Zombies: Fad or Faith?

          Zombies are animated corpses that feed on living flesh.  They are typically seen as decayed, dead humans that are most likely not caused by a supernatural force, but created through science.  The scientific suggestion is that there is a virus called Solonum that travels through the bloodstream to the brain. Infection travels through the body by entry point derived from being bitten or scratched. I suggest that the process for becoming a zombie is still unknown but Solonum gives us a reason of why the dead become zombies. The virus feeds on cells of the frontal lobe ceasing body functions by stopping the heart and killing the body. The virus dominates the brain by mutating cells throughout the body into a completely new organ non dependent upon essentials common to maintaining life, resulting in the reanimation of the original corpse.

           Personal characteristics of zombies include rumored superhuman powers involving strength, hearing, acute smell focused on living flesh, no physical sensations (relative to pain), random occurrences of speed boosts, and group telepathy as a form of communication during certain situations. Normal vision stays after zombification assuming the subjects have both their eyes in their head. Physically, zombies are typically decomposed with possible missing limbs, also bearing signs of bite marks or signs of attack.  Typically lungs are still inadequately functioning, resulting in the popular sound of the zombie moan, which sounds mostly like a muffled long grunt or moan. More common and hopefully true for the rest of us, most zombies are slow “walking” types, traveling at the speed of a dazed drunk, possibly limping. But some zombies are extremely fast and agile. Zombies show no direct signs of intelligence and no signs of recognizable feelings or memories that would hint or show the remaining existence of the subject before they became a zombie. Zombies have one necessity for survival, the need to feed on living (mostly human) flesh. Zombies are migratory creatures traveling and hunting in groups with stragglers possibly wondering aimlessly away from the main group that they are a part of, when the living population of an area is too low and the zombie(s) need to find more food.

A Zombie’s primary weakness is destroying the subject’s brain or disconnecting the spinal column.  The most common useful weapons include machetes, light easy to reload guns, and other blunt and sharp objects. Please remember blades do not need reloading. Other terms are used relative to zombies include the popular titles “living dead” and “undead.”  Zombies have been engaging audiences and people everywhere since the first suggestion of rumored attacks in 3,000 B.C.E. involving Egyptians burying people who showed unusual signs of life after death. But most intensive during the 1970’s to today, they have affected fashions like people applying make up to look “deceased” meaning pale, white eyed, blue vein, imperfect flesh effects, with torn up or bloody clothing, all stemming from zombie media exposure.

           Zombie media has experienced great success and popularity in the last 40 years.  For example film sagas such as the Land of the Dead, Army of Darkness and other recent films like Fido or the Resident Evil saga, which is based off of a video game. Novels have been written which collaborate with historic and creative tales of zombies, including stories written by authors like Mary Shelly reanimating the famous monster from Frankenstein and Max Brooks who wrote “The Zombie Survival Guide” and “World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War.”  Even propaganda and ads have been fitted with zombies and zombie themes for the viewing audience’s consumption. With all this popularity for zombies even music industries have zombie and living dead messages through music they produce.  The effects of zombies on alternative culture are tremendous and easy to view simple by looking around.

           The ideas about zombies have also had an interesting effect on human philosophies.  Ideals like life after death and ideals involving the soul have been brought up for questions from different people. For example, if a person becomes a zombie does their soul stay on earth in the body or leave into whatever area of the universe they believe in after death?  Regardless of where you stand on zombies themselves, it is possible to study the spiritual beliefs and ideas of the soul through the explanations they give in zombie mythology.  Conscience, the soul, what happens to us if we become a zombie addresses the very heart of who we believe we are as humans.  Does a part of us remain?  Is it possible to communicate with those who have become zombies as they were before?

           Zombies, the living dead, have enchanted and terrified generations of people, and it’s hardly about to stop. Fans, scientists, nerds, freaks, and more are in a social uproar about zombies, both positive and negatively.  Some people are even convinced of and preparing for Z-day (the beginning of the first zombie outbreak) with survival gear, escape plans and more. Finally zombies are a scary and humorous form of entertainment to capture the imagination in all of us through the ideas of life after death.  Zombies sit at the heart of our popular and spiritual consciousness.