The Evolution of Zombies in Our Culture

Kyle Hartman

English 11: American Literature

Mr. Hayden

November 3, 2015

When you think of zombies you always think of slow-moving, dead beings with an unsatisfiable hunger trying to kill anything and everything in their path. There have been hundreds of interpretations of zombies throughout history. This idea of zombies either frightens us or excites us. This idea gives us entertainment, a costume for Halloween, and nasty nightmares. This is what I plan to explain; how the idea of zombies affects the culture of today. I want to prove that their popularity is not just by coincidence.

The history of the concept of the living corpses dates back the seventeenth century in West Africa. The village of Haiti, conjuring black magic known as voodoo, to kill or injure one’s enemies. But this is only what the what Hollywood movies tell us what this ancient religion is about. The word voodoo derives from the African word “Vodu” which means, “spirit”. This religion involved the worshiping of the person’s ancient ancestors, with drumming, singing and dancing in their religious rituals. The followers of this religion believed that they were possessed by immortal spirits, that is their ancestors, protecting them and living through them. The Haitians were captured and enslaved, brought to America where they were forced to do manual labor for rich white slave owners. Still believing in their faith they held their religion close allowing them to deal with the hardships that they faced. The singing, dancing, and rituals that the Haitians did frightened the slave owners. They believed that they were performing black magic and conjuring demons to attack their owners. The slave owners forced their slaves to convert to Christianity or they would be tortured or killed. That did not stop most of the Haitians. Some daring slaves would practice voodooism in secret, but if caught, there would be serious consequences. Most of the village of Haiti today is catholic, but some of the poor parts of the village still believe in the voodoo religion.

The part Voodoo that Hollywood focuses on is the dark part of the religion. It is said that people killed unnaturally or before the their intended lifespan, their souls are trapped in their bodies. They can only escape when the gods approve of them. While the soul is trapped in the dead corps, it is very vulnerable. A soul can be snatched by a sorcerer, who in turn can control the body of the lost soul. This turns the corps into a zombie like creature, that obeys all of the sorcerer’s commands. Hollywood uses this as a scare factor to use in entertainment. This is where the idea of people coming back from the dead comes from and essentially the concept of zombies. This might seem too far fetch for some people. Taking someone’s soul and using their body as they please, but to the people that believe in voodooism, it's as realistic to them as a car crash. Those who believe in the “zombies” do not fear the zombies, but fear becoming zombies themselves.

Zombies throughout history have changed dramatically over the years. “White Zombie” is supposedly the first movie to include zombies, in 1932; it instituted the idea that zombies move slowly. But unlike most movies, “White Zombie”, adapts the voodoo zombies apart from disease or cannibalism. After “White zombie” other movies decided that their zombies will also move slowly giving eerie feeling to them. Zombies began to travel in packs together like a school of fish making it harder to get away from them. This appealed to the fear factor that zombies had now drawn. In 2004’s “Dawn of the Dead” introduced the first ever zombie to run or sprint. Zombies were no longer these slow moving creatures that you could easily escape from. Zombies became harder to escape it became apparent that you can no longer outrun a zombie. Sure you might be faster than a zombie, but they have one-track minds and unlimited stamina. In 2013 “World War Z” introduced a new kind of breed of zombie. This zombie had superhuman capabilities. Running faster, jumping higher, and being able to withstand extraneous damage to its body. We have yet to see any zombie quite like this in any movie thus far. Zombies began as slow moving, easily escapable monsters to fast merciless creatures that can catch you in seconds.

With the thought of zombies, you must also think of their unquenchable thirst for brains. But this is a common misconception. Zombies don’t just eat brains, they eat the whole person or animal. Zombies have developed ways of tracking and killing their prey. As the concept of zombies was just arising, the only way a zombie was able to kill someone was because of the element of surprise. As this concept began to be over overused, writers began to think of different ways that zombies could over take a few humans. Zombies began to cluster together and march in herds finding food that they would use the sheer numbers of them to take over the prey. Maybe the reason they stick together is because the haven’t lost the social interaction of their past self, and they actually understand that it is an excellent way to hunt. Zombies need more credit than they are given. They aren’t just mindless drones, but they actually have intelligence to them as well.

Throughout history there have been different causes of the zombie outbreak. It began with voodoo and black magic, and other religious ways. Writers have developed more believable reasons for their existence throughout the years. Corpses would rise from their graves because spells and and sacrifices. In “World War Z” the zombie outbreak was caused by a disease that would take control of the victim's brain and its only purpose was to spread the disease. This made the existence of zombies more real and more possible, adding to the fear factor of these creatures. The fact that if a zombie bites a person or animal, the victim will turn into a corps just like the thing that had bitten them.

The reason for the high increase of popularity zombies have gotten throughout the years is because of how realistic the idea has become. The zombie outbreak has been portrayed in movies by starting with disease and then the spread of disease. But we have learned so much from microbiology and that a disease like the one in “World War Z” could be a possible thing. Disease is easily spread when not quarantined and it would be the quickest and most efficient way to wipe out the human race and replace them with zombies .As we see in AMC’s “The Walking Dead” the disease that has turned most of the planet lays dormant in a person until they are dead or they are bitten by a zombie. After the bite, the victim goes through an intense fever that only gets increasingly worse. The bitten person then dies by the hands of the disease and a few hours/ minutes after death, they turn into the same creature that had bitten them. This disease knows how to spread itself globally. There is nothing more frightening than an intelligent, deadly disease. Another reason why zombies might be becoming popular is because we typically connect zombies with the end of the world. You don’t see just one or two zombies anymore; you see hoards of them which means massive amounts of people are dying.

In conclusion Hollywood has taken a concept that was only possible through religious beliefs, to very possible and an outbreak could occur at anytime. Zombies have progressed through history, changing and adapting to the times. The way they move and think allow them to capture and kill their target easier. Just as with zombies, it is easy to see that a disease that could possess us and use or body for its own purposes, just as the sorcerer is able to take someone’s soul and use it for their own bidding. The virus could kill all sense of memory and leave only what is essential, like animal instinct. This might be why zombies only have a one-track mind, to kill and eat what’s in front of them so that they might survive. Writers and movie directors are finding more and more ways to portray these nightmares. We become increasingly more afraid of these creatures, because of how real they might become. The popularity of these creatures is no coincidence; People always find a way to make things seem more real and more possible. A zombie outbreak may happen at any time, it might even happen today.

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