Scary games. Scary games People and zombies: Friends and foes

Zombies are one of the most popular characters in popular culture. However, they are also an interesting metaphor that directors use for social criticism.

The rise of zombies

Zombie stories entered Western culture through stories of voodoo practices in the Caribbean. One of the main sources for these stories for a general audience was the 1929 book The Island of Magic, although zombie stories began to circulate before it was published. The book was written by renowned New York Times reporter William Seabrook, and one of the chapters was devoted to voodoo magic and the practice of zombies. She provoked a sharp surge of interest in zombies in the United States, and already in 1932 the first film on this topic was released on the screens, called "White Zombie", which tells about a sorcerer subordinating people to his power.

Until Rise of the Living Dead was released by George Romero in 1968, zombies remained living victims, subject to the power of a voodoo magician. Romero rethought the concept of zombies, turning them into undead rebels for some unknown reason. Since then, zombies have come to be understood primarily as the living dead. Romero became the main trendsetter of the genre. At the same time, being an independent director, he put political overtones into each of his films, raising the problems of xenophobia, classism, feminism, consumerism, etc.

By the beginning of the 21st century, the zombie genre, oversaturated with cheap imitations made in the wake of the popularity of Romero's films, began to fade. However, at the beginning of the new century, a real zombie renaissance began. The living dead have moved into books, comics, computer games, serials and scientific works.

What did zombies symbolize at different times?

Zombies have been a metaphor for what people have feared since their inception in culture. So, in the Haitian culture, where Europeans discovered them, zombies reflected fear local residents before colonialism and slavery. It is no coincidence that zombies were controlled puppets, which were spawned by sorcerers who possessed secret knowledge.

Romero, as already mentioned, turned them into a metaphor for racism, consumerism, etc. People in his films usually represent privileged groups, while zombies are those who are deprived of privileges, but want to acquire them. For example, in one of his films, people lock themselves in a store and consume the food that is available in abundance, while hungry zombies are forced to watch from the outside.

In the early 2000s, when a new surge of interest in the genre began, zombies began to serve as an expression of fear of corporations and governments. At this time, the walking dead most often appear precisely as a result of their activities and are under their control. Suffice it to recall the most famous franchise of this time - "Resident Evil", where the zombies were created by the Umbrella corporation so that its leaders could clear the earth of unnecessary people and establish their own power over the whole world.

In contrast, in the 2010s, zombies began to serve to overcome fear of stigmatized groups. At this time, there are films and series in which the story is told from the perspective of zombies. It is characteristic that in such pictures the zombie apocalypse was not completed, the zombies were defeated in some sense, and some of them are looking for ways to coexist with the living.

People and zombies: Friends and foes

Zombies turned out to be a very flexible metaphor, covering a very wide range of people and phenomena. So wide that anyone can become a zombie. Any person can become a zombie or, on the contrary, a so-called survivor. To do this, you do not need to have any special qualities, you do not need to be either a superhero or a “little man”. Due to this fact, the viewer easily identifies with the heroes of works about zombies, which, perhaps, also affects the popularity of the genre.

At the same time, few people would like to identify themselves with zombies. This is practically impossible in principle, because zombies do not have the individuality that each of us has. The living dead are a hostile, but at the same time homogeneous, gray and faceless mass. They, with some exceptions, are not personalized in any way. It is easy enough to draw a parallel between a faceless crowd of zombies and a faceless industrial urbanized community. Zombies also serve as a metaphor for office workers exploited by corporations and filling cities.

They reflect the fear of this crowd of people alienated from each other and the fear of being absorbed by it. This is the crowd we don't want to be a part of. However, as city dwellers and corporate workers, we are also inevitably part of this human mass. Since zombies are those (or rather, all) who constantly surround us, but from whom we find ourselves alienated, with whom we do not want to identify, we can interpret zombies as a metaphor for the Other, who we are not, who is different from us who are not our own.

