Saturday, October 10, 2009

The Z Virus Spreads

Last night's Smallville focused on a zombie virus--one that could be cured with a bit if Kryptonian blood. This is perhaps the first time I have seen a reversal of the Zombie disease. In most depictions of the dreaded Zack, it is kill or be killed--no redemption. And now, probably the worst spread of Zombie left--as a metaphor or modifier for the financial collapse.

The piece is actually a pretty good one, and it includes quotes from the Z-master--Max Brooks, author of World War Z and the Zombie Survival Guide. It is interesting because there is apparently room enough in the contemporary zeitgeist for Zombies and Vampires although perhaps Z is spreading more widely in the non-tweener set while the Vamps are more of a young person's obsession. The other monsters have never really, ahem, caught fire, even though American Werewolf in London is one of the best monster movies of all time.

It does make sense as the article suggests that we live in a time of anxiety, so we are focused more now on those monsters that have a simple and cathartic solution--a shot/blow to the head.

The next question is how do pirates fit into all of this?







1 comment:

Mrs. Spew said...

Actually in adult fantasy, weres are the bomb. Vampires, zombies, weres, ghosts and witches never go away. It's just that when some of the stories do well in film or t.v., the media gets all excited. Especially around Halloween, when, surprise, we have more of those kinds of stories. What's more of a symbol of the financial collapse are things like remaking Red Dawn.