Blogpost # 8: The Zombie Survival Greatest Weapons

A lot of evidences show that a zombie apocalypse is probably possible to happen; others stated that it is impossible, since these evidences are not consistent with one another. We can't answer all these questions by just reading some articles alone that's why filmmakers intended to create zombie movies as an additional references, but the result is unintentional. It created a massive effect on our society especially on our imagination. Like for example, others already created and written articles such as how to survive the said apocalypse, and some are building houses, tactics and strategies against the zombie horde.

In an article from badgerherald.com entitled, "How to survive the zombie apocalypse: follow Max Brooks’ common sense tips," written by Allie Johnson, evolves on a person named Max Brooks. He is the author of the novels, The Zombie Survival Guide and World War Z, that is now adopted into a major blockbuster film.

According to Max Brooks, he created these novels not because he wants to give entertainment to the readers but because he wants answers to his questions. He confessed that he did not expected "The Zombie Survival Guide" to be published because he's just writing it for himself. He added, unlike any other zombie movies and television shows, the book's intention is to create a legitimate individual preparedness guide in the event of a zombie apocalypse. To make it simpler, the book contains much more common sense than any other.

The key to survival, according to the book, is specialization. It is creating an interlocking group in which every person has their own role that increases their chances of survival. This technique is very contradicting to what the Hollywood is commonly trying to tell us to do-- to carry heavy weapons such as machine guns and to drive cars that will eventually run of out gas. However, the book suggests the readers to just carry weapons that could be used in hand to hand combat and use bicycles instead.

On the other hand, in writing "World War Z," Brooks also confessed that he wrote it to know how the government will respond to this kind of situation. He shared in this article his disappointments to the movie because according to him, the movie adaptation just have the same title as his novel but the story between the two is very much different. In the movie, Brad Pitt (played as the protagonist) becomes a hero who saves the world where in reality, Brooks didn't write any of this. In his novel, he portrays zombies as a slow moving creature inherited by disease, not to affect animals to give the idea that humans are not totally doomed.

“I thought ‘okay I’m just going to write for me and write what’s practical,” said Max Brooks.

For me, Max Brooks is such a great writer. Base from the books he wrote and his statements, we can conclude that he is a critical thinker. He is not thinking the way other zombie writers used to think. He is making his own perspective about this undead and he's putting more common sense and logic in case an apocalypse such as zombies will occur.

In addition to this article, another related short article, "Animals would stop the zombie apocalypse before it started," from i09.com written by Annalee Newitz, focuses on the other weapon we can use to fight the zombies which is the nature. It talks about the wildlife's greatest predators and world's most common decomposers.

The article started from the predators specifically the jaguars. Jaguars came from the family of cats and it is the world's fastest animal. Naturalists say that zombies, described as slow moving and mindless creatures, are no match with this animal. Also, its bite delivers 2,000 pounds of pressure per inch and can stun a zombie before it can even bites back. To sum it up, with the jaguar's dangerous killing method and speed makes it a natural predator.

Second thing from nature, still according from the article, are the decomposers. One common thing that people know about decomposers is that, they are basically feed by rotting flesh and dead meat. Zombies, on the other hand, possesses the same characteristics. With their rotting flesh ad smelly odor, they can easily attract insects and decomposers that can consume them in a just a week. One more advantage of these tiny creatures is that, zombies can't fight back. Their size can make them invisible to the zombies.

Annalee Newitz states, "In most zombie apocalypse scenarios, only humans are converted into the shambling undead. And according to one naturalist, that's why zombie takeovers are doomed to fail. In the war between zombies and nature, nature would win."

This is generally true. Believing easily on what zombie movies from the Hollywood automatically concludes us that we're underestimating the power of nature. Our experiments and discoveries maybe taken too far already, but nature still has its unsolved mysteries. Nature's power is beyond our human capabilities. In fact, we humans are part of the nature itself.

The tactics, strategies and plans that most people are doing right now are advantages in case that the apocalypse will really occur. Actually it makes us busy creating new weapons and gadgets to make ourselves invulnerable to the zombies' attack. Are we really creating something to protect the humanity? Or creating something that makes us to superiority? In fact, we don't need to do this. Nature itself is our zombie survival greatest weapon.

Blogpost # 7: The Last Possible Infections

The movie "The Night of the Living Dead" created a big influence to everyone. It started the phenomena among scientist and ordinary people about the existence of a cannibalistic zombie. Though, before the concept of this flesh-eating corpses arrives, the idea of going back to life after death even in ancient era, is never a new issue anymore. And speaking of this phenomena, theories of how it will happen is now categorized into four namely, viral infection, toxin infection, mythological infection and spiritual infection.