The tension that we don't want to identify with what we're a part of contributes to the aforementioned openness of the zombie genre, and naturally this was reflected in the genre works themselves. So, in the TV series "The Walking Dead" at some point it turns out that zombies do not infect the living. The living are already infected from the start and will inevitably become zombies upon death. In addition, the series has a story arc in which one of the groups of survivors survives by doing what zombies do: eating other survivors. There are also many episodes in which the living mimic the dead in order to stay alive. That is, the heroes become like Others in order to remain themselves. However, this preservation of self-identity sometimes leads to blurring the line between self and the Other.

In the Resident Evil series of films, the main character is the only one who survives throughout the franchise. However, her survival and separation from the homogeneous crowd of Others is ensured by her own, growing stronger as the story progresses, the difference from other survivors. This very difference, in turn, is generated by her "involvement" in the world of zombies. She is the carrier of a virus that reanimates the dead and makes them desire the flesh of the living, but she is the only one who was able to subdue the virus without undergoing physical changes.

This duality of hers is complemented by her ambiguous attitude towards the corporation that created the virus (and fear of corporations is the leitmotif of "Resident Evil"). On the one hand, she belongs to the corporation as an employee (she worked in the security service), but on the other hand, she is a double agent and works there precisely in order to harm the company. AT this case maintaining identity with oneself also consists in the constant ambivalence of the position of the heroine, who turns out to be both identical and non-identical to one's own and another's.

Mastering Alien

Such an ambivalent position of the heroes of works about the living dead between zombies and survivors is typical mainly for the 2000s. Prior to this, zombies and survivors were clearly separated, and what was happening was available to the viewer only from one point of view - the point of view of the living. AT last years quite a few works have been created where an attempt is made to "normalize" zombies, that is, return them to a human state, or even recognize their state as normal. The last option came closest to "I Am Legend" and "Pride, Prejudice and Zombies", where some zombies became somewhat sentient. However, the full implementation of such a scenario has not yet occurred.

The first option is most fully implemented in the film "The Warmth of Our Bodies" and the TV series "In the Flesh". This also includes the French TV series "The Call of Sorrow", although the living dead in it cannot be called zombies in the full sense of the word, since they are not decomposing bodies that have come to life, but rather, are more like material ghosts. Tellingly, in all three versions, the story is told from the point of view of the walking dead. Also important is that in all cases of "normalization" of zombies, the walking dead begin to acquire a language that zombies in all other films do not possess.

From television films, you already know everything to the smallest detail. Human existence turns into a daily struggle for survival. We'll have to stock up on water, food, medicines and weapons. And in this case, revolvers and rifles will never be superfluous. If people want to survive, they must run away from densely populated areas. Ideally, you need to find a secret bunker that protects against the invasion of a wandering and always hungry horde. Legions of zombies are expanding their ranks at a cosmic pace. They hunt for any person they meet on the path of a destroyed civilization. This is how television projects describe the zombie apocalypse.

Fortunately for us, from a biological point of view, the invasion of infected evil spirits on the planet is impossible, and here's why.

1. Weather conditions: hell

In the conditions of tropical latitudes in the month of August, unbearable stuffiness sets in. On the other hand, January in northern latitudes can pass for a freezer. Stay outdoors without protection extreme conditions it's just not realistic. The unforgiving weather of the Earth worsens the conditions for the existence of rotting flesh. High heat and humidity promote the reproduction of insects and bacteria. The hot desert air will turn zombies into husks in a few hours. In winter, even the slightest blow will cause the skeletal system of the walking dead to completely collapse under its own weight. And we haven't even mentioned ultraviolet radiation, hurricanes, heavy rains with hail and snowstorms!

