Undead Madness

[arianne]

I was thinking about why "undead" beings are so popular, and I thought maybe it has something to do with the fact that people feel hopeful about having an afterlife (even as a blood sucking beast with horribly messy hair) and being able to still feel emotions and connect with others. But what's the point in being undead when you might as well be alive, since apparently breathing, thinking, and feeling emotion aren't problems???

Zombies, though, do not fit that profile at ALL. I can't think of any reason why someone would want to be a zombie, or be with a zombie.

Thanks for the bleach. But no amount of anything is going to get horrible zombie porn images out of my head....

[Snowleopard]

I actually have an image I'm trying to bleech out.
Used to be a LoLCats site called - UglyTattoos or something like that.
Someone had a very nicely done (why I'll never know) zombie porn tattoo all up and down their lower leg.
Don't ask!!!!!!

[black_hawk_sam]

necrophiliacs don't count lol. and no amount of brain bleach is going to get that mental stain out.

Unfortuneately, I believe anyone who read that post will share common sentiments...
*shudder*

[Nickeris86]

ok morbid curiosity got the better of me thankfully all i could find was World of Warcraft undead stuff, which all said and done is not so mentally scaring as it could have been, granted i didn't look very hard either.

[The Corvidian]

That is something that bugs me at times, "Legalist" bullshit when it comes to vampires, and other legends. Stoker, Polidori, and Rymer are not the end all and be all of vampires. Watch the movie Razorblade Smile sometime.

[Nickeris86]

It depends on what region of vampire you are looking at. Every culture has had vampires in one form or another, in a lot of them they were nothing more than wild rabid animals who only sought to kill and destroy. Hell the ways to kill them, aside form sunlight which seems fairly universal, are rarely the same.

Same goes for zombies, "real" zombies couldn't be destroyed unless you burned them and in modern media the closest, according to an actual voodoo priest, was the Anita Blake vampire hunter series. you know when it still had zombies in it.

[arianne]

Why is it that humans have this thing for crazy dead beings???

[black_hawk_sam]

You know how it is... always wanting what you can't have.

[Snowleopard]

Yuck!!!  I see that with a chicken or a dead cow (lunch) but NOT a human.

[Nickeris86]

Why is it that humans have this thing for crazy dead beings???

people are freaking crazy.

but in all honesty i think it has to do with peoples fear of death, and various taboos on cannibalism.

Zombies could represent man kinds fear of the unknown after death and that there is perhaps only nothingness waiting for us, since zombies are empty shells trying to uselessly fill themselves. while vampires could be construed of the temptation to cheat death at the expense of another life. both are fears and temptations that most people have faced at one point or another.

then their are the weirdos like myself that hold no fear of death, dying yes death itself not so much. that's the belife that i base necromancy on, curiosity of the eternity and the secrets it holds. Death is neither good nor evil it just is and always will be, things can not change without something else ending the natural course of life.

[Quantus]

people are freaking crazy.

but in all honesty i think it has to do with peoples fear of death, and various taboos on cannibalism.

Zombies could represent man kinds fear of the unknown after death and that there is perhaps only nothingness waiting for us, since zombies are empty shells trying to uselessly fill themselves. while vampires could be construed of the temptation to cheat death at the expense of another life. both are fears and temptations that most people have faced at one point or another.

then their are the weirdos like myself that hold no fear of death, dying yes death itself not so much. that's the belife that i base necromancy on, curiosity of the eternity and the secrets it holds. Death is neither good nor evil it just is and always will be, things can not change without something else ending the natural course of life.

Id agree by and large for vampires, but not as much for zombies

My view on the zombie popularity has always been less about a fascination with death itself, and more about the appeal of being able to go commando apeshit with a chainsaw on a bunch of people without any moral complications you get mixed up with in with normal war stories (even the ones with aliens and such):  they are both dead already and yet still threatening my life, thus you have undeniable justification (and maybe even a responsibility) to destroy the creature in the most effective (and often creative) way possible.  The variation in zombie aggressiveness and such depends on how formidable you think you are, because anybody can whack the shufflers, but rage zombies pose more of a challenge.  Its why zombie stories tend to become an apocalyptic situations, because its about what you do when all the rules of the world go out the window.  Vampire stories by comparison tend to be less of the world-sweeping outbreak, and more of the ancient secret danger in the shadows sort of thing. 

[Nickeris86]

not so much any more they are making more and more vampire Apocalypse type movies like I am Legend, or Daybreakers

[Quantus]

not so much any more they are making more and more vampire Apocalypse type movies like I am Legend, or Daybreakers

Daybreakers is a good example as they remain intelligent and become the master race and all, though I think I count I Am Legend as much more a Zombie flick, just with a photosensitive breed.  Kind of an undead grey area though, Ill admit.

The best part of the whole article is when they commented that the reason Zombies will never die, pardon the pun, is because you can't sexualize them as was the down fall of vampires (curse you Bella Swan and your lump of marble that is called a vampire). Zombies will forever remain horrifying because you can't humanize them despite the fact they were once your wife, neighbor, or best friend.

(curiosity got the better of me and i read back to the brain bleach discussion) 
Two Words: Zombie Strippers(IMDB). Do NOT read the Taglines without the brain bleach on hand; You have been warned. 

But seriously there is also Fido(wiki), a legitimately well made film about the bonds between a boy, his pet zombie, and the various 1950s-esk suburban townspeople he was perfectly justified in killing.  To be fair it cost $8 million and only made $400k worldwide, but it still got positive reviews.  I wonder if the increasing popularity of Zombie Comedies will erode away the horror.

[Nickeris86]

I saw Fido, it was a great dark comedy  , not in the same way as Shawn of the Dead but still great.

You know what i have never seen in a movie, Necromancy, at least not in a way that satisfies me. In fact other than in D&D 3.5 i have never seen necromancers shown in a way that i find interesting in any media.

[Snowleopard]

Could be the word spooks people - they may assume that Necromancy automatically has to be linked
with Necrophilia.