These theories were supported by an article entitled, "Zombie Infection Theories" from zombieinformer.com. There is no specific author mentioned, but the article is mainly about the four infection theories mentioned earlier. It explained the theories one by one with scientifical basis.

The first infection in the article is about the viral infection. Among all the infection stated, this is the most common infection we all know and what the Hollywood movies about zombies portray that will trigger the plague. In addition, the article doesn't explain this viral infection as a virus alone but the author divided its explanation into two parts: the natural virus and the man made pathogen.

The natural virus, according to the author is an evolved virus from a specific virus. He added that this virus is incurable much like HIV and Malaria. He suggests that it will mutate on its own and will find its way into human population. On the other hand, the man made pathogen is a laboratory experiment, that can be spread by either accident or on purpose. But for the author's opinion, either man made or natural virus, both of them function on the same purpose; to start a plague and destroy the human race.

The next theory is about the toxin infection. This theory is very much similar to my previous blog post. It is based on the voodoo practices in Haiti, where the concept of zombies started. The author explains that this theory originates from a toxic powder which can be created from a blowfish bladder. This powder stands like an antidote used by priests to turn a corpse as their mindless slave.

The third theory is all about mythological infection. This infection is related to the toxin infection, it is just that, this theory is more about magical spells and curses. The author explains that zombies are very closely related to other famous mythological creatures, such as vampires and werewolves, because three of them were created through biting. He also stated that vampires are the first creatures to be classified as zombies, because them too are immortals and can only be feed by blood. It just a matter of time when zombies and vampires are classified as individuals because vampires are more sexually desirable creatures unlike zombies that play our very human aversion to the dead.

The last one of the theories is the spiritual infection. This infection theory is very different among the three because it adapts biblical references. It explains that, if there will be no more room for the dead in the afterlife, the soul becomes distorted, deranged and destroyed until it stuck in the human body. As a result, ourselves will turn into a mad mindless creatures looking for flesh meat to eat. But unlike the viral, toxin, and mythological infections, the transmission of spiritual infection is much more complicated. It cannot be transmitted through bite, but the author explains that it can be transmitted through emotional pain that naturally kills a human soul (where to cycle begins) and so on.

"The zombie outbreak will ultimately be a product of our own making, and we, as a race, will either fall victim to it, or rise against it. How it occurs could either be a way to defeat it, or a way to understand ourselves," states the author.

The author's statement is very similar from other authors' statements as well. Zombie outbreak is definitely just a product of our own imagination. As long as there are many theories that explains how the apocalypse will happen, the more we're going to be confused to the idea.

Since spiritual infection theory is not so familiar when it regards to the zombie outbreak, is this could be the last possible infection? And since it has biblical references, a short article found in zombiesarecoming.com entitled, "Zombies in the Bible?" written by Angryvikingman, presents verses that explain prophecies about the zombie apocalypse.

The author shows excerpts from Zechariah and Revelations. Here is one verse found on the article from Zechariah 14:12:

"And the LORD will send a plague on all the nations that fought against Jerusalem. Their people will become like walking corpses, their flesh rotting away. Their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths."

It is not clearly explained if this verse is about the zombie apocalypse. But from what the verse stated, it is clearly similar to the characteristics of a zombie; walking corpse with rotten body. Many were terrified to this because most of them take the bible as the truth. It is their general reference and guide to their life and to the future.

Angryvikingman also added that maybe the prophets who made the prophecy about this may have seen exactly what will happen. But because science is not yet emerging from those times, they were just able to explain it using simple words and not as accurately as it was explained today.

"The bible is rife with resurrection, the dead coming to life, and stories and alliterations to the end of times. Perhaps, the plague God uses to wipe the earth clean is a plague of Zombies," says the author.

We are very different from the way God thinks. We are just his creation and we are far beyond his own knowledge. We may explain the complexity of his creations using science, but we can't explain it as what God can do. He is the God. He creates the divine plan. He plans what will happen to the world and how it will end. We are just created to follow these plans and give praise to him. If God will create a zombie plague, the only thing we could do is to trust Him. He always have a better plan for us anyway.

Again, all the possibilities of zombie apocalypse were already presented. It gets more complicated and more complicated. Whether you believe the viral infection theory, or the toxin infection theory, or either mythological and spiritual infection theory, it is your choice. You have free will to decide which of this theory you're going to believe in. That is your power. You have the power to decide.

