ZOMBIES IN POPULAR CULTURE

'Zombies' are regularly encountered in horror- and fantasy-themed fiction and entertainment. They are typically depicted as mindless, shambling, decaying corpses with a hunger for human flesh, and in some cases, human brains in particular.

Contents

Evolution of the zombie archetype

George A. Romero and the modern zombie film

The modern zombie in print and literature

Typical traits of zombies

Zombies on television

In gaming

On the internet and in animation

In music

References

See also

External links

Evolution of the zombie archetype

The concept of the flesh-hungry undead dates back to mythology and folklore from prehistory, such as in the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'', where the goddess Ishtar vows in rage:
:''"I will knock down the Gates of the Netherworld,
:''I will smash the door posts, and leave the doors flat down,''
:''And will let the dead go up to eat the living!''
:''And the dead will outnumber the living!"''^[1]
The flesh-hungry undead, often in the form of ghouls and vampires, have been a fixture of world mythology, from the Norse draugr to the Japanese Jikininki^[2].
An early zombie reference in Western literature was in "Pierre-Corneille" (actually Paul-Alexis) Blessebois' satirical French novel from 1697, ''Le Zombi du grand Pérou'' ("The Zombie of the great Peru"). Though many Voodoo references are used in the book, it is not explained what a "Zombi" actually is. Because of this, it is implied that readers of the time already had a definition for a "zombi", though no preceding reference for such a definition has yet been found^[3].
In 1797 the concept re-appeared^[4] with the publication of ''Description topographique et politique de la partie espagnole de l'isle Saint-Domingue'', a book on what would become Haiti, by the author Moreau de Saint-Méry. Moreau says that 'Zombi' is a creole word meaning "spirit, ghost" (specifically, in French, a ''revenant'', that is, a "returning" person). He also mentions that, in one place on the island, slaves buried their dead despite being forbidden to do so, and that floods sometimes brought them back to the surface. Later books on the subject, such as those by Wade Davis, express that traditional Haitian mysticism, as in many other cultures, stressed "the permeability of the frontier between life and death"^[5] and an unquestioned belief in the possibility of walking corpses.
''Frankenstein'' by Mary Shelley, while not a zombie story proper, prefigures many 20th century ideas about zombies in that the resurrection of the dead is portrayed as a scientific process rather than a mystical one, and that the resurrected dead are degraded and more violent than their living selves. ''Frankenstein'', published in 1818, has its roots in European folklore^[6], whose tales of vengeful dead also informed the evolution of the modern conception of vampires as well as zombies. Later notable 19th century stories about the avenging undead included Ambrose Bierce's "The Death of Halpin Frayser", and various Gothic Romanticism tales by Edgar Allan Poe. Though their works couldn't be properly considered zombie stories, the supernatural tales of Bierce and Poe would prove influential on later undead-themed writers such as H.P. Lovecraft, by Lovecraft's own admission^[7].
One early book to expose more recent western culture to the concept of the zombie was ''The Magic Island'' by W.B. Seabrook in 1929. ''Island'' is the sensationalized account of a narrator in Haiti who encounters Voodoo cults and their resurrected thralls. The book "introduced 'zombi' into U.S. speech" ^[8].
