This week, I thought I would cover one of my favorite mythical creatures: zombies! Now, I know that zombies have become a pretty pop-culture phenomena, but I think that there are some interesting tidbits that warrant a bit of a discussion or further delving. For the sake of this post, I am just going to cover some of the origins of zombie myths and their usage in popular culture. Next week, I will take a closer look at the zombies of voodoo cultures and some of the surprising facts that this culture keeps hidden. First, we have to ask, “What is a zombie?” The first time that it appears in Western literature according to the OED is in 1819 by a Mr. Southey, “In the West Indies and southern states of America, a soulless corpse said to have been revived by witchcraft; formerly, the name of a snake-deity in voodoo cults of or deriving from West Africa and Haiti.” The original term in the Angolan as written by Mr. Southey is the word Nzambi which he translated as a deity. So, how did we get from an islander deity to a variety of other terms? As usual, language tends to borrow a term and use it as they see fit. As I mentioned, this post is going to focus on an overview of the zombie through mythology and popular culture, but you can see that the origins of the zombie come from voodoo traditions.

Moving beyond the origins of the term, we can start looking at other ways that the term zombie was used. Often, I have heard people say, “I feel like a zombie today.” The connotation that the word has means that they are feeling tired and under the weather. They are not feeling “undead,” nor (hopefully) do they have a hankering for human flesh. The original useage of the word comes closer to what we actually think of when we hear the word, “zombie.” But that’s not all that the word has been used to suggest. Many times in our own culture, zombies refer to apathetic people. Phrases have been uttered like, “Men can be made zombies or killed.” Any factory floor has its laborers that have sometimes been described as “zombies.” A repetitive un-thinking task has the ability to “zombify” a person. The key seems to be that though the person is living, they are unable to control their actions and they end up in a state where only the basic functions of life remain to them. They can move, they can work, but they can’t think and speak. One of the more interesting and intriguing artistic expressions of zombies has to be George A. Romero’s use of them. In his hands, the zombie gained an aura of complication. What better metaphor for a modern consumer than a zombie? In the film, Day of the Dead, there is a scene where a doctor is examining zombies and finds that they run on instinct and a will to consume. Even though they do not have the ability to retain what they have consumed, they continue to consume away. In the remake of Dawn of the Dead (2004), the zombies seem to be driven by their materialistic lifestyles to the mall where they gather for no other reason that they just seem to want to consume. Whether alive or dead, these zombies are the ultimate symbol of affluenzic drive. They consume even when they don’t need to. Another angle that the zombie fits into artistically is for the unthinking masses. Unlike the consumer, the zombie in this case is one who represents the muscular part of the military-industrial complex. This usage of the term with this connotation was made explicit in Canada during the late 1930s to the mid 1940s when conscripted (drafted) soldiers were utilized for home defense. The term was used in a playfully lugubrious manner to indicate that these soldiers were already dead, they just didn’t know it. The zombie is more than a tool for horror writers and movie makers to entertain us; the symbol has general lasting power and can make a profound statement if viewed with the right attitude and mindset. Here’s a video from Day of the Dead (1985) that brings up some of the interesting possibilities of a zombie-filled world. Do the zombies deserve to be understood? Or should they just be shot and forgot? Take a look:

So what about zombies today? I’m not sure how much of the deep metaphor still survives in popular culture. There are several zombie-marches in which people dress up in major cities and simulate a zombie attack, but they seem to be a case for the zombie as a dress-up activity. Some zombie-marches have been organized around food drives, and I find this better fitted to the symbolism and connotations that go with it. Just as vampire-marches support blood drives, I find it fitting that zombie-marches should forward hunger causes or brain research. Some of the zombie marches have been nothing but a performance art piece, but it is (in this man’s humble opinion) preferable to have a cause at the bottom of the artistic endeavor. Here’s a video of a zombie march for those who have not yet seen such an event:

When the Semantink crew went to the Phoenix Comic-Convention, there was a zombie beauty pageant that judged zombies based on their appearance and behavior. Several spoof movies have been created with zombies as their chief antagonist. Far from being social commentaries, these films use the common horror symbol as a jumping off point for entertainment. Films like Zombieland and Shaun of the Dead are perfect examples of zombies being used more for entertainment than as a metaphor for over-consumption or as a critique of war-time efforts. The zombie is clearly a recognizable symbol that will continue to be used in our society. Next week, I’ll look at some of the actual life cases of zombies in voodoo religion and cults. I’ll leave you with one of my favorite zombie quotes of all times; until next week, keep asking questions.