Blogpost # 6: Zombie for the Believers and Non-Believers

The influence of zombie apocalypse movies is a widespread. It changed the society's perspective that it can happen any time now. After it became a mainstream, a lot of theorists are now presenting their ideas and hypothesis to the possibilities for it to happen. Others at the same time, are creating articles regarding on how to survive the said apocalypse. However, the idea was not really approved by everyone. Some were not contended even though plenty of scientific evidences support it. Instead, the non-believers also use scientific evidences and explanations that zombie outbreak is a failure.

In an article from cracked.com entitled, "7 Scientific Reasons a Zombie Outbreak Would Fail (Quickly)" by David Dietle, explains all the possible things that can ruin the most-feared outbreak. The article started from a proposition that zombies are real and the logic that are commonly found in any zombie shows and movies.

More on about the article, the first scientific reason that zombie outbreak will fail is because we have too many natural predators. Dietle goes back in explaining that humans are the creatures on the top of the food chain. It is because, we are the only creature who can kill anything skillfully and can think critically, but we all lose this human characteristics as we turn into a zombie. He also explains that by losing these characteristics, we will become visible to other natural predators. Examples are decomposers, such as maggots and insects, since they are feed by rot flesh as what a zombie's skin looks like. Dietle also added that zombies are no match to wildlife such as in Africa where it is terrorized by cannibalistic lions.

Next scientific explanations are, zombies can't take both heat and cold. As what mentioned earlier, one of the major characteristics of this undead is their rotting flesh. Imagine a meat being exposed to the sun for a whole day. Later on, it will rot. Moreover, how about if this happens to a rotting flesh of a zombie? It will not just become rotter, but will become fully dysfunctional. Aside from that, as what other articles stated, zombies have weak bodies. If they were exposed to cold due to winter, their bodies will become too rigid and too fragile.

Fourth reason is about the bite. As a recall to my previous blog post, one of the main reason that can trigger this apocalypse is through biting. It is not just the main reason but the most common reason to the epidemic, according from science and of course, from movies. If this is a very common reason, then it is not a problem anymore in tracing back where it originates. It will always just about a guy who bites and can be defeated if he's shot to the head.

According to the article, another reason is that zombies doesn't have any healing abilities. Healing abilities are one of the best ability human possesses. It can restore our body from deep cuts and wounds. Since zombies doesn't have any of this ability anymore, their wounded bodies will eventually get worse until they weren't able to attack or take advantage.

Second to the last reason is that, our environment is full of zombie-proof barriers. Zombies are naturally the dumbest creature on planet. They almost lost 90% of human abilities they once had. The author also stated that we don't need to do what protagonists or group of survivors do in movies and television shows. Let mother nature do the task for ourselves.

The last reason is because we are generally armed with weapons. We are now living in a technology era and we already created a lot of highly functional and advanced weapons. As what the article stated, "zombies are the dumbest creature on planet." What can these "dumb" creatures can do with the advanced technologies? They can't even hold a gun for themselves. All they do is to walk, to growl and to eat. We could just blow up their heads into pieces without even touched by them. Not to mention skilled criminals terrorist and atomic bombs that can destroy a whole country and race.

"Really, even if zombies existed right now, the whole concept of a zombie apocalypse is just laughable," says David Dietle.

From all of the articles I've read, I strongly agree to this statement. It is really laughable because even though a lot of hypothesis supports the existence of zombie apocalypse, they forgot to take into account the scientific reasons as what this article stated. Well, it happens most of the time. Before we believe into something, we must first think about how it will happen and how it will not happen.

Every person on this planet varies from the way they think. There still others who want the apocalypse to happen. In another article from the same site entitled, "5 Reasons You Secretly Want a Zombie Apocalypse" by Jame Davidson, explains the other reasons why most people want a zombie apocalypse. And from what the site actually do, they ranked it from the least reason to the most common reason.

The fifth reason, according to the author, is because of the guilt free violence. As what I've mentioned from my previous blog post, younger generations tend to be more attractive to zombies. It is because they are looking for more experience and thrilling emotions. In case that the outbreak happens, we are now free to do want we want. We can ruin the street, we can kill these monsters without grieving any guilt.

Next is because of free Stuff, without all that damned work. Waking up early in the morning, doing our school works, and etc., are sometimes get so boring especially if we keep doing it everyday. With zombie apocalypse, we are now free from our daily routine schedule. In addition to that, there will be tons of free stuff such as cars, abandoned luxury cars that can be availed even with just walking down the streets. Who else will not rejoice from "free stuff?"