In the 1920s and early 1930s, the American horror author H. P. Lovecraft wrote several stories that explored the zombie or undead theme from different angles. "Cool Air", "In the Vault" (which includes perhaps the first recorded character ''bitten'' by a zombie), "", "The Outsider" and "Pickman's Model" are all undead or zombie-related, but the most definitive zombie story in Lovecraft's oeuvre was 1921's ''Herbert West--Reanimator'', which "helped define zombies in popular culture"^[9]. This ''Frankenstein''-inspired series featured Herbert West, a mad scientist who attempts to revive human corpses with mixed results. Notably, the resurrected dead are uncontrollable, mostly mute, primitive and extremely violent; though they are not referred to as zombies, their portrayal was prescient, anticipating the modern conception of zombies by several decades.
In 1932, Victor Halperin directed ''White Zombie'', a horror film starring Bela Lugosi. This film, capitalizing on the same Voodoo zombi themes as Seabrook's book of three years prior, is often regarded as the first legitimate zombie film ever made.^[10][11]. Here zombies are depicted as mindless, unthinking henchmen under the spell of an evil magician. Zombies, often still using this Voodoo-inspired rationale, were initially uncommon in cinema, but their appearances continued sporadically through the 1930s to the 1960s^[12], with notable films including ''I Walked With a Zombie'' (1943), and the infamous ''Plan 9 From Outer Space'' (1959).
The 1936 film ''Things to Come'', based on the novel by H.G. Wells, anticipates later zombie films with an apocalyptic scenario surrounding "the wandering sickness", a highly contagious viral plague that causes the infected to wander slowly and insensibly, very much like zombies, infecting others on contact^[13]. Though this film's direct influence on later films isn't known, ''Things to Come'' is still compared favorably by some critics^[14] to modern zombie movies.
Avenging zombies would feature prominently in the early 1950s EC Comics such as ''Tales from the Crypt'', which George A. Romero would later claim as an influence^[15]. The comics, including ''Tales'', ''Vault of Horror'' and ''Weird Science'', featured avenging undead in the Gothic tradition quite regularly, including adaptations of Lovecraft's stories which included "In the Vault", "Cool Air" and ''Herbert West--Reanimator''.^[16]
The 1954 publication of ''I Am Legend'', by author Richard Matheson, would further influence the zombie genre. It is the story of a future Los Angeles, overrun with undead bloodsucking beings. Notable as influential on the zombie genre is the portrayal of a worldwide apocalypse due to the infestation, in addition to the initial conception of vampirism as a disease (a scenario comparable to recent zombie media such as ''28 Days Later'', and ''Resident Evil''). The novel was a success, and would be adapted to film as ''The Last Man on Earth'' in 1964, as ''The Omega Man'' in 1971, and again in 2007 as ''I Am Legend''.
Although classified as a vampire story and referred to as "the first modern vampire novel" ^[17], ''Legend'' had definitive impact on the zombie genre by way of George A. Romero. Romero was heavily influenced by the novel and its 1964 adaptation when writing the film ''Night of the Living Dead''^[18], by his own admission. Critics have also noted extensive similarities between ''Night'' and ''Last Man on Earth''^[19][20], indicating further influence.
''Night of the Living Dead'', a taboo-breaking and genre-defining classic, would prove to be more influential on the concept of zombies than any literary or cinematic work before it.^[21]

