“The outbreak of the undead in Afghanistan in 2007 shortly after a skirmish between the U.S. Army and the Taliban caused an international outcry. A village with a secret became the latest battlefield in the War on Terror. No one could predict how that battle would transform the world.

Some charged that the military deliberately weaponized zombies, a war crime. Others thought the Army didn’t do enough to stop the outbreak. Rumors abound of the Taliban trying to make the undead into a new terrorist weapon. Today, hordes of the undead roam the region, threatening to destabilize every government in the region. You be the judge. Find out what really happened in this leaked interview with a eyewitness to the outbreak.” – Buy it now!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XaSnlh8-WA

“Payton does not aim for completness, but for richness. And between his light authorial tone, his slamming graphic design chops, and his slavering hunger for the topic, he shoots his target square in the head.”

Read it here!

If you live in Springfield, Missouri, I’ll be at the Library Center on October 26 at 7 pm to give a speech about zombies. Learn more here.

The modern zombie genre began in earnest with Richard Matheson’s novel I am Legend and George Romero’s film Night of the Living Dead. Both stories focus on hordes of shambling undead attacking the human survivors of the apocalypse, typically by besieging the shelter of the survivors. From these sources sprang an entire genre of zombie apocalyptic fiction. Romero’s trilogy of Dead films inspired literally thousands of zombie films and novels. The Zombie Movie Database website currently counts over 4600 films which contain zombies. However, the zombie genre also holds great sway in popular culture. Video games like the Resident Evil and Dead Rising series, Dead Island and Killing Floor are all extremely popular, selling millions of copies. Clearly the zombie holds great appeal to both the horror enthusiast and mainstream audiences.

Like the survivalist apocalypses, the zombie story makes the prevailing social institutions incompetent or malevolent, such as the sheriff mistaking Ben for a zombie in Night of the Living Dead or the military using nuclear weapons on a city overrun by zombies in Return of the Living Dead. Many times, the zombie apocalypse is brought on by the old order, either as a government or corporate experiment or accident. Furthermore, any help provided by the government is limited, suspect or worthless, such as plutocracy established in the film Land of the Dead. In any case, the social order quickly collapses and anarchy prevails in the typical zombie genre formula.

Interestingly, both forms of apocalyptic stories make a point to show that the environment itself is not heavily damaged in the process. The zombie genre is dependent on minimal damage to the physical structures of civilization, as the survivors must have grocery stores to loot and malls to take refuge in. The collapse of infrastructure and services such as firefighters apparently do not mean widespread physical destruction. Similarly, survivalists have never foreseen total annihilation, even during the heights of the Cold War, as that would render survivalist training and stockpiling moot (Mitchell 86).

The nature of the Other is greatly dependent on the storyteller’s ideology, which can be seen in both forms of apocalyptic fiction. In survivalist stories, the Other is typically an agent of a corrupt government institution, such as Soviet or UN soldiers or mercenaries under the employ of Zionist bankers. Many times, they are of other races, demonstrating the racist fears of the storyteller. They are cruel and barbaric and espouse anti-American ideology. But even they possess some human traits, as they desire American resources and envy American freedom. Of course, the zombie is the perfect Other. It is human shaped but lacks all the traits they define us as humans. They are unnatural abominations with no place in the natural order of things, so killing them is not only justified, but a merciful act.

The protagonists of these apocalypses are everyman characters, blue collar heroes of modest ambition and means. In the zombie genre, average citizens are thrown into the chaos of the apocalypse, such as Shaun from Shaun of the Dead. Even when the characters are professionals, such as the soldiers and scientists in Day of the Dead, they do not posses pulp fiction levels of ability nor do they stop the apocalypse. They are swept up in the events, helpless to counteract them. The zombie genre demands realism on the part of its human characters, as they are not heroic saviors, but people the audience can identify with. Similarly, survivalists make themselves the protagonists of their apocalypse, able bodied and far from the madding crowds of civilization. Both groups of characters employ bricolage to overcome the Other.

In the zombie genre, survivors routinely build and use improvised tools in order to kill the undead and fortify their shelter. I am Legend’s protagonist has a reinforced home, complete with electricity and the comforts of civilization while the horde claws futilely at the walls. Films like Dead and Breakfast and Dead Alive revel in the gore produced by unleashing jury-rigged weapons of zombie destruction such as a modified lawnmower or jury-rigged shotgun. In most cases, the tools are looted consumer goods and repurposed for the apocalypse. Both Dawn of the Dead and Dead Rising take the ultimate symbol of consumerism, the shopping mall and transform into a fortress and cache of supplies vital to the success of the survivors. The mundane becomes extraordinary.

