Guest Post: What makes a zombie fan? by Jessica Robinson

Guest Post: What makes a zombie fan? by Jessica Robinson

Recently, I was asked to give my Undead Obsessed (which is sponsored through the Wyoming Humanities Council) presentation and my Surviving Zombies workshop at a high school. It was located 3.5 hours away from where I live, and the majority of the drive took place on a two-lane highway. There were long, lonely stretches of road, which allowed me a lot of time to think. One of the thoughts that crossed my mind was: What makes a zombie fan?

I consider myself more than a fan, a fanatic—obsessed if you will. I will watch any movie with zombies in it. I’ve seen a lot of really good ones, and a few not so good ones. However, I’ve only turned off two because I couldn’t stand to watch them anymore. I’ve read several zombie novels, and I’ve seen The Walking Dead.

I enjoy talking zombies with anyone who’s willing. Luckily, there’s quite a few out there who share my passion for the undead, so finding a conversation is easy. In the course of these conversations, inevitably George Romero’s name is brought up, and there have been a few times in these conversations when after George Romero has been mentioned, the person will stare at me blankly and ask “Who’s that?”

Believe it or not, this has happened to me several times, and each time I gasp and am taken back. “Who’s George Romero?” I ask. “He’s only the creator of the zombie as we know them today!” I then go on (often indignantly) to explain his movie series and how they changed the face of the zombie and introduced the slow-moving creature we know and love to the world.

They usually nod and comment that they should check those films out, and I want to ask them why they haven’t already. Have they been living under a rock? But I refrain. (Well, sometimes I refrain. I’m fairly certain in one conversation I did ask if they’d been living under a rock, which elicited a laugh—much to my frustration.)

But as I drove down that road, it occurred to me that being a George Romero fan doesn’t make one the ultimate zombie fan. There’s something to be said about knowing the history of zombies and the people who shaped the genre, but it’s not a prerequisite. It’s not like knowing this information is required to become a member of some elite group.

And for some, George Romero’s influence happened so freaking long ago. I mean, come on! Night of the Living Dead is in black and white. BLACK AND WHITE! Who does that anymore? It’s not like it’s even scary.

Zombies, like all monsters, fade in and out of society. Their popularity waxes and wanes. Right now, they’re popular because of The Walking Dead, which has introduced a whole new generation to the undead. They often pay homage to George Romero’s zombies, even copying some of the zombies that appeared in Romero films to a T, but the audience doesn’t have to know that to enjoy the series.

Recent movies that have popularized zombies again include World War Z and Warm Bodies, but these take a different look at the creatures and change them. Which is important to keep the genre from getting stagnant and stale. I mean, really, there’s only so many things that can be done with a rotting corpse that won’t bore the audience. Personally, I enjoy that the genre has changed. I know there are those who despise the fast zombie, claiming that the only true zombies are Romero’s slow-moving corpses, and that’s okay. It’s healthy to have debate. It means people are passionate about their creatures.

And that’s what occurred to me as I was driving down the road. What does it matter if someone hasn’t seen George Romero’s films? As shocking as it may be, it doesn’t change the fact that they can still be a zombie fan. I’ve watched an inordinate amount of zombie films and read several books, but I know there’s people out there who have watched and read way more than I have, but that doesn’t change how I feel about the undead.

Claiming to be a zombie fan doesn’t mean you have to see or read everything that deals with zombies. I mean, seriously, not everything is good. While it may be flabbergasting that someone doesn’t know who George Romero is, that doesn’t make their fascination with zombies any less valid. It doesn’t make them any less of a fan.

Still, if you don’t know who he is, I recommend checking out his work. Seriously. You won’t regret it.

 

Undead Obsessed: Finding Meaning in Zombies by Jessica Robinson

Jessica Robinson’s obsession with zombie films started when she was in junior high. Horror films are a great lens to examine concerns society has about modern science. Let’s face it, when it comes to horror movies, science has a bad reputation. Blind ambition, experimental serums, and genetic experiments are often blamed for the giant monster terrorizing the city or the reason aliens are taking human prisoners or the cause of the dead rising from the grave to consume living flesh.

Using film, literature, and interviews with experts, Robinson examines how zombies portray real-world fears such as epidemics, mind control, what may or may not exist in space, the repercussions of playing God, and the science behind the fears. Robinson’s goal is to explore how zombies become a metaphor for our fears of science and what could happen if science gets out of hand.

 

About the Author

Jessica Robinson is an editor by day and a zombie-killer by night (at least in her books). Since the first time she watched Night of the Living Dead, she has been obsessed with zombies and often thinks of ways to survive the uprising. In addition to her nonfiction book, under the pen name Pembroke Sinclair, she has written YA novels about zombies and the tough teens who survive the apocalyptic world. She has also written nonfiction stories for Serial Killer Magazine and published a book about slasher films called Life Lessons from Slasher Films. You can learn more about Jessica by visiting her blog at http://pembrokesinclair.blogspot.com/

 

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