George A. Romero and the modern zombie film

A young zombie (Kyra Schon) feeding on human flesh, from ''Night of the Living Dead'' (1968)

The modern conception of the zombie owes itself almost entirely to George A. Romero's 1968 film ''Night of the Living Dead''^[22] In his films, Romero "bred the zombie with the vampire, and what he got was the hybrid vigour of a ghoulish plague monster"^[23]. This entailed an apocalyptic vision of monsters that have come to be known as Romero zombies. Romero's reinvention of zombies is notable in terms of its thematics; he used zombies not just for their own sake, but as a vehicle "to criticize real-world social ills - such as government ineptitude, bioengineering, slavery, greed and exploitation - while indulging our post-apocalyptic fantasies"^[24]. ''Night'' was followed by ''Dawn of the Dead'' (1978), ''Day of the Dead'' (1985), and the much later ''Land of the Dead'' (2005).
Innately tied with the conception of the modern zombie is the "zombie apocalypse", the breakdown of society as a result of zombie infestation, portrayed in countless zombie-related media post-''Night''^[25]. Scholar Kim Paffrenroth notes that "more than any other monster, zombies are fully and literally apocalyptic ... they signal the end of the world as we have known it."
Though it is not known when exactly the term "zombie" became associated with Romero's specific depiction, it should be noted that ''Night'' made no reference to the creatures as "zombies". In the film they are referred as "ghouls" on the TV news reports. However, the word "Zombie", capitalized, is used continually by Romero in his 1978 script for ''Dawn of the Dead'' ^[26], including once in dialog. This "retroactively fits (the creatures) with an invisible Haitian/African prehistory, formally introducing the zombie as a new archetype" ^[27].
''Dawn of the Dead'' was released under this title just months before the release of Lucio Fulci's ''Zombi II'' (1979). Fulci's gory epic was filmed at the same time as Romero's ''Dawn'', despite the popular belief that it was made in order to cash in on the success of ''Dawn''. The only reference to ''Dawn'' was the title change to ''Zombi II''.
The early 1980s was notable for the introduction of zombies into Chinese and other Asian films, often martial arts/horror crossover films, that featured zombies as thralls animated by magic for purposes of battle^[28]. Though the idea never had large enough appeal to become a sub-genre, zombies are still used as martial-arts villains in some films today^[29].
1981's ''Night of the Zombies'' was the first film to reference a mutagenic gas as a source of zombie contagion, later echoed by Trioxin in Dan O'Bannon's 1985 film, ''Return of the Living Dead''. ''RotLD'' took a more comedic approach than Romero's films; ''Return'' was the first film to feature zombies which hungered specifically for brains instead of all human flesh (this included the vocalization of "Brains!" as a part of zombie vocabulary), and is the source of the now-familiar cliché of brain-devouring zombies seen elsewhere, such as on ''The Simpsons''.
The mid-1980s produced few zombie films of note (the ''Evil Dead'' series, while zombie-influenced and notable on their own, are not zombie films proper). 1985's ''Re-Animator'', loosely based on the Lovecraft story, stood out in the genre, achieving nearly unanimous critical acclaim^[30] and becoming a modest success, outstripping even 1985's ''Day of the Dead'' for box office returns^[31]. Lovecraft's prescient depiction is notable here; the zombies in the film are consistent with other zombie films of the period, and it may escape the viewer that they are nearly unchanged from the 1921 story.
The 1988 Wes Craven film ''The Serpent and the Rainbow'', based on the non-fiction book by Wade Davis, attempted to re-connect the zombie genre with the Voodoo roots that inspired it. The film poses both supernatural and scientific possibilities for "zombification" and other aspects of Voodoo. The film was relatively well-reviewed^[32][33] in addition to its modest financial success^[34] and is notable as perhaps the only Voodoo-themed zombie film of recent times.
After the mid-1980s, the subgenre was mostly relegated to the underground. Notable entries include director Peter Jackson's ultra-gory film ''Braindead'' (1992) (released as ''Dead Alive'' in the U.S.), Bob Balaban's comic 1993 film ''My Boyfriend's Back'' where a self-aware high school boy returns to profess his love for a girl and his love for human flesh, and Michele Soavi's ''Dellamorte Dellamore'' (1994) (released as ''Cemetery Man'' in the U.S.). Several years later, zombies experienced a renaissance in low-budget Asian cinema, with a sudden spate of dissimilar entries including ''Bio Zombie'' (1998), ''Wild Zero'' (1999), ''Junk'' (1999), ''Versus'' (2000) and ''Stacy'' (2001).
The turn of the millennium coincided with a decade of box office successes in which the zombie sub-genre experienced a resurgence: the ''Resident Evil'' movies in 2002 and 2004, the ''Dawn of the Dead'' remake (2004), the British films ''28 Days Later'' and ''28 Weeks Later'' (2002, 2007) and the homage/parody ''Shaun of the Dead'' (2004). The new interest allowed Romero to create the fourth entry in his zombie series: ''Land of the Dead'', released in the summer of 2005. Romero has recently returned to the beginning of the series with the film ''Diary of the Dead''. Set to be released in 2007, the film will take place on the same night as the original ''Night of the Living Dead''.
The depiction of zombies as biologically infected people has become increasingly popular, likely due to the ''28 Days Later'' and ''Resident Evil'' series; 2006's ''Slither'' featured zombies infected with alien parasites, and 2007's ''Grindhouse'' featured a zombie outbreak caused by a biological weapon.
As part of this resurgence, there have been numerous direct-to-video (or DVD) zombie movies made by extremely low-budget filmmakers using digital video. These can usually be found for sale online from the distributors themselves, rented in video rental stores or released internationally in such places as Thailand.