As the technology emerges, life becomes more complex. The author of the article exemplified how life is on the stone age eras, where we can easily find food by just hunting. Unlike now, you need to work non-stop for almost 12 hours a day, 30 times a month, just to earn money which we can use to avail our foods. If the apocalypse happens, life will become simple again. Hiding, hunting, defending yourselves are all you just need to do and no more irritating boss, paper works will be done.

Second, still from the article, is that zombie apocalypse can make us act like a jerk without any consequences. Try to dig up your mind about things you want to do with your life; take a poo on the street? Be naked in public? Ride a helicopter and make it explode with a bazooka just like from the game Grand Theft Auto? Whatever fantasies we have in our mind, the apocalypse will allow us to do it. No more cops, no more laws that keep holding our necks throughout our lives.

Last one is because we all want to become the alpha dog. Most of the people hate about their life right right now, is because they are servant of their own bosses. Let us face it. No one wants to be under of anybody. But these days, we don't have the choice. We are all born with different life statuses. Zombie apocalypse, worst as it is, but it can help us to achieve our own dreams. We can either build our own group or be a member of a certain group. It's our choice anyway.

"That's why the collapse of society is key in a Zombie Apocalypse," says James Davidson.

The idea of being free because of zombie apocalypse is nice but it's kind a disappointing from what the author had stated. The society that once we had since we were born will collapse in any second, once the outbreak starts. Personally, I want to do everything I want, but I don't want the society to collapse. The rules of the society is what makes life more exciting because it limits us. If we could just do whatever we want, eventually we will get tired of it. For short, you will appreciate more what you've got if you took it by effort.

There will always be two kinds of people regarding to zombie apocalypse; the believers and non-believers. The believers will always pursue this to happen while the non-believers will always state the possibilities for it to not happen. But its not the right time to decide which of the both sides is right or wrong. The best thing we can do is to prepare; prepare for the worst, and prepare for the best.

Blogpost # 5: Fantasy or Reality: Zombie Apocalypse Conspiracy Theories

The Beatles is a Grammy award winning band that bloomed from early 1980s. They are the singer of different classical songs such as Stairaway to Heaven, I Wanna Hold Your Hand and Till There Was You. But have you heard about the conspiracy theory about them? That Paul McCartney died even before they make their 11th studio album, the Abbey Road? That he was replaced by a look alike throughout their career? How about the 9/11 attack conspiracy theory that it was planned all along by the American themselves?

According to www.merriam-webster.com, conspiracy theory is a theory that explains an event or set of circumstances as the result of a secret plot by usually powerful conspirators. If a specific event is covered up or secretly hidden to people, it is already considered an act of conspiracy. It becomes a theory because it is just a proposition. Meaning, there's no particular decision whether the act of conspiracy is real or not. Likewise to what this post is all about, the zombie itself is not an exception for having different kinds of conspiracy theories.

A lot of site will give you different list of conspiracy theories involving zombies. But I've found a most accurate article from www.followingthenerd.com. An article from the site entitled, "CONSPIRACY CORNER: The Zombie Apocalypse" by Marc focuses only on the three most popular zombie apocalypse conspiracy theory. He ranked it according to which among the three is most-well known and most talked about.

The first from his list is the most controversial Dulce Base in New Mexico. For history diggers and alien geeks, it a basic knowledge for them that Mexico is really a place where countless of alien sightings have been reported. Going back, according to the article, that this base is manipulated by alien life force. These aliens have partnered to the government scientists in return to the favor the aliens gave us; advanced knowledge and technology. The author also stated that these government scientists are allowing these aliens to do whatever experiment they wanted. And one of this experiment is creating a certain virus that can turn the whole human race into this "living dead."

The second is the conspiracy theory about the Nazi experiments. Even after the end of World War II, Nazis still remain mysterious. Named as the most terrifying war group who created the most terrible holocaust to the history of the world, most of the Nazi members are best and brightest scientist. Moreover, a Nazi physician and SS Officer named Josef Mengele is believed to be the one responsible in experiments pertaining to the creation of zombies. According to Marc or according to what this conspiracy theory is all about, Jewish prisoners during these times are the main subject to Mengele's experiment. He turns them into mindless slaves that obey whatever orders Nazis tell them. However, after Hitler's death and end of World War II, all traces and evidences related to this experiment were burned. But the Americans can't hide their admiration to intelligence of the Nazis. In spite of the terrible things they've done, they will be forgiven unless they will join the Americans in pioneering projects such as space exploration and etc.

