Walkers, Biters, Rotters Oh My Moans and groans creep from the television. Viewers set on the edge of their seats nibbling away at fingernails can mean only one thing; AMC’s The Walking Dead is on. This intense, entertainment gripping TV drama has it all, blood, guts, and glory, not to mention zombies. Rated amongst the top hit television shows, could it be America has a dark side? According to Tony Wong, pop-cultural journalist, states, “The pulpy horror series has become a global phenomenon” (Toronto Star). Zombies have eaten their way into the hearts of Americans, in a world set on extremes, viewers want it all or nothing; The Walking Dead delivers the extreme both in entertainment and in ratings. The Walking Dead is a television horror/drama …show more content…
The show delivers extreme violence; however, it is still rated amongst the highest of all television shows. Adam Buckman, TV columnist, relayed, “One explanation for the popularity of “The Walking Dead” is that people aren’t all that bothered by a TV show that forces them to witness acts of extreme violence because audiences have been exposed to so much violence already -- in movies, in scores of other TV shows, online and on the evening news.” He also states, “The Walking Dead” amounts to a life-or-death situation for the show’s human survivors. The intensity of these scenes is what makes “The Walking Dead” so attractive. It is suspenseful, addictive entertainment” (Mediapost.com.) One example of pushing the boundary on The Walking Dead aired on episode 4 of season 3, “Killer Within”. The show depicts a very pregnant Lori Grimes trapped in a prison full of “walkers”. Lori proceeds to go into labor; trapped and no time to spare she decides to have Maggie deliver the baby via C-section out of fear for her baby’s life. Soon after Maggie delivers the baby, Lori dies. If that did not shock viewers, Carl, Lori’s son then shoots his mother so that she does not return as the undead. (Examiner.com). The episode was heartbreaking, dark, and pushed the boundaries tipping the scales to extreme. How do you beat an episode like that, how about throwing in a psychopathic kiddie hell bent on playing with zombies? Times, International Business, reports, “Andrew Lincoln told Yahoo that one episode in the second half of season 4 would be “the most controversial episode you've ever been involved in.” “The Walking Dead” season 4, episode 14, “The Grove” is that most controversial episode and Robert Kirkman comic book writer confirmed this fact. “That would definitely be this episode,” says Robert Kirkman to Entertainment Weekly.” Episode 14 of season 4, “The Grove” starts as just another day surviving the post
The article “Dead man still walking: Explaining the zombie renaissance” by Kyle Bishop is about the revitalization of the zombie genre. The article talks about the inception in the late 1960’s, the category of zombie films has had its roller coaster ride of ups and downs, starting with its decline in the early 1980’s with the release of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video. Furthermore, during 1990’s, due to the shift in the cultural consciousness that came with the Clinton Administration and the countries isolation from global tragedies, the popularity of these films continued to decline. Cultural consciousness refers to the understanding and awareness a shift in feelings, sensations, thoughts, of not only our own culture, but adjoining cultures.
Ever since the age of television dawned on mankind, there have been a plethora of shows have been released by people all over the world, with the genres spanning from satirical masterpieces to the darkest and most gruesome bloodbaths. It was not until the beginning of the 20th century when a handful of powerful studios in the United States formed a monopoly, and started producing television shows and movies of top-notch quality – Hollywood became the unassailable force in cinema and television. Nowadays, television shows along with movies are watched by millions of people all over the world and out of all this spawned a television show that was unlike any other. Hannibal revolves around a rare and gifted psycho analyst Will Graham, who along
In the modern movie genre, horror movies accounts for very great proportion of the number of followers. Relevantly, the zombie film genre has been developed into a dominant part of mainstream horror, replacing the previous monster such as vampires and werewolves. In Max Brooks’s essay “The Movies That Rose From the Grave”, he offers his opinion that throughout the process of zombie film transformation, it increasingly captivates viewers while gradually generates the modern horror. Brooks’s essay should be an appropriate inclusion of a college textbook which explains the phenomenon of the “undead explosion” in various kinds of media, proving to the audiences with enthusiasm, interest, credibility and specific examples that zombie culture is resurrecting a formerly obsolete genre.
Klosterman uses elaborate metaphors and similes to seamlessly compare modern-day life to the prevalence of zombies in society’s media and entertainment, as well as using words with a negative connotation to influence his readers’ view of modern-day life. Through the comparison of the daily
Vampires and Zombies are common in today’s modern world through the use of the media. In this essay, I will be talking about how each of these beings say something about society, how vampires have been portrayed across time and how zombies have been portrayed. By doing this, I will use two references from TV shows.