The modern zombie in print and literature

''The Zombie Survival Guide''

Though zombies have appeared in many books prior to and after ''Night of the Living Dead'', it wouldn't be until 1990 that zombie fiction emerged as a distinct literary subgenre, with the publication of ''Book of the Dead'' in 1990 and its follow-up ''Still Dead: Book of the Dead 2'' in 1992, both edited by horror authors John Skipp and Craig Spector. Featuring Romero-inspired stories from the likes of Stephen King and other famous names, the ''Book of the Dead'' compilations are regarded as influential in the horror genre and perhaps the first true "zombie literature".
Recent zombie fiction of note includes Brian Keene's 2005 novel ''The Rising'', followed by its sequel ''City Of The Dead'', which deal with a worldwide apocalypse of intelligent zombies, caused by demonic possession. Though the story took many liberties with the zombie concept, ''The Rising'' proved itself to be a success in the subgenre, even winning the 2005 Bram Stoker award^[35].
Famed horror novelist Stephen King has mined the zombie theme, first with 1990's "Home Delivery", written for the aforementioned ''Book of the Dead'' compilation and detailing a small town's attempt to defend itself from a classic zombie outbreak. In 2006 King published ''Cell'', which concerns a struggling young artist on a trek from Boston to Maine in hopes of saving his family from a possible worldwide zombie outbreak, created by "The Pulse", a global electromagnetic phenomenon that turns the world's cellular phone users into bloodthirsty, zombie-like maniacs. ''Cell'' was a number-one bestseller upon its release^[36]
Aside from ''Cell'', the most well-known current work of zombie fiction is 2006's ''World War Z'' by Max Brooks, which was an immediate hit upon its release and a New York Times bestseller^[37]. Brooks had previously authored the cult hit ''The Zombie Survival Guide'', an exhaustively researched, zombie-themed "parody" of pop-fiction survival guides.
Robert Kirkman, an admirer of Romero, has led the recent popularity of the genre in comics, first by launching his self-published comic book ''The Walking Dead'', then by writing Marvel Zombies in 2006.
Other zombie appearances have been cataloged in dozens of novels^[38][39], comics, and webcomics. Like vampires and other famous archetypal creatures, the zombie archetype has spread so far and wide that it is impossible to provide a definitive list of resources, though certain websites keep note of zombie references in detail^[40].

Typical traits of zombies

Zombies have many variations in their depictions, with a few core traits, generally inspired by Romero's films, to unite them. Though many exceptions exist (including, significantly, the non-dead, biologically-infected zombies seen in many current productions, as well as certain cases in Romero's own films), zombies tend to share some of the following characteristics:^[41]

★ Mobile but technically dead, with a lack of heartbeat or other vital signs

★ Often marked by an undead, decaying state, with discolored skin and eyes

★ Non-communicative, groaning and howling instead of speaking

★ Diminished in intelligence, with a resulting inability to reason, strategize or use tools

★ Diminished in emotional response, with no empathy or mercy toward victims

★ Consumed with ravenous hunger for human flesh, sometimes vocalized

★ Afflicted with diminished senses, but still sensing prey by motion or sound or other means

★ Clumsy, violent and ungainly, either shambling slowly or running frenzied

★ Vulnerable to destruction of the brain, which kills them

★ Unresponsive to any other kinds of injuries, even normally fatal ones

★ Zombie 'infection' usually portrayed as contagious, i.e. through a bite or claw mark

★ Does not attack other zombies, leading to overwhelming numbers and swarms of zombies

