Theory and Practice of Myth

As mentioned in class i think we could have a lovely time discussing the different interpretations of Zombies?

Dictionary Definition:

The first and original concept of Zombies comes from Haitian folklore of corpses reanimated by means of magic.

The first modern thought of Zombies that comes to mind are the swarm-like hordes in movies like Dawn of the  Dead, the George A Romero classic: Night of the Living Dead, etc. These types of zombies are often slow moving, often limping, “lame” zombies we know and wish to fight one day.

Now, however, in the current times, there are new breeds/classes of Zombies. There are:

-Sprinter Zombies (think Call of Duty, World War Z)

-Explodey zombies (A la Left 4 Dead/Diablo)

-Smart zombies (Resident Evil, I am Legend) The kind of zombies which at any time a displays cognitive function to pursue an enemy such as rudimentary flanking maneuvers or finding new ways to enter a building.. that type of thing)…

There are new additions to the traditional zombie lore. I understand how these may not fit the original folklore of a reanimated corpse, but i still think they are legitimate zombies because of the way the people in zombie depictions are utterly devoid of humanity and more or less dead by concept.

Because this is a Theory and Practice class, it would do us well to think of reasons why Zombies have “evolved”. What I mean by Zombie evolution isnt that they are adapting to better kill us, its more that their lore has been altered to fit the fears of this century.

Think about it: Back before the 1900’s, the greatest fears in cultures (especially fledgling Christian cultures) was Magic. Hexing, Curses, Black Magic, Spellcraft, etc. All of these seen as the weapons that practitioners of Witchcraft employed. So the connection between zombies and magic is befitting of the fear of that age.

Nowadays our zombies have evolved to become the product of modern fears like Bio-engineering (Resident Evil), Viral diseases (Zombieland), Radiation (Fallout, Night of the Living Dead), Fungal Zombies (Last of Us, the actual “Zombie Fungus” known as Ophiocordyceps Unilateralis (be careful Googling that because it is utterly terrifying).

As you can see, the concept of Zombies is changing to meet the current fears of our day in age. I think the reason they change is the same reason we find different interpretations of Myths. It is to keep zombies, and the fear of what we don’t yet understand (like magic, bio-engineering, etc) fresh in our minds and to keep us cautious. in the 16th Century, the warning was: Necromancy could be used to bring back a loved one but that same loved one will probably try to eat your Brainz, so don’t dabble in the Dark Arts. In the 21st Century, our warning is: Bio-engineering could save the world, but it could also turn the world into zombies, so be careful.

What say you?

~T