Maybe not the killing of zombies but the general popularity us also an interesting phenomenon with zombie "clubs" popping up all over
Last Halloween a local theater production enlisted the local group as extras to play the zombies in a theatrical production. (they have their own costumes) Suzi Shapiro IU East Richmond IN Sent from my iPhone On Dec 24, 2010, at 10:59 AM, "Mike Palij" <m...@nyu.edu> wrote: > Just to add a few points to what has already been said. > > (1) One position that one could take with respect to zombies is what > I would call the "dog with rabies or maddog defense". Rabies is a good > analogy if one take the "zombies produced by infection" viewpoint as rabies > attacks the brain, produces significant changes in behavior, and is > transmitted > through bites (acceding to Wikipedia [yadda-yadda] about 97% of human > rabies cases are based on dog bites; see: > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabies ) > Given the immediate danger posed by a rabid animal, the best strategy > is to contain the animal or killing it on sight (I'm reminded of Atticus Finch > killing the rabid dog in the movie version of "To Kill a Mockingbird" -- > he took no pleasure in it but it was something that had to be done). > So, one can justify killing of zombies on public health grounds though this > might not explain the attitude of the person doing the killing. > > (2) I was a little confused by the original post on the "inexplicable > pleasure > of killing zombies" especially since the inspiration for the post was the > series "The Walking Dead". The main character in the series, sheriff's > deputy Rick Grimes, does kill zombies but he doesn't do it out of bloodlust > or a sense of vengeance or the attitude that the only good zombie is a > dead zombie. I believe he still sees the humanity in the zombies but, > like the rabid dog, has to put down the zombies because of the immediate > danger they pose. Consider the first scene in the first episode of the > series, I quote from the episode summary on the AMC website (see: > http://www.amctv.com/originals/The-Walking-Dead/episode-101 ) > > |On a deserted road, Sheriff's Deputy Rick Grimes pulls his police > |cruiser past overturned cars to a gas station. Vehicles filled with > |dead bodies litter the grounds; a sign hanging nearby declares "No Gas." > | > |As Rick searches, he glimpses a little girl and calls to her. Her lips > |and right cheek have been torn away, blood dripping. She starts > |toward Rick, growling. As she approaches, Rick draws his gun > |and shoots her in the head. > > This description does not adequately represent the scene. Rick > initially sees the child's feet in bunny slippers by looking below one > of the cars. She picks up a soiled teddy bear. She walks away > with her back to the viewer as Rick calls to her, with the tone of > voice that perhaps he has come across someone who has escaped > infection. She turns around and Rick sees that she is a child zombie; > he has a facial expression that might be interpreted as "Oh God, no!" > As she starts to run to him it is clear that he really has only one > option but it is not one that he relishes. There is emotional pain in > having to perform this act but it is also an act of mercy, to put the > child out of her misery. I think this first scene is an acid test for the > viewer: if you can stand watching a child zombie getting shot in the > head, you can probably stand everything else in this series. There > are terrible things that have happened and will have to be done, > but Rick Grimes will do what he needs to do with humanity and > compassion. This might be best shown in the scene where Rick, > after being nursed to health by Morgan and his son, looks for a > zombie he encountered before he met Morgan. It was a miserable > creature who had had the bottom half of their body torn off and > now doomed to crawl on the ground until it dies from starvation -- > the real horror is the realization that no matter how mangled a > zombie's body may be, they won't be dead until their brain is > destroyed. Quoting from the AMC website: > > |Rick returns to the park where he found the legless walker. "I'm > |sorry this happened to you," he says, shooting her in the head. > > Rick represents the antithesis of the person who takes "inexplicable > pleasure in killing zombies". Daryl and his brother Merle Dixon > might take such pleasure killing zombies but the other characters > in the series seem to do it because they have to, just like putting > down a rabid dog. But, because we are talking about humans here, > it is also a small act of mercy. Of course, such points might be lost > when involved in a kill crazy frenzy when attacked by a large group > of "walkers". > > So, this is why I was puzzled by the statement of "inexplicable > pleasure of killing zombies". This might be true in other films or > media but I don't really think it is supported by "The Walking Dead". > > (3) While browsing in bookstores I've become aware that there is > a new genre of fiction, that is, taking classic novels or characters and > putting them into a horror context. Of relevance here is "Pride and > Prejudice and Zombies" (available on Amazon along with a lot of > other books on zombies, many on how to survive the coming zombie > apocalypse); see: > http://www.amazon.com/Pride-Prejudice-Zombies-Classic-Ultraviolent/dp/1594743347/ref=sr_1_14?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1293205750&sr=1-14 > Another title in this genre is "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" but > I digress. Since I don't read books about zombies, I don't how they > are presented in print. Perhaps there is where one would find people > who take "inexplicable pleasure in killing zombies". Maybe not. > But I think it is only a matter of time before some wag publishes > "B.F. Skinner and U.S. Zombie Project": after Skinner's work on > Project Pigeon, he is asked by the military to supervise a project > using zombies to counter the Nazi program to develop super-Aryan > Nazi zombies. Can "Fred" discover the process of creating zombies > and then use behavior modification to make them controllable > engines of destruction? Perhaps, but does this project plant the seeds > of the ultimate zombie apocalypse decades later when the U.S. > military's secret zombie projects fall out of control and unleashes > death and destruction on those who would use the undead in such > unwise ways? > > Tune in next week. > > -Mike Palij > New York University > m...@nyu.edu > > ----------------------Original Message-------------------------------- > On Fri, 24 Dec 2010 04:24:00 -0800, Michael Britt wrote: > Given the relative lack of response over my request for ideas regarding > zombies, I shall conclude that it may be only me and Mike Palij who find the > topic fascinating (either that or everyone is understandably busy). At any > rate, I did a lot more "noodling" on the topic and came up with a list of 6 > reasons why we like to see zombies get killed. I attribute 2 of them to Mike > P. Here's my list: > 6 Psychological Reasons Why We Like To Kill Zombies > > Freud: we all have an innate aggressive drive, so killing zombies allows for > that instinct to express itself. > Evolution: We all seem to be fascinated with dead things (dead bugs, dead > animals on the side of the road), and when you hear about someone dying you > always want to know why and, admit it, you wonder a bit if that’s something > you > might be susceptible to. Death both scares and fascinates us. as we involved, > if you weren’t curious about why other creatures died you probably didn’t > survive yourself. Curiousity about death is probably built into us > Social Roles: Every day we have to restrain ourselves from expressing our > true > emotions. Perhaps our desire to kill zombies is an expression of our desire > to > break out of our roles for just a short while and to express (especially > angry) > feelings we normally must keep inside. >> From Mike P: Just World Belief: the undead are clearly the bad guys and they >> deserve to die >> From Mike P: Fear of Scientific progression: (ex: nuclear bombs Godzilla) > Terror Management: zombies are reminders of our own mortality which we don’t > want to be reminded of, so we kill them in a symbolic way of overcoming death. > > I vote for #3. Anyway, a little bit of fun. > > http://www.thepsychfiles.com/2010/12/episode-138-zombies-6-reasons-why-are-we-so-fascinated-by-them/ > > Happy Holidays TiPSters! > > --- > You are currently subscribed to tips as: sjsha...@indiana.edu. > To unsubscribe click here: > http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13048.2053ea869f5c78d1a98b73ae63133ea1&n=T&l=tips&o=7466 > or send a blank email to > leave-7466-13048.2053ea869f5c78d1a98b73ae63133...@fsulist.frostburg.edu --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: arch...@jab.org. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=7469 or send a blank email to leave-7469-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