2. Central nervous system: failure

Our organisms are complex mechanisms, where each system is interconnected with each other. Muscles, tendons, skeleton and internal organs are controlled by the brain. When one element of a well-functioning system fails, everything goes wrong. AT real life a person runs the risk of being practically immobilized. This fact makes puzzling numerous stories about modern zombies that can move at the speed of a meteor, even if they lose half their flesh. They move in spite of everything, they are not embarrassed by the lack of brains, broken bones, atrophied muscles, rotting internal organs. Well, since many on-screen zombies suffer from extensive craniocerebral wounds, their central nervous system must be completely paralyzed.

3. Immunity: none

Viruses, fungi and bacteria have plagued mankind since the beginning of the world. They shorten our lifespan and make us miserable. AT recent times the world has recognized its most dangerous biological enemies: smallpox and HIV. Only the immune system makes us stay afloat and resist the onslaught of microscopic invaders. People with weakened immune systems inevitably face problems. Zombies are completely immune, so any bacteria that get inside them will be instantly eaten from the inside.

4. Metabolism: Crisis

Humans consume food, so they convert chemical energy into activity. This is how we live and breathe. Metabolism supports these processes. This term is all-encompassing, it covers all chemical reactions occurring in the body. In theory, zombies feed on human brains, because they also need to function somehow. Only there is one problem: these creatures are not alive, which is why they do not have any metabolic capabilities. Therefore, if zombies do not have metabolic processes, they will not be able to transform tasty brains into energy.

5. Predatory flocks of vultures: a real threat

In nature, there are too many vultures and animals that eat carrion - hyenas, wolves, bears, coyotes, foxes and packs of vicious feral dogs. If the zombie apocalypse came, the surviving people would be afraid not only of walking monsters, but also of hungry wild predators. Even small animals rats, raccoons and opossums will be happy to go hunting. They only fear healthy people. But as soon as they smell the carrion, they immediately rush to the attack. So what awaits the walking dead when meeting with vultures? The answer suggests itself.

6. Sensory Organs Failed

Sight, taste, touch, hearing, smell - all the senses are the key to our survival. Without these five possibilities, man will roam the world, absorb poisonous plants, beat their heads against doorways, spill boiling water on the body. But as the zombies go through a constant process of decay, it is not clear how they manage to remain sighted and perform any of the vital actions in order to feast on human brains. When the process of decay starts, the eyes immediately suffer. The collapsed soft tissue would have left the zombies blind. Then the eardrums are deformed. How can a deaf and blind monster prey on its victims?

7. Spread of the virus: in doubt

Nature has developed some terrifying ways for germs to spread. Take, for example, bird flu or measles, which is spread by coughing and sneezing. 90 percent of people who come into contact with an infected person become ill. But how do the walking dead spread the infection? Everything that we are shown in horror films is completely ineffective. Somehow, the corpse must grab the person and then deliver a stinging bite. Well, if the creature is missing some limbs, this is too cruel a proposal. In order to overtake and bite the victim, it is necessary to expend enormous energy. And, as we already know, zombies have no internal resources. And finally: do you really think that a healthy vigilant person will not be able to cope with a decaying corpse with close physical contact? Cold-blooded and slow zombies will always lose in a fight with warm-blooded "brothers".

8 Wounds Never Heal

Before the invention of antibiotics, simple abrasions and cuts could be fatal for a person. If dirt and microbes penetrated the cut, they instantly spread into the internal tissues. But now we know well what personal hygiene and first aid are. We are familiar with soap, iodine and brilliant green. In addition, our tissues have a unique ability to regenerate and restore. Fortunately, these possibilities are completely closed to zombies. Their wounds, no matter how deep they are, never heal. Imagine what will happen to a sheet of paper from which a piece is cut off every day. Sooner or later it won't.

9 Digestive System: Gaping Holes

The human stomach is a muscular bag that can be filled with approximately 850 grams of food and drink at one meal. Of course, if you eat more on a regular basis, you can stretch this internal organ. Now imagine what will happen to the stomach of a monster that is ready to stuff itself with human brains without a break. In addition, if some systems do not function in zombies, then food can simply fall into nowhere. The gaping holes along the route of the esophagus - intestines will take care of this. Well, what will happen if undigested lunch begins to accumulate in the intestines? Imagine yourself.