Bricolage unites both genres more than any other trait, as evidenced by the popular Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks. Written in a style nearly identical to U.S. military manuals and survivalist tracts, The Zombie Survival Guide demonstrates how a normal person could survive a zombie attack through training and stockpiling the right equipment. In plain language, Brooks describes the characteristics of zombies, from their sensory abilities to the infective nature of the Solanum virus, which is attributed as the cause of the zombie disease. Unlike other stories of the genre, Brooks describe a wide range of zombie events, from the comparatively small Class 1 to the apocalyptic Class 4 attack. The Guide then describes exact measures on how to survive any class of attack, such as choosing the right kind of weapon, equipment, and developing a long term survival plan. Like other survivalist manuals, it emphasizes the need for training in a wide variety of fields in to guarantee life after the apocalypse, a sentiment shared by survivalists.

It should be noted that the two genres have several key differences, namely in how they portray social dynamics and post apocalyptic life. Survivalists are typically more optimistic about their position after the apocalypse, many believing they will play a vital role in rebuilding civilization while the zombie genre usually portrays a grim downfall of society. However, survivalists are far more distrusting of others and exclude most of society from their plans, many times out of religious or racial prejudices. In the zombie genre, distrust of other survivors inevitably leads to strife and death, as the remaining humans need to work together to survive the onslaught of the undead, as shown in Day of the Dead. When paranoia and hatred outweighs the desire to cooperate, the survivors perish.

Life after the apocalypse seems to be a method of projecting one’s desires for contemporary life. Many survivalists feel marginalized in today’s society, so they create highly detailed stories in which they place themselves as vital actors on center stage of the new world. While the zombie genre does not share that level of optimism, it does emphasizes bricolage as a vital trait for survivors. From this shared theme, we can see that both genres seek to reassert the viability of the consumer class. Survivors do not need to be members of the privileged elite. In fact, it is preferable to remain separate from the institutions that dominated society before the apocalypse, as they will inevitably fail. Survival is dependent on only skill, preparation and the appropriate consumer goods and help from one’s friends and family.

Works Cited

Brooks, Max. Zombie Survival Guide. New York. Three Rivers Press. 2003.

Mitchell, G. Richard. Dancing At Armageddon: Survivalism and Chaos in Modern Times. Chicago. University of Chicago Press. 2002.

Strauss, Levi, Claude. The Savage Mind. Chicago. University of Chicago Press. 1962.

Introduction

The origins of the survivalist movement begin in the Cold War, when fear of nuclear annihilation and Soviet infiltration led to a growing uncertainty in the future. Conspiracy theories about Soviet world domination and post apocalyptic fiction appeared in popular culture and gained a following. By the mid seventies, survivalism as a subculture had taken root, with groups and magazines circulating nationally. Writers such as Kurt Saxon popularized the idea of stockpiling firearms and supplies and building a shelter or retreat in preparation of a future apocalyptic catastrophe.

Survivalism’s prominence rose in the 1980s, as fear of nuclear war rose and mainstream culture took notice of the movement. For example, the movie Red Dawn, depicted the story of a group of teenagers fighting off a Soviet invasion in the Midwest using survivalist tactics. Gradually, survivalists became linked to various militia groups and in some cases, to extremist groups, such as the Branch Davidians. As the Cold War ended, survivalism went into a downswing, as many lost interest in the topic. However, survivalism resurged during the lead up to the Y2K dilemma and after 9-11. Today, survivalism is practiced around the world, as uncertainty over the future grows stronger.

While survivalism takes many forms, it contains several key beliefs. First and foremost is the belief that disaster looms in the near future, almost always in a man-made form, such as war.  They spend a great deal of time and effort to describe the nature of the apocalypse, as prophetic storytellers. Most survivalist apocalypses are brought on by man, typically governments or other monolithic institutions, such as United Nations. This is an important detail, as distrust of the government is another fundamental characteristic of the movement. Many survivalists rationalize their actions through this distrust. “If the government won’t protect me, then I must.” However, it should be noted that the majority of survivalists are not lawbreakers, but simply await the day when central authority will crumble into anarchy. Furthermore, survivalists believe that whatever skills and equipment they acquire now will be the key to rebuilding civilization after the apocalypse. Acquiring gold and silver coins only makes sense if the post apocalyptic economy depends on them. There is no universal skill set or equipment list but there is a commonality between them, namely their connection to the concept of bricolage, as defined by Claude Levi Strauss.