★ Usually dies within most cases, a year or so

Zombies on television

A screenshot from the Thriller music video with the zombie backup dancers

One of the most famous zombie-themed television appearances was 1983's ''Thriller'', a Michael Jackson music video, directed by John Landis. One of the most popular music videos of all time, it is a horror film parody featuring choreographed zombies performing with Jackson. Many pop culture media has paid tribute to this scene alone, including zombie films such as ''Return of the Living Dead 2'', cementing ''Thriller's place in zombie history.
Fantasy-themed shows such as ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' and ''Supernatural'' routinely include zombies as part of their horror/fantasy settings. Zombies also show up in science fiction shows such as ''Star Trek'' (in which the Borg are patterned after, and referred to, as zombies) and ''Sliders''. Zombies have appeared in so many shows that creating a definitive list is not possible.
Zombies often feature in animation on television. The Halloween episodes of ''The Simpsons'', ''South Park'' and ''Invader Zim''^[42], among many other cartoons, feature Romero-styled zombie outbreaks. In the ''South Park'' episode ''Night of the Living Homeless'', the zombies are parodied by "invasion" of the homeless. Overseas, zombies also often appear in anime, such as ''Samurai Champloo'', ''Tokyo Majin Gakuen Kenpucho'', ''Yu-Gi-Oh! GX'', and many others both within and beyond the horror genre.

In gaming

The Zombies!!! board game box

Outside of video games, zombies frequently appear in trading card games such as '', as well as in role-playing games such as ''Dungeons & Dragons'' and tabletop wargames such as Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40K. The RPG ''All Flesh Must Be Eaten'' is premised upon a zombie outbreak and features rules for zombie campaigns in many historical settings. The popularity of zombies as antagonists or cannon-fodder in games makes it impossible to create a definitive list of references.
The award-winning ''Zombies!!!'' series of boardgames by Twilight Creations features players attempting to escape from a zombie-infested city. Cheapass Games' has released five other zombie-themed games, including ''Give Me the Brain'', ''The Great Brain Robbery'', and ''Lord of the Fries'', which takes place at Friedey's, a fast-food restaurant staffed by minimum wage zombies.

On the internet and in animation

Aside from zombie-themed websites such as Federal Vampire and Zombie Agency and various webcomics, the Internet is also a haven for online video and animation dealing with zombies. ''Joe Zombie'', ''Xombie'', ''Zombie College'' (of Mondo Mini Shows), and ''Dead End Days'' are just some of the current entries in the genre.

In music

Zombies and horror have become so popular that many songs and bands have been based off of these flesh-eating ghouls. Zombie references crop up in every genre from pop to death metal and some subgenres such as horror punk mine the zombie aesthetic extensively. To date, the most famous musician to do so is Rob Zombie, who, as his stage name implies incorporates the zombie aesthetics and references into virtually all of his music.

