Serious thread.

What is with our obsession with Zombies.

Left 4 Dead is one of steams best selling games

KIlling floor is #1 atm on sales

Plants vs Zombies is #3 and was #2 just a few days before.

And of course the Resident evil series on the consoles.

Dawn of the Dead, 28 days/weeks later, Resident evil are incredibly successful movies.


Why do we love zombies so much?

Because we are fascinated by the undead/infected?

I think it was Yahtzee from Zero Punctuation that said something to the effect of: "The breakdown of society is attractive to people who have no social skills, and while you may have to hide form slaving mutants the rest of your life, at least the big boys won't tape you into a bin and kick you down the stairs." And while Yahtzee is by no means a scholar, I think he's pretty much right.

It's interesting to be the only person left running through the old streets that used to be littered with assholes that don't know how to drive with a shotgun blowing away zombies that may very well be Soccer Brian #15 that kicked you down a hill when you were a kid.

Or it could be nothing more than Left 4 Dead is a fucking fantastic game and people want to buy games like it (Killing Floor), or it has made more people zombie fans and they just enjoy zombie games (Plants vs Zombies).

fuck soccer brian #15

fuck soccer brian #15

I concur.

Probably because its fun to kill something that doesn't feel anything so you have no regret in how badly you shoot them up??

If there are zombies, there is a sense of last-man-standing. If you're not a zombie and are running from or killing them, you were obviously always better and darwinism found them to be weak~

The same could be said with various other popular movies with something out of the norm within society that has drastically shifted the way things are.. mutants (comic series), robots (transformers/terminator), etc. In terms of games, there's been other series that have sold more than any zombie one.. pokemon (gag) just as an easy example. Deep down you want to catch them all~

I have to make the assumption that out of all creatures, these are by far the most believable to exist if they ever could.

IE the two basic theories include

1) a version of the rabies virus which is the basic symptoms of many zombies

and

2) The genetically altered human, which is then sent into a extremely instinctual phase of survival.


Both of these which are obviously far from plausible still have the most believable features.

actually zombies exist

source: ian

http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20090512/sc_mcclatchy/3231765

Because we are fascinated by the undead/infected?

this

Truth be told, I was hoping for the swine flu to begin a heavy mutation that would kill many straight off and turn others into zombies who would spread the virus. Unfortunately, the only thing that resulted from it was just reiterating how much people from Mexico need to stay out of our country.

Believe it or not.. there is an incredible amount of philosophical work that has been done on this subject. Most authors and scientists alike agree that a fascination with the apocalypse (regardless of it having anything to do with zombies) is mostly linked to a buried emotion/need to explore. Like our fathers and grandfathers who sailed the seas or traveled west to explore what is now the united states, humans have often felt the need or at least the exhilaration of exploring the unknown. Since in this age, the world itself is largely completely mapped out (though some areas, particularly deep underground chambers/deep sea etc. remains largely undiscovered) it essentially leaves a gap in most peoples psyche. What does this have to do with the apocalypse you might ask? It's simple really. The idea of the apocalypse wipes the slate clean. By reducing or eliminating technology and instigating chaos (in whatever form) the world is forever changed and left entirely anew. Unexplored. Leaving an entire world waiting to be re-discovered.

With zombies in particular, I read a very interesting preface in a zombie short-story anthology recently that I think nailed the idea pretty on key. In combination with the above, the idea of the zombie represents the epitome of evil. Zombies don't rest, don't have any morality, and represent a nearly unstoppable force. To most people, this is a) frightening b) interesting c) iconographic. Not to mention there is plenty of people who want to bring back their ancestor or a famous figure etc. etc. There are plenty of reasons why people are interested in the topic. As for fascination... I think it's all of the above. Curiosity combined with exhilaration.

good response Xaj.

i love world war Z and the zombie survival guide if your looking for good zombie books.

They are making World war Z movie

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0816711/

good response Xaj.

i love world war Z and the zombie survival guide if your looking for good zombie books.

They are making World war Z movie

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0816711/

Sweet I'll check it out