In The Savage Mind, Strauss coined the term bricolage to describe mastery of tool use without professional standing or training and practitioners are called bricoleurs. As Strauss defines it:

“The bricoleur is adept at performing a large number of diverse tasks; but unlike the engineer, he does not subordinate each of them to the availability of raw materials and tools conceived and procured for the purpose of the project. His universe of instruments is closed and the rules of his game are always to make do with whatever is at hand, that is to say with a set of tools and materials which is always finite and is also heterogeneous because what it contains bears no relations to the current project or indeed to any particular project…the elements are collected or retained on the principle that they may always come in handy. (18)

MacGyver is the epitome of bricolage. The emphasis on homespun knowledge and improvised solution as opposed to professional methods and techniques underlies the purpose of bricolage. It creates a space where the average person can become an equal to the educated elite. Survivalists have created an alternative identity by arming themselves with They make use of consumer goods and transform them into symbols of power, proof of their future ascendancy after the apocalypse, the firearm the highest of all symbols. All survivalists describe elaborate scenarios in which their unique combination of tools and skills will guarantee their survival Richard G. Mitchell explains this in his book Dancing at Armageddon.

“But as symbolic adjuncts to personal competence, as centerpiece stage ware in survivalist scenarios, guns alone will not do. They must be set in suitable contexts, surrounded by what-if circumstances where hostility and martial strife, not starvation, disease, injury, or other debility, are the preeminent problems. Paradox worlds must be constructed where ‘defense’ looms paramount, where the core cultural product, the essential means of production, are the means of destruction. As the institutionalized social order fails, restoration of order (though not institutional order) ascends in salience. Here survivalism can flourish, not in authentic contention, in armed battle with capable adversaries, but in the artful dramatization of technical readiness, in displays of relevant tool-skill, in bricolage.” (85)

In many ways, survivalism is a rational reaction by its adherents in the face of the modern world.  They pride themselves on their independence from mainstream society, which they see as corrupt and unstable, traits shared by the zombie genre.

Continued in part 2.

1 and 2. [REC] (2008) and [REC] 2 (2009):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzCHnv3EQ0w

You might have seen Quarantine, the American remake of [REC] but the reason I recommend [REC] over Quarantine is the sequel. Without giving away too much, [REC] and [REC] 2 uses a blend of Catholic mysticism and science to suggest that a strain of rabies leads to demonic possession. In Quarantine, this angle is changed to an underground scientist working on rabies research. You don’t see much of this backstory in either version of the first movie but in the sequel it makes the difference.

The American film, Quarantine 2, is a predictable direct to DVD movie set in an airport terminal. [REC] 2 takes place immediately after the first movie and follows a SWAT team as they enter the zombie-filled apartment building. It’s claustrophobically intense – the zombies run into submachine gun fire and keep coming and the hallways are too small to run away. By the midpoint of the movie, [REC] 2 distinguishes itself from other zombie movies with several clever plot twists and developments. The finale is amazing, surpassing the night vision ending of the first movie. It’s a great zombie film that takes the undead in a new direction. Two more films are being planned.

3. The Dead (2011):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANpgVWVvpjs

An upcoming zombie film set in Africa, The Dead already sets itself apart from virtually every other film in the genre with its setting. Most zombie films are set in urban or suburban areas familiar to most Western audiences. The Dead places its protagonist, a US soldier, in the wilds of Africa. He must find a way to survive both the hordes of undead swarming the countryside and the brutal conditions of the desolate wastes. The film has met with rave reviews so far and will be recently this year in the US on DVD. I look forward to seeing it. You can read a detailed interview with the film’s directors, the Ford Brothers here and see video diaries of the production here.

