Why We Love Zombies

There’s been plenty written already about the possible explanation for our love of zombies as entertainment. Zombies represent our fear of losing our humanity. Zombies represent our fear of technology and how it’s tearing our focus away from the world around us. Zombies represent the unpleasant fact that no force on Earth is killing it faster than mankind. Zombies represent our fear of the afterlife. All of these theories may be true in some sense, but I have a simpler explanation for the zombie phenomenon.

Comedian Louis C.K., one of the funniest men on the planet, does a bit about hating people. You can catch part of it in this YouTube link (NSFW) http://youtu.be/TRFa6e63-iY. He’s onto something. As a society, we put on a public face that we’re taught is appropriately civilized, but underneath that veneer, many people are ready to go off at any given moment. How many times have you seen a normal-looking person explode into road rage after being cut off at an intersection? Or seen your everyday shopper absolutely lose it over some minor disagreement with a store clerk? I think the reason we love zombies is because we’re filled with rage, a rage at our own internal struggles to survive and succeed that we bottle up as best we can, but which threatens to boil over at the slightest provocation. We hate those that are richer or better looking or more successful than us. We hate those that have power over us. We hate those we don’t understand. And we hate those that seem to hate us.

What do we do with all that hate? How can we let off some of that steam without blowing our stack on the road or in line at the supermarket? That’s where zombies come in. Zombies are the mindless horde of people that we hate for one reason or another, but have to live with in the real world. However, in the world of make-believe that is entertainment, we can slaughter them without guilt or repercussion. In fact, we must slaughter them if we’re to survive.

Zombies are a catharsis. They’re our way to deal with the negative thoughts and emotions that we otherwise must let seethe inside. Zombies allow us to re-imagine those we would do harm as beings that actually deserve to be harmed.

So the next time you feel like chewing out your significant other or keying the car of that jerk that took your parking space, don’t. Just go home, pop in a DVD or pick up a book of your favorite zombie apocalypse, and enjoy the imaginary carnage. Whatever’s eating at you, at least it’s not a member of the undead.

My own tale of the zombie apocalypse is now available on Amazon.com. Download the eBook of my debut novel, Storm Orphans, here -> http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00L6FFU3U