A Mythical Creature in Pop Culture

George A. Romero is admired for setting the guidelines to our slow paced, unintelligent, and carnivorous, modern zombies. When you turn on your television or game console, there is entertainment of zombie apocalypses that are ranging from the song Thriller by Michael Jackson to the popular zombie TV show The Walking Dead to games such as Call of Duty Zombies, Left4Dead, Plants vs. Zombies, etc. to movies like Resident Evil, I Am Legend, Dawn of the Dead, Shaun of the Dead, Warm Bodies, etc. are modern and different from how zombies used to be viewed throughout different cultures. They have transitioned from voodoo to becoming something of a treat for society, whether with horror or comedy films. 

Let's take this for example:

Video combination. Links: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfDUv3ZjH2k http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRIVaXrgddg

Can you tell the difference between the two? The seriousness of zombies is changing to being more comical, allowing us to relax and enjoy this entertainment of zombies instead of being fearful of the decay of humans and fast spreading disease.

Bill Yon says that “George Romero used zombies for entertainment as well as to make political statements and to explore his apocalyptic visions.” Though this is one use for zombies, Sarah Lauro, a professor of Clemson University, says that this faze of zombies in pop culture is “...part of a historical trend that mirrors a level of cultural dissatisfaction and economic upheaval... We are more interested in the zombie at times when as a culture we feel disempowered,” Lauro said. “And the facts are there that, when we are experiencing economic crises, the vast population is feeling disempowered ... Either playing dead themselves ... or watching a show like ‘Walking Dead’ provides a great variety of outlets for people.” So when we experience an increase in unemployment, there is a rise of popularity in zombies.

Though there is a connection between zombies and economics, the association between these two is stronger when viewed through disease, virus, and other health issues.