References

1. ''The Epic of Gilgamesh'', Tablet 6, translation from: ''Symbiosis Magazine'', March 2004 http://symbio.trick.ca/HomeAncientSumeriaTheEpicOfGilgameshTablet6
2. Lafcadio Hearn, ''Kwaidan'', Chapter 8: Jikininki http://www.sacred-texts.com/shi/kwaidan/kwai08.htm
3. Jim Chevallier, ''SUNDRIES: An eighteenth century newsletter'', No. 36, June 2006, http://www.chezjim.com/sundries/s36.html
4. Tresor de la Langue Francaise, Nancy-Université http://atilf.atilf.fr/
5. Wade Davis, ''Passage of Darkness: The Ethnobiology of the Haitian Zombie''. The University of North Carolina Press, 1988. p.58
6. Marina Warner, ''A forgotten gem: Das Gespensterbuch ('The Book of Ghosts'), An Introduction'' (book review) http://www.new-books-in-german.com/aut2006/book15a.htm#top
7. H.P. Lovecraft, ''Supernatural Horror in Literature'' (1927, 1933 - 1935) http://gaslight.mtroyal.ca/superhor.htm
8. ''Time Magazine'', Sep. 1940 http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,764649,00.html
9. Underground Online, ''Our Favorite Zombies'' http://www.ugo.com/a/zombies-attack/?cur=favorite-zombies&content=reanimator
10. Lee Roberts, ''White Zombie is regarded as the first zombie film'' Nov. 2006 (film review) http://www.best-horror-movies.com/white-zombie.html
11. Dom Coccaro, ''White Zombie: Bela Lugosi Stars in the First Zombie Film of All Time'' Oct. 2006 (film review) http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/65526/white_zombie_bela_lugosi_stars_in_the.html
12. Internet Movie Database http://www.imdb.com/keyword/zombie/?start=601&sort=date
13. ''Things to Come'' (film review) http://monsterhunter.coldfusionvideo.com/ThingsToCome.html
14. Philip French, ''28 Days Later'', The Observer 3 Nov. 2002 (film review) http://film.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/Critic_Review/Observer_review/0,,824813,00.html
15. Steve Biodrowski, ''Night of the Living Dead: The classic film that launched the modern zombie genre'' http://www.hollywoodgothique.com/nightofthelivingdead.html
16. ''H.P. Lovecraft in the comics'' http://www.yankeeclassic.com/miskatonic/library/stacks/periodicals/comics/lovecraft/comics1.htm
17. David Carroll and Kyla Ward, ''The Horror Timeline'', Burnt Toast No. 13 http://www.tabula-rasa.info/DarkAges/Timeline2.html
18. ''House of Horrors Presents: The Night of the Living Dead'' http://www.houseofhorrors.com/night68.htm
19. Thomas Scalzo, ''The Last Man on Earth'' (film review) http://notcoming.com/reviews.php?id=688
20. Danel Griffin ''The Last Man on Earth'' (film review) http://uashome.alaska.edu/%7Ejndfg20/website/lastmanonearth.htm
21. Richard Scheib,
''Night of the Living Dead'' (film review) http://www.moria.co.nz/horror/notld.htm
22. Stephen Harper, ''Night of the Living Dead: Reappraising an Undead Classic''. Bright Lights Film Journal, Issue 50, November 2005. http://www.brightlightsfilm.com/50/night.htm
23. James B. Twitchell, ''Dreadful Pleasures: An Anatomy of Modern Horror''. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1985.
24. Liz Cole, ''Zombies'' http://www.greencine.com/static/primers/zombies1.jsp
25. Kim Paffenroth, ''Gospel of the Living Dead: George Romero's Visions of Hell on Earth''. Waco: Baylor University Press, 2006.
26. George A. Romero ''Dawn of the Dead'' (Working draft 1977) http://www.horrorlair.com/scripts/dawnofthedead.txt
27. American Stranger, '' I Am Legend (Zombie Apocalypse part 1)'' http://amstranger.blogspot.com/2007/03/i-am-legend-zombie-apocalypse-part-1.html
28. Internet Movie Database http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0199148/ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084225/
29. Internet Movie Database http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0275773/
30. Rotten Tomatoes http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/reanimator/?critic=columns
31. Internet Movie Database http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088993/business http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089885/business
32. Roger Ebert, ''The Serpent And The Rainbow'', Feb. 1988 (film review) http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19880205/REVIEWS/802050302/1023
33. Rotten Tomatoes http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/serpent_and_the_rainbow/
34. Internet Movie Database http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096071/business
35. Past Stoker Nominees & Winners http://www.horror.org/stokerwinnom.htm
36. ''The New York Times'', 12 Feb. 2006
37. ''The New York Times'', 15 Nov. 2006
38. '' The Monster Librarian Presents: Reviews of Zombie Fiction '' http://www.monsterlibrarian.com/zombies.htm
39. All Things Zombie: Book Reviews http://www.allthingszombie.com/books_reviews.php
40. http://www.allthingszombie.com/
41. See, generally, Romero zombies
42. EP 11B: FBI Warning of Doom

See also

★ Apocalypticism

★ Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction

★ Doomsday film

★ Horror fiction

★ Horror film

★ Popular culture

★ Revenant

★ Undead

★ Vampire fiction

★ Zombie walk

External links

★ Dead Folks Walking: A History of Zombies in Hollywood

★ UGO Presents "When Zombies Attack!": A History of Zombies

★ Columbia College (Chicago)'s university course on zombies