Sci-fi fantasy blog io9 has decided zombies are the new vampires, as detailed in this post A History of Zombies in America. The post has some interesting ideas and the new television show The Walking Dead has certainly gotten a lot of buzz. However, I don't care. You can have your zombies if that's your cup of tea, but I remain firmly on Team Vampire. The zombie trend is one I am happy to let pass me by. I sat through the movie Zombieland and that was enough for me.
Why do I dislike zombies? I think it's two reasons. One is the overwhelming amount of gore found in zombie stories. It's just too much for me and I don't enjoy it. That level of gore is not remotely entertaining to me, but that's just a personal preference. It doesn't bother others and that's fine. I try not to judge people for their entertainment choices, unless it's reality shows. I think reality shows are stupid, which coincidently is my second reason for disliking zombies.
Most portrayals of zombies are of the brainless cannibal variety. One point in the io9 post is about zombies being something of a metaphor for mindless consumerism and I think that is an excellent point. If you want to see a zombie horde in action, go to Walmart on Black Friday, the opening bell ringing in the holiday shopping season. We were actually going to go this year because our microwave is dying and we thought we'd get one on sale. Come to find out, Walmart won't have any microwaves on sale. So now we have no reason to go to any shopping place on Black Friday and I can't tell you how relieved I am. I'm so relieved I could bake (and I never bake. My husband does the baking in our family.)
Basically there's just nothing interesting to me about zombies. There's no clash of wills, matching of wits, and certainly no seductive temptation. I know there are authors out there who are refashioning zombies into something new and different rather then the old brainless shambling lump, and I applaud their creativity. I hope this new zombie craze brings them fabulous books sales. And I hope they understand when I don't jump on the bandwagon, either as a reader or a writer. I will follow vampires back into the dark shadows from whence they came.
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2 comments:
Oh Sonya, you just made my little dark heart soar. Team Vampire rules!
I don't think the zombie craze will last. It'll probably end as soon as the first picture of Johnny Depp in costume as Barnabas Collins is released. I can't wait for that!
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