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Whenever the issue of zombies arise we always speak of them
in an“if” mentality. This is incredibly dangerous if not outright stupid!
In actuality, there are only two reasonable ways to talk about these awful monsters- the “when” or “how long” mentality…
There are two components that make a zombie the lifeless, disgusting monster it is:
1) Mind Control/ Lack of Higher-Level Mental Capability : this might seem like a far fetched or unattainable requirement of zombiedom, but it is already in effect today!
- Look at our everyday influences. We obey a social law that has been set up to be the status quo through the mediums of Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (to just name a few). Society tells us to graduate high school and then go to a University. We are expected to receive a degree that will get us a job right after college. If we break these or any other norm that society puts on us, we are immediately labeled as unsuccessful and we are generally excluded from higher positions in corporations, governmental offices, and other institutions.
Isn't this similar to the mind control of a zombie? A zombie cannot break the will of the one who is in control or think for itself, just as we cannot break the social norm that has been set before us. I admit that a zombie is slightly more incapable of breaking this law, but that is no reason for a sigh of relief...
- Another source of mind-control could stem from the use of tetrodotoxin. This chemical was the cause of what was known as the "Haiti Zombie". Tetrodotoxin is commonly found in the puffer fish, and set these "Haiti Zombies" in a near-coma state which made it possible for plantation owners to take advantage of the free labor these zombies could be forced to provide.
2) A lifeless, yet living body: though this is not so developed as mind control, we are seeing a larger group of people living with artificial organs, and even those of dead animals.
-In Star Wars, the character Darth Vader (though fictional) was made up of many different machines that enabled him to live even though his organic body could no longer keep him breathing. Can we not see the same kind of thing happening in our society? Robert Jarvik developed the first artificial heart that was successfully transplanted permanently. Complementing the artificial heart are the non-organic artery valves, prosthetic limbs, plastic surgery, etc. Furthermore, the hearts of of pigs have been successfully transplanted into humans. While we see no evidence of this practice leading to the onset of zombiedom, we still need to be careful and stay on the watch for any changes in behavior due to non organic organ changes.
Note: The implementation of artificial body parts could arguably be a cyborg characteristic, however I feel it can equally be likened to zombies in that we are becoming less and less attached to our own bodies
- Look at our everyday influences. We obey a social law that has been set up to be the status quo through the mediums of Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (to just name a few). Society tells us to graduate high school and then go to a University. We are expected to receive a degree that will get us a job right after college. If we break these or any other norm that society puts on us, we are immediately labeled as unsuccessful and we are generally excluded from higher positions in corporations, governmental offices, and other institutions.
Isn't this similar to the mind control of a zombie? A zombie cannot break the will of the one who is in control or think for itself, just as we cannot break the social norm that has been set before us. I admit that a zombie is slightly more incapable of breaking this law, but that is no reason for a sigh of relief...
- Another source of mind-control could stem from the use of tetrodotoxin. This chemical was the cause of what was known as the "Haiti Zombie". Tetrodotoxin is commonly found in the puffer fish, and set these "Haiti Zombies" in a near-coma state which made it possible for plantation owners to take advantage of the free labor these zombies could be forced to provide.
2) A lifeless, yet living body: though this is not so developed as mind control, we are seeing a larger group of people living with artificial organs, and even those of dead animals.
-In Star Wars, the character Darth Vader (though fictional) was made up of many different machines that enabled him to live even though his organic body could no longer keep him breathing. Can we not see the same kind of thing happening in our society? Robert Jarvik developed the first artificial heart that was successfully transplanted permanently. Complementing the artificial heart are the non-organic artery valves, prosthetic limbs, plastic surgery, etc. Furthermore, the hearts of of pigs have been successfully transplanted into humans. While we see no evidence of this practice leading to the onset of zombiedom, we still need to be careful and stay on the watch for any changes in behavior due to non organic organ changes.
