Zombies.

[subject1337]

What makes zombies such a strong plot and central idea in shows like The Walking Dead and all those zombie movies like 28 Days Later? Do you think they’ll ever get played out, or are they already played out?

[MrObamius]

According to the West African tenets of Vodou, a dead person can be revived by a bokor, or sorcerer. Zombies remain under the control of the bokor since they have no will of their own. "Zombi" is also another name of the Vodou snake lwa Damballah Wedo, of Niger–Congo origin; it is akin to the Kikongo word nzambi, which means "god". There also exists within the West African Vodun tradition the zombi astral, which is a part of the human soul that is captured by a bokor and used to enhance the bokor's power. The zombi astral is typically kept inside a bottle which the bokor can sell to clients for luck, healing or business success. It is believed that after a time God will take the soul back and so the zombi is a temporary spiritual entity.[2] It is also said in vodou legend, that feeding a zombie salt will make it return to the grave.

The idea of zombies is present in some South African cultures. In some communities it is believed that a dead person can be turned into a zombie by a small child.[3] It is said that the spell can be broken by a powerful enough sangoma.[4]

It is also believed in some areas of South Africa that witches can turn a person into a zombie by killing and possessing the victim's body in order to force it into slave labor.[5] After rail lines were built to transport migrant workers, stories emerged about "witch trains". These trains appeared ordinary, but were staffed by zombie workers controlled by a witch. The trains would abduct a person boarding at night, and the person would then either be turned into a zombie worker, or beaten and thrown from the train a distance away from the original location.[5]

[Stereocrisis]

At 2/11/14 08:38 PM, subject1337 wrote: What makes zombies such a strong plot and central idea in shows like The Walking Dead and all those zombie movies like 28 Days Later? Do you think they’ll ever get played out, or are they already played out?

The success of zombie movies and The Walking Dead has to do with the survivors. If the characters sucked, so would the movie/show. I've watched some pretty damn graphic zombie movies, but they were shit, because the characters were weak. I think people just have an interest in watching how they handle themselves in a post-apocalyptic world.

[generalwinter]

Zombies in and of themselves aren't that great, but they add a unique flavor to a story when a strong plot and cast of characters is presented. Will it ever get played out? Eventually yes, but who knows how long?

[SuperElroy]

They were played out before they played out.

[Zhon]

At 2/11/14 08:38 PM, subject1337 wrote: What makes zombies such a strong plot and central idea in shows like The Walking Dead and all those zombie movies like 28 Days Later? Do you think they’ll ever get played out, or are they already played out?

Zombies are appealing in popular media because it allows for extreme violence against other humans with no moral backlash. In fact, it is glorified and praised. It is the ideal situation for the collectively frustrated society we live in. That's how I see it anyway.

Combine that with the lawless scenario of an apocalypse and you have the ultimate daydream.

[Stereocrisis]

At 2/11/14 09:19 PM, Zhon wrote:

At 2/11/14 08:38 PM, subject1337 wrote: What makes zombies such a strong plot and central idea in shows like The Walking Dead and all those zombie movies like 28 Days Later? Do you think they’ll ever get played out, or are they already played out?

Zombies are appealing in popular media because it allows for extreme violence against other humans with no moral backlash. In fact, it is glorified and praised. It is the ideal situation for the collectively frustrated society we live in. That's how I see it anyway.

Combine that with the lawless scenario of an apocalypse and you have the ultimate daydream.

I'm inclined to agree with you Zhon. It's like that movie The Purge. People are attracted to that lawless scenario in which they can shoot and stab and dismember one another without any fear of prison time.

It's actually kind of scary to think about. The implication of the success of these movies and shows is that deep down, people are so frustrated, they want to kill each other. I do think these moives and shows serve for the greater good. Just like GTA style video games, and first person shooters. They can actually experience murder without committing any crimes.

[Zhon]

At 2/11/14 09:30 PM, Stereocrisis wrote:

At 2/11/14 09:19 PM, Zhon wrote:

At 2/11/14 08:38 PM, subject1337 wrote: What makes zombies such a strong plot and central idea in shows like The Walking Dead and all those zombie movies like 28 Days Later? Do you think they’ll ever get played out, or are they already played out?

Zombies are appealing in popular media because it allows for extreme violence against other humans with no moral backlash. In fact, it is glorified and praised. It is the ideal situation for the collectively frustrated society we live in. That's how I see it anyway.

Combine that with the lawless scenario of an apocalypse and you have the ultimate daydream.

I'm inclined to agree with you Zhon. It's like that movie The Purge. People are attracted to that lawless scenario in which they can shoot and stab and dismember one another without any fear of prison time.

It's actually kind of scary to think about. The implication of the success of these movies and shows is that deep down, people are so frustrated, they want to kill each other. I do think these moives and shows serve for the greater good. Just like GTA style video games, and first person shooters. They can actually experience murder without committing any crimes.

On the other hand, isn't that just perpetrating the violence? Stimulating the fantasies? By giving people a chance to engage in this behavior are we encouraging and desensitizing, or are we alleviating?

I'm on the fence, I don't really know. I enjoy this type of media as much as the next globally frustrated individual nonetheless.

[Scarface]

The idea is pretty played out. The reason Walking Dead is successful is that, even though the basic plot is the same, it has more time than a movie to develop characters.

For movies, it's played out. Every dipshit with a camcorder and windows movie maker effects thinks he can make a zombie movie that will be amazing and loved by all.

[kazumazkan]

At 2/11/14 08:38 PM, subject1337 wrote: What makes zombies such a strong plot and central idea in shows like The Walking Dead and all those zombie movies like 28 Days Later? Do you think they’ll ever get played out, or are they already played out?

28 days later they are not zombies

[Entice]

Yeah, if the characters are good, there's good writing and everything is generally just executed well it's going to be a good movie whether it's aliens or wizards or zombies.

Zombies by themselves don't make anything good or bad.