As I sit staring at my computer screen, I am trying to think of a question for a term paper proposal. My mind is blank. My eyes are glazed over. Then, suddenly, it hits me.
What’s with this new breed of super zombies?
So, I put the proposal on hold momentarily, but this, in my humble opinion, is a question that must be answered immediately. I grew up loving zombie films, and in fact, I still do.
The story-line never gets old. Some scientists or military officials made a bad call involving nuclear waste, a large metropolitan suburb falls victim, chaos ensues, intestines fly. It’s all very beautiful.
In the past, Hollywood has bombarded us with a slew of gory movies all focusing on everyone’s favorite group of flesh-eaters. With the recently released spoof “Shaun of the Dead” and the March 2003 remake of George Romero’s classic film “Dawn of the Dead,” the love of zombies is in the heart of film fanatics everywhere and has been for a great many decades.
In 1968, George Romero showed audiences the dangers of nuclear fallout with his horror classic “Night of the Living Dead,” which has been referred to as the “Citizen Kane” of zombie films. He continued spreading the zombie cheer with follow-up films, “Dawn of the Dead” and “Day of the Dead.”
But what makes zombies so gosh darn fascinating? And what is a zombie, anyway?
According to “The Zombie Survival Guide” by Max Brooks, a zombie is a member of the undead community who for some reason, is reanimated, with a taste for flesh and a lack of motor skills.
Classic zombie characters can be seen in the above-mentioned films, but what is the deal with the zombie-like creatures featured in movies such as “28 Days Later?”
Sure, not once in the movie do the characters mention the z-word, but how many of us went to the theater ready to see some killer zombie death scenes?
I’ll be the first to raise my hand. And don’t tell me you were under the impression that those monstrous murderers were not zombies.
We all thought they were. After all, that’s how the movie was packaged: an exciting, new zombie film. Many critics even referred to these villains as “super angry zombies.” It wasn’t until after we saw the movie that we realized these flesheaters weren’t zombies at all, just rage-infected crazies.
These villains were fast, reasonably intelligent, and incredibly vicious. A real zombie, although vicious, is neither fast nor smart.
Zombies lack their central nervous system and instead of charging at their prey, sort of waddle towards them.
Even the zombies in the remake of “Dawn of the Dead,” could be questioned for their authenticity. The opening scene features a rapid zombie child, who leaps at her victim faster than any real zombie could ever dream possible.
But fret not, friends. I am here to defend the beloved definition of zombie. Never again will I allow a bunch of Hollywood stiffnecks to mutilate the meaning of the word. I refuse to accept this new super breed of zombie as anything but a cheap imitation. Zombies are not intelligent, they are not fast, and they are not attractive, but I love them and will continue to root for the familiar face of the slow flesheater any day. And with that settled, I have a proposal to write.
Valerie Rojas, a junior journalism major, is LV Life editor of the Campus Times. She can be reached by e-mail at skalivornia@hotmail.com.
