Zombies: Science Fiction vs. Fantasy
While the presence of zombies in popular U.S. culture began in the 1920s, George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, released in 1968, is the real foundation for the overblown zombie obsession we see today. Since its release zombies have sprung up everywhere. They invade not only our cinemas and living rooms but also our theatres, novels, and even college campuses. Zombies have overrun our culture.
Why are we so drawn to the undead?
While I do intend to rant and gush over various zombie novels, films, and games later in this blog and possibly in next week’s as well, I want to approach the subject from a more historical and analytical standpoint as well.
In my introductory blog I had a little trouble defining science fiction, and since then I’ve written about quite a few texts and films that are more accurately categorized as fantasy. I’m sure I am not the only person to have ever had an issue distinguishing between the two, and I’d like to clarify it a little more for my readers.
Remember that the contents of a science fiction piece are usually highly improbable, but not provably impossible. Science fiction works have a foundation in the rational, scientific world. The events are plausible. Fantasy on the other hand, deals more with magic and mythology, portraying events that are scientifically impossible.
I am going to incorporate the definitions into my blog, I promise, because pondering the many interpretations of zombies has given me a few firm examples of each genre I am attempting to explain.
Over the weekend I re-watched the 1979 version of Dawn of the Dead, and one character’s chilling words gave me the idea for the distinction I will try to make today between two intertwined genres. The character recites the words of his minister: “When there is no more room in Hell, the dead will walk the Earth.” This is the only explanation offered in the film for the presence of the undead. It marks the work as a fantasy piece, as it attributes the source of the zombies to a religion. Scientifically, it is impossible for the zombies to have come from a place never proven to exist.
And here I must give my opinion on that film.
If the undead walking around are the overflow from Hell, why are there children among them? Also, why do people turn into zombies when bitten by one of the undead? Are the newly bitten all destined for Hell too? To me these questions represent a big problem within fantasy pieces that are set in the real world as opposed to an alternate one created by the author. It is difficult to “suspend our disbelief” in a fantasy piece that attempts to exist within the realm of our own world.
However faulty, Romero’s zombie fantasy films are closer to the original myths than many recent works. The oldest known zombie superstitions stem from African and Haitian Vodun/Vodou (similar to New Orleans voodoo) traditions. A zombi was created by a Bokor (witch doctor), who could raise the dead and bend them to his will.
The undead in Sabriel and most in Buffy the Vampire Slayer are also considered elements of fantasy, as they are revived by magic. But there is one example in Buffy that bridges the space between fantasy and science fiction. In fact, it takes place in one of only two seasons that actually deal with bad guys who aren’t mythological. In season 5 Buffy battles a demon-soldier that the military pieces together using parts of demons and humans. While his body is half constructed from demon limbs, his assembly falls to the category of science fiction.
As I move from fantasy to science fiction, think about this question. Which is worse, a zombie created by magic whose body is literally just a dead husk that will eventually fall apart? Or a virus/plague that spreads rampantly throughout the world creating vicious cannibals with bodies that still function until they starve from a lack of food? Keep in mind that the first type generally stagger around slowly, while the second often run fast and evolve into more terrifying creatures.
As I’m sure you can tell, I am more frightened of the second type of zombie, which exists in the plausible realm of science fiction. You don’t have to agree with me, of course. After all, many believe that fantasy’s limitless scope can produce more frightening zombies. Indeed, my own argument that science fiction’s realistic quality is more fearsome seems to ignore fantasy’s ability to portray a wider variety of undead.
Recent zombie films have created many explanations for the undead presence. One that I find particularly difficult to watch is 28 Days Later (2002), in which a few animal rights activists unleash the Rage Virus on the world by freeing infected monkeys in a research lab. The film is frightening for me because the infected are constantly twitching and making creepy guttural noises while sporadically vomiting blood. It’s both scary and disgusting.
28 Days Lateris also frightening for its psychological factors. The film attempts to communicate how it would actually feel to wake up in a post-apocalyptic world alone and immediately have to flee from hoards of vicious undead. The loneliness, confusion, and terror in the film reflect real issues, while the heroes in a fantasy story like Sabriel often face their attackers with little or no fear.
Of course not all science fiction-zombie films are terrifying. Although the virus is still present, films like Shaun of the Dead (2004) and Zombieland (2009) portray the lighter side of the zombie apocalypse, if such a thing is possible. These films focus more on the relationships developed than the enemies faced.
Personally, I find the science fiction approaches infinitely more terrifying than the fantasy pieces, simply because I believe the zombie apocalypse is possible. They address real problems that will occur in the real world if such a virus is ever unleashed.
I haven’t nearly finished talking about zombies and their presence in our popular culture, so I will continue this discussion next week, when I will write about how they invade college campuses!