Note: The implementation of artificial body parts could arguably be a cyborg characteristic, however I feel it can equally be likened to zombies in that we are becoming less and less attached to our own bodies
Whether the zombie component of mind control could be found in our
social influence or even in a neurotoxin that is somehow slipped into our
food, we need to be incredibly careful. If we're not, who knows what we'll end up becoming?
Interficiens Mortem,
ReplyDeleteI found your blog post diverting of the typical zombie approach. I am fascinated by your idea of a zombie and although I don’t believe in the typical Hollywood produced zombie, I do partially believe your ideas. I have a friend who gets in “the zone” when on social media. Whether it’s on her computer or phone, I literally can’t get a single look from her when she is engaged in social media. Literally, when I am speaking to her it is in one ear and out the other. If this isn’t complete mind control than I don’t know what is. I love the connection you made with zombies and social media and I completely agree! Thanks for the insight.
Thanks Hanna for your comment! I'm not a very big zombie expert, but I am really interested in sociology, and why people do the things that they do. This is why I decided to focus mainly on the mind control aspect of the zombie topic. It is pretty interesting how, like your roommate, people can't survive without knowing what someone else in the world is doing at the same time, I think that it is even dangerous that people place such an emphasis on emulating the status quo. whether or not this produces the zombie apocalypse or not, without help it is very possible that it produces a devastating affect of lack of individuality.
DeleteI’m a little confused about this post. Maybe you got the disadvantage because I read this post last, but looking at the definition of a zombie according to the writers of the other posts, the points you are making don’t quite make sense to me. If you made a clear definition of what you consider a “zombie” the post would probably be a lot easier to understand. That aside, I think you have some very interesting points developing here. It’s fascinating to look at the way that our society is being “zombified”. I was also shocked by the story about the “Haiti Zombies”. I would be interested to learn more about that.
ReplyDeleteHey Mary, I'm sorry you were confused about my post. Hopefully I can help you understand what I'm trying to say. what I was saying is that
ReplyDelete1) a zombie is usually controlled by some outside force: In all the zombie productions we see this. In harry potter the zombies in the sixth book were controlled by lord voldemort. in other productions it might not be so evident, but we can assume that their minds are being controlled because they seem to be focusing on only one thing... humans.
- because one of the charactheristics of a zombie is mind control, I chose to talk about how close people are to being controlled that way. There were two possibilities that I chose: Tetrodotoxin (a chemical that puts you in a near coma like state and used in haiti for free labor) and social media (where people are controlled by the status quo)
2) A reanimated corpse is another characteristic of a zombie. I chose to point out our use of fake body parts to illustrate how some people are living despite their bodies capability to do so without any outside force
by combining these two characteristics I was hoping that I could realistically show how close we really are to being zombies.
Hope that helped!
Reading your comment to Mary Jane, your ideas seem clear! I think you need more evidence of zombies being portrayed as having their minds controlled. Because your idea of having zombies be a coping mechanism for humans is interesting and intriguing but it is a bit unclear. I like your idea about connecting that to humans and how their minds are controlled by media and chemicals and other stuff!
ReplyDeleteThis is a really bold topic but I really like how you approach it and the conviction you have in your writing. For those of us who are more skeptical about zombies, I feel like I would need more evidence that something as largely scaled as a world take over could occur from zombies. I really love the connection you made between zombies and slaves of Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram because I feel like that is an easily seen trend of our day. It also kind of reminded me of the Book of Mormon how the Lamanites were blood thirsty. That may or may not be a valid source for a research paper, but I am sure you could find more evidence other places in history. The argument that is least convincing for me is about prosthetic limbs and body parts. Perhaps it is because one must undergo extensive surgeries in order to have a functional foreign body part. As one who does not believe in zombies, I would have a hard time buying the possibility of masses of humans being surgically altered before they take over the world. I would take a look at that argument and fortify it. Great ideas and great start! I think your paper could benefit from looking into contradicting arguments and finding evidance to disprove those. TNT offers some interesting observations against zombies; that may be a good place to start. Keep up the great work! Good luck!
ReplyDelete