4. Last of the Living (2009):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDswj4WlyGs

A New Zealand horror-comedy about three slackers that have survived the apocalypse but still have nothing to do other than hang out and play video games.  However, their lives change when a beautiful scientist runs into them and promises of a potential cure for the zombie epidemic.  They decide to go on a mission to try to get the cure and save the world, even if it means no more slacking off. The three slackers and scientist Shot on digital video on a shoestring budget, Last of the Living is better made than most zombie flicks and has a great theme song to boot. The director also put out an interactive Youtube zombie adventure:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9p1yBlV7Ges

5. The Horde (2009):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gY4ui929TiE

A French action-horror film, The Horde places a group of rogue cops with hardened criminals during the start of a zombie outbreak. The cops wanted to kill the criminals as revenge for their murder of a police officer but they get captured. Before the criminals execute them, zombies attack and the surviving cops and crooks have to work together to survive the onslaught. This is a nonstop action fest with intense fight scenes, brutal gore and characters so gritty you’d think they were extras in a Frank Miller comic. Since there’s no official movie based on the video game Left 4 Dead, I’ll settle for the The Horde.

6. Grave Bandits (2012?):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORU0kSdFLEI

A zombie film shot in the Philippines, the Grave Bandits is about two grave robbing brothers. They get caught by an angry mob but then zombies show up, throwing everything into chaos. This is all anyone knows about the movie yet, since it’s in post-production. There’s one article about it here that makes it sound promising.  I look forward to seeing grave robbers kill zombies with slingshots in a jungle.

7. Juan of the Dead (2011):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOquktXvkT4

Despite the trade embargo, Cuba has succumbed to zombie fever. Juan of the Dead follows the journey of its titular character as the undead sweep into Cuba. Juan, a nascent capitalist, forms a zombie extermination business. The movie is in the film festival circuit but judging from its trailer and the reviews, it will be a hilariously gory film when it becomes available.

8. Dead Snow (2009):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ap4TiNIKQJ8

A group of college students vacation at a remote cabin in the wilderness are attacked by murderous undead. Sound familiar? Dead Snow’s setup does resemble the typical slasher flick, but instead of a single killer picking off sexy coeds one by one, the movie uses a horde of territorial Nazi zombies and is set in Norway instead of a summer camp in the US.  It’s a fun movie but true zombie aficionados will know that this is only the latest in a series of Nazi zombie movies, starting with the (not so) quintessential Zombie Lake. They’ve also been used as villainsin Oasis of The Zombies, Outpost and Shockwaves to name only a few.

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 Zombies of the World: A Field Guide to the Undead is on sale during October. Save $5 for the print edition or get a PDF of the book for only $2.99!

This is not meant to be an inclusive list but inspiration for your own zombie themed playlist for your upcoming Halloween parties and zombie walks.

1. Re: Your Brains by Jonathan Coulton:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQYjZc7gKXc

Jonathan Coulton is best known for two songs: Still Alive and this one. Re: Your Brains is about a zombie named Bob singing to a human survivor named Tom trapped in mall, asking him to open the doors so he can eat the human’s brains. The zombie is extremely articulate for the undead and makes a convincing argument for Tom to just let the undead in:

I don’t want to nitpick, Tom, but is this really your plan?
Spend your whole life locked inside a mall?
Maybe that’s OK for now but someday you’ll be out of food and guns
And you’ll have to make the call
I’m not surprised to see you haven’t thought it through enough
You never had the head for all that bigger picture stuff
But Tom, that’s what I do, and I plan on eating you slowly

The song has become a major hit in geek circles. It was included in the game Left 4 Dead 2 as an Easter egg. Cycle through the songs on a jukebox in the game and it will eventually land on Re: Your Brains.

Because Coulton released it with a Creative Commons license, anyone can make a derivative work based on it as long as they credit him and don’t make money off of it. This has led to multiple music videos and fan works across the Internet. I even used it as the song for an episode of my podcast Role Playing Public Radio.  If you ever want to create a zombie themed Youtube video, Re: Your Brains is the perfect go to choice for music.

2. Zombie by The Cranberries:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ejga4kJUts

Despite the title, it’s not really about the undead. It’s about the Troubles in Ireland:

It’s the same old theme since nineteen-sixteen.
In your head, in your head they’re still fighting,
With their tanks and their bombs,
And their bombs and their guns.
In your head, in your head, they are dying…

The Cranberries berate the leaders causing the troubles, comparing their mindlessness to zombies, hence the title of the song. Still, given how incompetent the military is portrayed in zombie genre stories, this song could be applied to the forces in World War Z or the Governor in the Walking Dead.

