I had a chance the other night to go see World War Z at the theater starring Brad Pitt. I thought the movie was pretty decent as it kept me on the edge of my seat for most of its running time. But let’s face it, doesn’t it seem like lately that zombies are popping up everywhere in television shows and movies? Why is it that everyone is so fascinated by them now?
A quick google search showed me that zombies have been around for much longer than I thought. Their first real appearance goes all the way back to a film called White Zombie that was released in 1932. But it really wasn’t until George Romero released a 1968 movie named Night of the Living Dead that they became infamous. Ever since then, zombies have become more and more popular and been simply known as “the living dead”.
Over the past few decades their notoriety has been gained through movies such as 28 Days Later, Resident Evil, Shaun of the Dead, Zombieland, I am Legend, and most recently Warm Bodies. And there’s even an extremely popular show about them now entitled The Walking Dead that has millions and millions of fans watching it.
After watching World War Z and many of the other movies and TV shows which portray zombies, I can see why people are drawn so much to them. The most obvious reason to me is that zombies are people too. They were someone’s friend, husband, wife, son, daughter, mother, father, etc. Placing myself in some of those situations I have seen in these movies and television shows, I really can’t imagine what I would do if my sister or my partner or one of my closest friends had become one. In the movies, when I have seen those situations, the people usually shot their loved ones in the head with terrible regret or they get bitten while trying to do the right thing and become one of them too. It’s a horrible dilemma to think about and I’m sure that’s one of the top reasons why people are so intrigued by watching a zombie invasion. I believe another big reason for zombies growing popularity is this end of the world concept that has been growing fear in so many people lately. In World War Z, most of the human population is decimated by this zombie plague. And that’s only one way that films and TV shows are showing how the end of the world might happen. Often it’s also shown as an asteroid about to hit the earth, or severe weather outbreaks from global warming, or some other deadly disease, or Revelations from the Bible. In all of them, the majority of the human race is lost and I’m sure most everyone who has ever watched any of these portrayals on the big or small screen has imagined themselves as one of the last survivors on Earth. And of course, a final reason why many people probably like zombies is just because they think they’re cool. Television and movies have become so realistic and graphic lately with blood and violence that zombies are a very good way now to shock audiences as they chase, jump on, and rip and tear the flesh off of someone. The truth is I really don’t like zombies that much because of all of this. I always get nightmares when I go to sleep after watching something they were in. When I watched the first two episodes of The Walking Dead in Season One, I got next to no sleep and that became the end of my tuning into that show. So you’re probably wondering now why I decided to go see World War Z given this fact. I don’t really have a good answer for you, except for the fact that I love movies especially those big budget flicks that come out during the summer like this one.
The bottom line I’m trying to make with all of this though is that with all the diseases that are running rampant these days, with many labs doing terrible animal testing, and governments secretly working on biological warfare, it’s extremely possible that something like a zombie epidemic could happen. And if it ever does, I just hope that a rapture will occur just before it’s outbreak, and that God will choose to take me during it. I really don’t want to see my nightmares become reality before my eyes. Regardless, I think I’m going to pray now that I don’t have a nightmare tonight and that zombies will always just remain something to frighten us in a theater or at home on a television screen.
Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson