haití) hasta su llegada, arraigo y evolución en Estados Unidos y Europa.
Desde la alegoría del amo y el esclavo para el brujo y el zombi, pasando por los distintos significados de la palabra "zombi", las películas de Romero y las que lo precedieron, hasta las hordas de Zombis que pueblan los video juegos modernos y el temor a las pandemias.
Me pareció interesante el recorrido, había varias cosas que no sabía. Teóricamente denso y bien hilado aunque la lectura puede volverse un poco tediosa por lo mismo. Tomar apuntes es un 'must'.
April 30, 2021
Zombilerle ilgili basit ve ilginç bilgileri okurum diye düşünüyordum ama böylesine bir tarihi önemi olan araştırma beklemiyordum. Gerçekten beklentimin çok üstündeydi. Zombilerle ilgili çok fazla şeye bakış açımın değişmesinin yanı sıra küçük bir artı olarak uzun bir zombi film listesine de sahip oldum.
"Kölelik, Orlando Patterson'ın çağrışımlara açık terimiyle bir tür medeni ölümse, Amerikalı işgalciler tarafından yeniden köleleştirilmek bir yüzyıllık özgürlükten sonra tekinsiz bir geçmişe dönmek demekti; HASCO tarlalarında "yaşayan ölüler"in dolaşmasına şaşamamak gerekirdi."
"Kölelik, Orlando Patterson'ın çağrışımlara açık terimiyle bir tür medeni ölümse, Amerikalı işgalciler tarafından yeniden köleleştirilmek bir yüzyıllık özgürlükten sonra tekinsiz bir geçmişe dönmek demekti; HASCO tarlalarında "yaşayan ölüler"in dolaşmasına şaşamamak gerekirdi."
June 13, 2022
Zombinin etimolojik kökeninden başlayıp neredeyse günümüze kadar gelişimini takip eden bir kitap. Zombilerin 100 küsür yıldan önce Haiti'den çıkıp hayatımıza nasıl girdiğini anlatırken ırkçılıktan sömürgecilikten ve kapitalist düzenden bahsediyor. Ama o kadar çok bahsediyor ki bunlardan bildiğimiz, ilgimizi çeken günümüz zombisine gelmesi epey uzun sürüyor.
Son 30 yıla ancak son 27 sayfada geçebiliyoruz. Bu da benim tanıdığım, merak ettiğim, ilgilendiğim kısma ayrılan bölümün çok az olması demek. Dolayısıyla beni tatmin edemedi kitap. 3.5/5
Son 30 yıla ancak son 27 sayfada geçebiliyoruz. Bu da benim tanıdığım, merak ettiğim, ilgilendiğim kısma ayrılan bölümün çok az olması demek. Dolayısıyla beni tatmin edemedi kitap. 3.5/5
August 28, 2021
A solid survey of the zombie trope from colonial Haiti to today, exploring the idea that "the history of the zombie is one of continual transport, translation and transformation, since it emerged from within the nexus of the transatlantic slave trade and colonial occupation. The zombie is born in transit, in between cultures, and is thus always susceptible to rapid reworking."
Only a few errors of fact: J. Edgar Hoover headed the FBI, not the CIA (page 138), for instance.
Only a few errors of fact: J. Edgar Hoover headed the FBI, not the CIA (page 138), for instance.
August 22, 2023
A great overview of the birth of the figure now known around the world as the zombie, how its gone from a word with many local definitions colonial outsiders struggled to pin down, to the shambling uber-monster of the modern age. Really fascinating to think how the zombie has been a figure in transition since its introduction into the US. Highly recommended for anyone interested in zombies or horror history!
April 24, 2018
As an historical examination of the rise of the zombie phenomenon this is a well thought out and informative read, however when it comes to an examination of the actual films which encapsulate this horror sub genre, there appears to be a general tone of disapproval and disgust which is ultimately unfortunate.
June 25, 2024
Accessible and enjoyable exploration of one of the most iconic modern monsters. Tone is light hearted and informative and briefly explores a range of ethnographic/historical/literary accounts of the evolution of the zombie. Truly eye-opening and proof that anthropology helps to explore and understand any subject. Opening accepting that my hatred of gore has a firm exception with zombies.
September 16, 2017
I wasn’t aware of the (old) background behind the zombie myth, so the read was interesting at an historical level. The writing wasn’t my cup of tea with all the descriptions and the flat narration, something more lively would have been appreciated.
April 9, 2019
A terrible cover hides a pretty great little book. Hides deep knowledge under succinct and entertaining prose and follows the evolution of the zombie from colonial narratives of the Caribbean through the globalization of the popular phenomenon in a variety of media.
June 13, 2018
Terribly fascinating! Layers upon layers of cultural syncratism and mash-up.
December 25, 2018
Check out my review for PopMatters here.
https://www.popmatters.com/zombies-a-...
https://www.popmatters.com/zombies-a-...
August 11, 2019
one word; perfect
August 5, 2021
Extremely eye opening explanation of the origins of zombies, and their evolution to how we know then today.
August 24, 2022
I’m showing Train to Busan for a movie club and needed a Zombie primer. I now know more about zombie culture than I probably ever needed but I feel smarter.
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