Zombie culture outlet for societal dissatisfaction

By CLAIRE THOMPSON

The escalation began with the release of movies such as “Dawn of the Dead” and “28 Days Later.” Currently, with zombies are at their peak with the extreme popularity of the AMC television show, “The Walking Dead.”

However, what goes unnoticed is how this obsession with zombie apocalypse could have negative effects on our society, as people increasingly relish watching the world end on television.

It suggests many viewers find comfort in witnessing catastrophic events, even when they are fictional.

There is something relatively disturbing with zombie popularity. The enjoyment people receive from watching dead people eat other people, comes across as a symptom of some sort of psychological issue.

The concept of dead people walking around with a loss of consciousness and a craving for human flesh is terrifying. Even more terrifying is the idea of them taking over the world.

I find it noteworthy that people these days get some sort of sick satisfaction from watching zombie movies and television shows. It implies a shared mindset of our society that makes the zombie theme so widespread.

This mindset is the entertainment of watching the world spin out of control and eventually end.

The article “Shocking Zombie Research Explains Why We Love ‘Walking Dead,’” written by Linda Sharp for The Stir, discusses how “we turn to zombies when we’re feeling high levels of cultural dissatisfaction and economic upheaval.”

Sharp focuses on Sarah Lauro, a Clemson University English professor, who conducted extensive research on the zombie phenomenon. According to Lauro, “We are more interested in the zombie at times when as a culture we feel dis-empowered…Either playing dead themselves or watching a show like “Walking Dead” provides a great variety of outlets for people.”

I personally believe this implies that our society is simply lazy.

If people are dissatisfied with our culture or our economy, they should try to do something to change it.

Rather than participating in activism, people are sitting on their couches and watching people eat each other on television, as a way of relinquishing their dissatisfaction.

While it may be true that zombies provide an outlet for frustration with society, it is certainly an unhealthy one. Sitting around and indulging fake violence and gore does nothing to improve our culture. Lying on the couch eating popcorn and fantasizing about the zombie apocalypse will do nothing to help our economy.

People today are extremely passive about the way they problems affect our country.

Instead of becoming zombies in front of the television, they should get up off their couches and find a way to actively make change.