Zombies and the post-modern age

I've been fascinated with the predominance of vampires and zombies in entertainment over the last several years. I discount the current  trendy vampire (aka Twilight) that began with Anne Rice many years ago. It is the zombie that has held to its original imagery of the undead with cannibal eating habits. During the last years, zombie movies moved from B films to the upcoming movie that stars Brad Pitt. 

So, zombies either put into image a reflection of current society or functions as a compensatory image of today's society. I believe the continuing presence of the image means that it has transcended the duality. We now have an unfeeling (compensatory) who eats everything alive (reflection of modern capitalism). Our post-modern world believes that anything held passionately reveals truth, at least for the individual. I remember teaching a history class when a high school student raised her hand and said she disagreed with a fact given in the text. When asked why she disagreed  hoping that she was going to bring something unique into the discussion, she stated that she disagreed because she "just didn't believe it." This was supposed to be a sufficient answer. To discount this exchange as representative of her age, just fact check the past election. Emotional "truth" is one thing but emotional truth held as intellectual truth is a falsehood.

So, back to zombies. They have no emotions except a frustration when blocked from getting their flesh meal. No ethics, no reflection, just a draw to eat what is living and leaving it for dead. Such eating of what is alive also, apparently, does not satisfy. Rarely have I seen a zombie after a good meal, sit down like a satiated lion to nap and digest. I believe I remember that there was a line in zombie tradition that showed they prefer living brains over any other part of the person. Once emotionless  the next target is to eat reason as well. Once reason and emotion are consumed (read consumer society) power supported by the last vestige of emotion, fear, dominates societal interaction. We all become food for a zombie economics.

It just occurred to me that shark movies used to provide this emotionless eating of all life but back then it was all "underwater" and broke the surface from time to time. Zombies are pictured as the majority in number and threatening to rule the world but for some few who resist. 

What do you think?

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  • You might find the Sundance Channel show Love Lust episode on the undead to be interesting.  It talks about society's need for different monsters (e.g., vampires, zombies, etc.) based on historical periods of time.  It also talks about the evolution of these monsters, for example vampires once being scary creatures to now beautiful romantic objects of attraction.

    Love Lust and the Undead

  • Hello, Ed. This sounds right to me. Vampires used to work for our projected fears of countries or companies run by evil humans conspiring (assumedly with glee) against us. Vampires are too emotional, too romantic (re passion, power, & eternal life), to hold our Shadow for big corporations. And The Blob, aliens, & monster machines (e.g., Teminator) are too far away from human; humans still run the companies, after all. (Monster machines could come close; like corporations, they were at least created by humans before they got out of control. They don't seem to be that popular nowadays, though.)

    It'll be interesting to see when vampires crest back into popularity, or what the next incarnation of zombies will hold.

    9142780696?profile=original

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    • Thanks for the picture of Nosferatu. Frankly, vampires are more my thing, at least the pre-Twilight variety.9142881061?profile=original

      • Vampires for me, as well. My guess would be that might be true for most of the Depth Therapy folks?

        • I'm thinking that the motivator of the image is a sense of living a meaningless existence. No creativity or unique enjoyment, just grey semi-life. Could be a good image for that time of transition beginning the move from accumulation to meaning, collective identification to individuation. Just going through the motions with no meaningful telos or expectation - reminds me of your machine image. 

          As an MFT it might be interesting to see if family members resonate with the various "creatures of the night." We can call it Monster Imago Therapy. 9142895470?profile=original

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