The Walking Dead is a televised American drama series about a group of people trying to survive a zombie apocalypse developed by Frank Darabont. The series stars Andrew Lincoln as sheriff's deputy Rick Grimes, who awakens from a coma after the world yields to a zombie plague (Griffiths, 2011). Dazed and confused from months in the hospital he wanders out to figure out why he cannot find anyone alive. He makes his way home only to find his wife and son missing. He sets out to locate his family and finds many other survivors on his journey (Tucker, 2010). The Walking Dead coordinates with many social themes such as
Children between the ages 7 to 12 are exposed to many television shows. These television shows, play an important role in children this age by opening their eyes to new ideas, cultures and to new places. As a 5th grade teacher, I was surprised to hear how many of my students were excited about the return of The Walking Dead on February 14, 2016. Before today, I had never seen this show, but I knew it was not appropriate for 10 and 11-year-olds to watch.
Have you ever felt like you are living in a world where humanity isn’t at its best? Have you ever felt mixed emotions by watching a TV show? Is it possible for a show to represent love, hate, anger, drama, pain, sadness or even cause you a sense of distress? The Walking Dead is the perfect show to make you think about how people act in different situations in life and shows us what type of people these circumstances can create. The show is based on a post-apocalyptic time where the existence of humanity is near its end. The Walking Dead represents themes of fear, betrayal, sacrifice, hope, leadership and, the conflict between good and bad. Some aspects of the show such as the character development and how, psychologically, the characters tend
The author showcased through his writing that survival is critical in the world and also pointed out that Americans like the zombie genre because they believe they can survive anything with the right tools and
One of the biggest topics that has dominated public conversation in recent years is the amount of violence that has been shown to viewers of film and tv alike. One show that is extremely gory and shows lots of violence is AMC’s The Walking Dead. Some of the deaths shown in this show are so over the top that it makes me wonder why it was necessary. People have become so desensitized to this kind of thing, that it is appalling over what kinds of things people do get upset over. As I have already mentioned, there are very gruesome deaths shown in every season of The Walking Dead. And yet, people have not complained about the violence being shown in this show. At one point, a man was threatening to kill an infant and still, the people were fine
Is it possible to kill an idea when it is undead? Classic movie monsters tend to fade in and out of popularity as audiences grow bored and move on to fresher concepts. But there is one that has risen up and does not seem to slow down: zombies. Zombies have gone from being a small subgenre of horror film to a staple of popular culture across various media. This paper will explore the rise of zombies in popular culture and why it continues to remain relevant.
The popularity and appeal of the undead has greatly increased in the past few years with the rise of the popular television show, The Walking Dead. The show began in October 2010, and is still on the air today. Before the show was created, there were The Walking Dead comic books that were first published in 2003, and continue to be published today with over 148 issues. The fascination did not begin with The Walking Dead, though. Many movies were produced, and many books published before The Walking Dead was even thought of. An extremely influential individual to note is George Romero. Romero is an American-Canadian screenwriter, film producer, film director, and editor. He is best known for his series of apocalyptic films, beginning with Night of the Living Dead in 1968. Romero has been nicknamed the “Godfather of the Undead.” Some other works of fiction and film to note include 28 Days Later, I am Legend, Pride and Prejudice Zombies and The Zombie Survival Guide, also by Max Brooks. Our cultural fascination with “the return of the dead” can be traced back to the events and the general morale leading up to World War Two, and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
The Walking Dead universe does not use the term zombies, but “walkers” instead. The premise of the game revolves around the main character Lee Everett and a little girl named Clementine, who he meets at the beginning of the game and is set to protect her at all costs. On the way to find a better place or escape for survival, they meet several people and survival groups who may leave or die due to decisions that the players make. The main storyline does not stray too much and the choices that the players make affect more on character development and how the other characters in the game perceive Lee.
Oliver Stone’s 1994 classic, Natural Born Killers, excited and traumatized its audiences while also causing controversy. The tale of white trash lovers caught up in a realm of chaos that includes a continuous murderous rampage from state to state, draws in audiences with its graphic violence and riveting pulse inducing music. Yet, the message of this film seems to be much deeper than just exposing audiences to yet another chaotic action movie filled with guns, blood and mayhem. Stone’s Natural Born Killers examines the subject of media’s investment in serial murder very thoroughly, and so it seems likely that it has the potential to offer a more rigorous interrogation of the nature of the American public’s fascination with the serial
I would like to address the culture of consumerism, our desire for violence, and the change in gender roles from Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, to Boyle’s 28 Days Later.