4 pages due by 20 hrs

Lino Pacheco Parra

Prof. Sharai Forbes

English 115

8th May 2020

The Zombie as a Metaphor for Real Life Fears

Zombies… the theme of many of our coveted shows and movies, the essence of our

favorite childhood stories, the reason we can’t sleep at night, and most importantly the metaphor

to many of our real-life fears... The human psyche is a complex amalgamation of all of the fears,

stresses, desires, and pleasures that we experience, and this essay will reveal to you the role of

the zombie in this mental wonder. In recent years, several genres have taken over the

entertainment industry, and can be symbolic of the subliminal thoughts that humanity is

experiencing collectively. One of the most popular genres to spread across the globe is

undoubtedly the “Zombie Apocalypse” theme, zombie films and TV shows are symbolic of the

widespread fear and anxiety that human beings collectively face, and draw several parallels to

outstanding global issues such as the erosion of society's structure and values, dehumanization,

and the dangers of artificial intelligence.

Despite human beings requiring numerous resources to stay alive and live comfortably,

society rarely thinks about survival in terms of scarcity. People are often more concerned with

substantive thoughts about the meaning of life, personal goals, and religious beliefs. A common

fear in zombie films and literature is the rapid erosion of societal structure, along with a

deterioration of core values, and attributes. In the current structure of American society, for

example, corporate experience and a business education are skills that are highly valued and as a

result demand a higher income. In a doomsday situation, these skills would be rendered

absolutely useless, and individuals such as “survivalists”, and “doomsday preppers” would thrive

and carry on living. In the popular Korean horror film Train to Busan, the protagonist Seok-woo

is a hedge fund manager who has strenuous family relationships due to his workaholic lifestyle.

It is clear to the audience that Seok-woo is a man who understands business very well and

possesses qualities that are beneficial for someone in his line of work, however his relationship

with his family takes a toll because of the sacrifices he makes to succeed financially. He realizes

his shortcomings as a father as the movie progresses, and is met with a horrific zombie

infestation spreading across korea while on a crowded train with his daughter (Sang-Ho, 1:20).

When humanity turns to its primal survivalist ways, individuals realize that the personal goals

they have spent their lives trying to reach are nothing in the face of a horde of flesh-eating

zombies. As a society we are enamored with zombie movies because they strip our human

complexity down to its primal roots and they give a stark reminder of how fragile our global

institutions really are. All it takes is one electromagnetic pulse to destroy the fabric of society,

and as intelligent beings we are aware of these outside risk factors, even if we usually force these

realities to the back of our head as a defense mechanism. Zombie films like Train to Busan

remind the public of the importance of core values and interpersonal relationships. Personal

goals and achievements can at times cast a cloud over our true fears and desires, and the

figurative threat of a zombie infestation is a reminder of the thin line between society as usual

and total anarchy.

Some characteristics of the zombie that provide a deeper insight into the human psyche’s

pool of fears is the emptiness and dehumanization present in the typical zombie mentality. A

parallel that can be drawn between the majority of zombie TV shows and horror films is the dark

and relentless primal nature of the common zombie. Human beings have the ability to assess

dangerous situations and make critical decisions necessary for their survival, but on the other

hand, zombies are empty killing machines who do not possess the ability to think or make

choices intended for their benefit. This contrast between humans and zombies sheds light on the

idea of personal responsibility, and highlights why the ability to make choices that affect the

future also come with the consequences of living with your mistakes. In a journal article written

by Chase Pielak and Alexander Cohen of Ashford University, they highlight this idea in the

context of surviving a zombie apocalypse. “The inhumanity of the zombie horde heightens the

contrast between responsibility and its absence. The hordes march forward as a legion, endless

and mechanical, while humans must make hard choices including fighting, fleeing, loving,

betraying, self sacrifice, or simply giving up.”

(Cohen, 46). This quote raises an important question; If human beings’ actions are a direct result

of the environment and decision making, what are the limits of human

responsibility ? This phenomenon is relevant to the COVID-19 pandemic that is currently

spreading across the world. Many countries are starting to engage in the blame game and

pointing the finger as to why the virus had spread as much as it did and if the lives lost were

preventable. While we humans get carried away in placing the blame, the consequences of the

COVID-19 outbreak affect everyone, even individuals without fault. It is truly eye opening to

realize that at this stage of global preservation, human responsibility is collective. Identifying

those individuals who make mistakes detrimental to the success of Earth as a whole does little to

fix the situation at hand. The population of living humans is always filled with a sense of anxiety

that is the result of potential consequences that come from the wrong decisions. In that way,

zombies are representative of aimless pursuit and a lack of autonomy, and remind us that the

human ethos consists of making decisions for the betterment of our society.