3. East Hastings by Godspeed You! Black Emperor:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MIyqdGtwGw

The zombie genre was brought back to (un)life with the release of 28 Days Later in 2002. Its vision of a post-apocalyptic England dominated by the infected captured the imaginations of millions. It was also my introduction to the post-rock group called Godspeed You! Black Emperor.  East Hastings was the only GYBE song included in the film’s score but the entire soundtrack is heavily influenced by its brooding, unrelenting style – a postmodern orchestra of doom. The director, Danny Boyle, admitted that GYBE influenced his work on 28 Days Later.

” I always try to have a soundtrack in my mind. Like when we did Trainspotting, it was Underworld. For me, the soundtrack to 28 Days Later was Godspeed. The whole film was cut to Godspeed in my head.’

The version in the film is cut. The full length version is 17 minutes and 58 seconds long and samples field recordings of a street preacher, distorted electronic noise and quiet singing. It gives the impression of a transmission from a dystopian future where only a few radio signals can be picked up – the sounds of a dying civilization. It’s the perfect music to listen to late at night when contemplating what a zombie apocalypse would actually be like. Many of their concerts are available for download at Archive.org.

4. The Living Dead by Phantom Planet:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gL6t01Idsp4

Stubbs the Zombie was a minor classic for the original Xbox. In a Populuxe-stylized 1950s city, one zombie named Stubbs is determined to get revenge on the man who killed him. Stubbs has to raise an army of the undead by infecting the living and fighting off cops and soldiers. His only weapons are his unique zombie powers. It’s a fun game still available on Xbox Live.

The soundtrack is the real draw though. Modern bands covered a dozen hit songs from the 1950s and 60s along with a new song, The Living Dead by Phantom Planet.  The entire album is worth getting even though the other songs don’t have much to do with the walking dead. The cover of Earth Angel by Death Cab for Cutie is particularly great.

5. Blood Fever by Send More Paramedics:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BT5DFAp81ro

The entire discography of the UK thrash metal band Send More Paramedics could qualify for this list so I just chose this song as a representative of their music.  Formed in 2001, the band based their songs on 1980s zombie films and related themes. It’s great listening for any metal fan and dedicated horror fans will pick out numerous references and samples from zombie movies.

Their name comes from the film Return of the Living Dead. In the movie, the zombies are intelligent and able to talk. So after ambushing and devouring several paramedics, the zombies use the ambulance’s radio to contact dispatch and “send more paramedics.”

The band produced three albums until their breakup in 2007. Their last album, The Awakening contains a second disc that has a score for a nonexistent zombie film – ambient electronic music similar to Goblin’s work in Dawn of the Dead.  Even if you’re not a metal listener, the movie score is worth a listen. Dark, moody and filled with a bit of a radio play at the end that really captures the mood of a zombie apocalypse.

6. When the Man Comes Around by Johnny Cash:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9IfHDi-2EA

The Man in Black produced more than a few songs appropriate for a zombie apocalypse but none more than this one (Ain’t No Grave and God’s Gonna Cut You Down come to mind) Cash sings of a man that brings the apocalypse and visions of angels heralding the end of the world. It became a part of zombie pop culture when it was used as the opening song for the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead. Cut to a montage of news footage showing the collapse of civilization, the song takes on a new level of intensity. You can practically feel the shambling hordes approaching.

7. Zombie love song by Your favorite Martian:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCVMuevcCvY

A shamelessly geek pandering (not that there’s anything wrong with that) virtual band, Your Favorite Martian is a side project from Youtube vlogger Ray William Johnson. Zombie Love Song is about a lonely undead bachelor looking for that special someone. Unfortunately, she’s still alive and a bit nonplussed about animate flesh eating corpses. The music video is animated and fun though so it’s worth a listen or two.

8. Thriller by Michael Jackson:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOnqjkJTMaA

No zombie song list could be complete without the pop masterpiece that is Thriller. One of the biggest hits in the history of recorded music, Thriller is an excellent song in its own right, but the spoken word part and epic 14 minute music video make it the epitome of all zombie-based music. It took a choreography genius like Michael Jackson to make the dead dance and have it look good but they have become an inedible part of popular culture. Even today, people around the world still dance as zombies. You can see it in America or as far away as a prison in the Philippines.

As mild as this song seems today, back when it was released, it drew some criticism for its horror imagery and content. No matter how happy or harmless we try to make the undead seem, they still find a way to terrify us.

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If you liked this post, check out my book, Zombies of the World.