10. Teeth: worn out

Tooth enamel is the hardest substance in our bodies. This tough shell helps us chew our food. But without proper dental care, teeth quickly deteriorate. Zombies never brush their teeth, their gums rot, and enamel cracks quickly turn into holes. No one will put dentures on them. In the end, the effort to bite seems completely pointless. Only in films, the teeth of the dead look like a formidable weapon.

Conclusion

So, we found out that to date, no virus, no fungal infection or radiation leak will lead to a zombie apocalypse from a biological point of view. And that means we'll be spared from escaping from tenacious paws hundreds of maddened monsters. They don't represent real threat for humanity.

Most people think that zombies don't exist, but it all depends on what exactly is meant when the word is used. Today, the word "zombie" really carries two meanings, and not everyone knows about it.

The term "zombie" comes from the voodoo cult, originating from the western part of Africa, and it does not mean a person who wants to eat human brains. According to the followers of these beliefs, now living mainly in Haiti, in the southern part of the United States, as well as in West African countries, a zombie is a highly enslaved person who unknowingly works for the person controlling him. These beliefs, of course, have survived to this day, despite the fact that in 1968 the first film with completely different, bloodthirsty zombies was released, which was called Night of the Living Dead. To date, many films and video games have been released with this type of zombie and the image dead people who rise from their graves and walk in search of food in the form of human flesh. This type of zombie has become popular in popular culture, although it has little to do with the voodoo cult.

How do zombies appear?

What about real, real zombies? Where did zombies come from? According to numerous reports, voodoo priests prepare a white, mealy compound called zombie powder. This powder contains ingredients that can turn a person into a zombie. In 1980, Harvard ethnobotanist Wade Davis traveled to Haiti to investigate. In his opinion, each voodoo priest uses different ingredients to create this powder, but the common ingredient is fragmented animal remains (mostly bones) containing highly toxic tetrodotoxin(in small doses, it has a paralyzing effect on nervous system person); this ingredient is obtained by drying and obtaining a powder from dried pufferfish.

Davis believed that a person exposed to a certain amount of zombie powder containing tetrodotoxin could enter a death-like vegetative state.

Another dangerous effect on human body ingredient is Jimson's herb (datura). Shortly after a person is buried, their body can be removed by a voodoo priest who gains control over it by continuous administration of the psychoactive compounds found in Jimson's herb. Preparations based on such compounds cause delirium and confusion, and the person becomes unable to function normally.

zombie man

According to a publication from the American Chemical Society, in 1962 a man named Clairvius Narcissus was admitted to the Albert Hospital in Port-au-Prince with serious illnesses. respiratory tract. He ended up in a coma and after some time was pronounced dead by the hospital doctors. Soon he was buried. After 18 years, this man suddenly appeared on the outskirts of his hometown in a state of shock. During the investigation, it turned out that after his medical death, he was buried, but was brought out of a coma by a voodoo priest with the help of potent drugs. He became a slave to his master, who forced him, along with many other slaves - also zombies - to work on a sugar plantation until the master died.

Without the zombie powder, Clairvius Narcissus finally regained his sanity and returned to his family many years later, unlike many other zombies who suffered permanent brain damage.

This real story about a zombie man made a splash abroad, which contributed to the interest of people in the voodoo cult and the zombie theme, which, in turn, caused the popularization of this topic in the cinema, albeit in a very distorted form. Real zombies are not dead people, which, being under the influence of potent substances, are turned by the so-called masters (voodoo priests) into obedient slaves, fulfilling the will of the masters.

Zombies

Recently, there has been more and more talk in the intellectual community about zombification of people by the media, television, propaganda, and by paying attention to the state of society, for example, in North Korea, it's hard to disagree with such conversations, or at least find them close to reality.