One of the most feared doomsday events in modern history is a nuclear war. Since the

first and last inclusion of the atomic bomb in 1945, humanity has feared the arrival of a second

nuclear attack. To understand the psychology behind zombie media and its connection to nuclear

warfare, it is necessary to understand the implications of atomic weapons and the objective

destruction that they bring society. In an article published by Princeton University, the

devastating nature of nuclear weapons is given a harrowing description,

“....a large-scale nuclear exchange would be a calamity unprecedented in human history. The mind recoils from the effort to foresee the details of such a calamity, and from the careful explanation of the unavoidable uncertainties as to whether people would die from blast damage, from fallout radiation, or from starvation during the following winter.” (DeSimone,1).

It is clear that a nuclear war wipes out various systems necessary for human survival, and carries

the potential to kill hundreds of thousands of innocent people in the blink of an eye. The

underlying message that comes with this level of destruction is the uncontrollable progression of

human intelligence and the danger of technological advancements. The world has a potential to

end due to ingenious scientific discoveries that initially caused humanity to thrive.

The irony of human discoveries that can destroy humanity is mirrored in films like The Crazies.

In this film, a military virus intended for biological warfare was accidentally released into a river

near the town of Ogden Marsh, Iowa. The virus ends up infecting the water supply, and a local

police officer with a pregnant wife begins to notice the townsfolk being transformed into

zombified killing machines (Eisner, 25:00). The United states military in this case had intentions

to protect its political interests and its citizens with this virus to be used against political enemies,

but in turn ended up hurting the people it was intended to protect. In today’s current trends of

technology, artificial intelligence is being researched and used for certain aspects of society to

make life easier and increase profitability in certain business sectors. The fear of artificial

intelligence can be closely related to the fear of a zombie apocalypse. A large amount of

individuals worry that scientists and engineers do not understand the gravity of their discoveries,

and that society may reach a “singularity” in which artificial life takes over humanity as we

know it. This could effectively result in a man-made army of beasts such as robots, or zombies

destroying our society due to an unintentional consequence of technology. In an academic article

written by Owen Flanagan of Duke University, he draws the connection between human

consciousness and the fear of zombies. Consciousness in the role of a zombie apocalypse thought

experiment serves to highlight the effectiveness of the human mind and its decision making

capabilities (Flanagan, 4). The fear of a zombie infestation has duplicated itself recently with the

new-found fear of Artificial Intelligence. In any scenario where human beings are removed from

their ability to make choices and act from emotion, then individuals no longer become human.

The common theme of Zombies in popular TV and movies serve as a deeper metaphor of

the struggles that conscious beings face in our modern society. Individuals adapt certain skills to

achieve success, and in doomsday scenarios the skills you spent your life working for may no

longer be valuable. Zombies remind human beings of the implications that come with free choice

and the responsibility of making decisions, and closely resemble the potential lifeless and

mechanical takeover of artificial intelligence. While it is entertaining and exciting to ponder the

effects of a zombie apocalypse, it is more beneficial to focus on the fears and obstacles that

humanity will face in the future.

Works Cited

Flanagan, Owen. “Zombies and the Function of Consciousness.” Homepages.uc.edu, Duke

University, 1995, homepages.uc.edu/~polgertw/Polger-ZombiesJCS.pdf.

Pielak, Chase, and Alexander Cohen. “Yes, But, In A Zombie Apocalypse - JSTOR.”

JSTOR.org, Modern Language Studies, 2014, www.jstor.org/stable/24616733.

Eisner, Breck, director. The Crazies. Overture Films, 2010.

The Effects of Nuclear War (Part 1 of 13). Office of Technology Assessment, May 1979,

www.princeton.edu/~ota/disk3/1979/7906/790601.PDF.

Sang-Ho, Yeon, director. Train to Busan. Next Entertainment World, 2016.