The third, which Marc considers as the most popular among all the zombie apocalypse conspiracy theories, is the Miami 'Zombie' Attack. It is a news that shocked not just America but the whole world! It even became one of the mainstream topic across the internet and mass media. This issue involves a 31 year old man named Rudy Eugene who just randomly attacks and gnaws a 65 year old homeless man in the face. As the attack is happening, a Miami police officer shoots Eugene once but instead, the attacker just growls, ignores the police officer and eventually continues chewing the homeless man's face. In the end, the police officer fires three more shot that finally kills Eugene. According to the reports regarding to Rudy Eugene's ruthless behavior, it is clearly a side effect of 'bath salts' which caused a person to become insane, develop cannibalistic tendencies and appear to gain inhuman strength. But contrary to Eugene's autopsy report, the only drug found on his a body is marijuana. Conspiracy theorists believe that 'bath salt' thing is only a cover up on what really happened to Eugene. What makes it more suspicious is it eventually vanished from the headlines and no more related reports have been added.

"Like all conspiracy theories the initial idea must come from somewhere and of course these ideas are many and varied...," stated Marc.

Conspiracy theories especially zombie apocalypse conspiracy theories are not just created without a strong basis and evidence. Whatever versions we hear or read, they still aiming the same point; zombie apocalypse is now starting or has been started already. Another, upon researching for articles for my previous blog entries, I've found a hard time believing to the possibilities for zombie apocalypse to happen, but after this research, it changed a part of my belief.

The ideas of zombie conspiracy theories really got my attention. An article entitled "Questions Answered: Is a Zombie Virus Outbreak Possible?" from thecount.com, though no specific writer was given, is so much related to the previous article especially to the Miami 'Zombie' Attack. It is an article that focuses to possible reason of the said attack -- the LQP-79 virus.

LQP-79 is an acronym because it is basically the 79th attempt made at formulating Lysergic Quinine Protein. From the word, 'formulating' itself, we can conclude that this virus is a man made pathogen. As what was mentioned from the previous article, the 'bath salt' drug is just a cover for what really happened to the incident, that conspiracy theorists even consider this virus a main reason for Eugene's change of attitude.

The article doesn't explains a lot to LQP-79. It is just a series of the author's opinion about people who think that a.) zombie outbreak is possible, b.) zombies will never be real, c.) the LQP-79 virus is real, and d.) it's all a conspiracy theory. He answers every opinion one by one according to what he have researched about the virus.

The author is not clearly taking any sides among the believers and non-believers. He is completely neutral by giving his own opinion. According to him, as what the usual zombie tale looks like, in order to spread the virus as the LQP-79, the host of the virus must look for a healthy victim and bite him. Though LQP-79 can be a possibility for the zombie apocalypse to happen, the author said that it's not strong enough to support a reanimated body. It can control a zombie for quite a while but the zombie will not able to survive it-- however, the virus could.

"The name seems to not be real or established officially, but a zombie virus doesn't sound all that ‘out there’, considering the fact that many conspiracy theories have been proven true," stated the author.

For me, the author made a big point. LQP-79 is not created out of nowhere. I don't have the main idea of what this virus really means because most of the websites that talk about this virus were all shut down. Is it an act of conspiracy? That the people behind it are trying to hide us the full information to avoid panics? If that's the case and if this virus is a man made pathogen, what's the reason of creating it? Conspiracy theory or not, both sides all made sense. When will the issue of zombie existence will end? Is it really going to end or it will just end up to another circles of questions?

Blogpost # 4: Fight the Dead. Fear the Living

Zombies are now part of our present pop culture. From movies to television, from toys to games; zombies have invaded them. This proves that zombies were not just a classic horror icon, but also a great contributor and influence to our society. In addition, more people who used to hate them are starting to love them. In turns out that even these people got caught to zombie's irresistible charm.

Zombie genre did a lot of effort before it finally took a slot to the pop culture. It started after George Romero's first zombie movie and concept about the cannibal undead. However, it is not very successful the way it was expected by Romero. Though it became famous, outdated, but eventually got its fame back once again, yet it's still been exceeded and stereotyped by other genres. Until one day, a zombie related drama invades the entertainment industry. It is a series that introduced zombie, not just for adults, but also for young ages. It is a series that got us hooked up in front of our television, a series that makes us  look forward for its new episodes every week -- the focal point of zombies stardom to pop culture, The Walking Dead.

The Walking Dead, now on its on-going fourth season, is generally a story of a sheriff named Rick Grimes, (played by Andrew Lincoln) who just woke up from a coma in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. It is basically about dead invading human but it's also a story about family, friendship, humanism and survival. It's unique and addicting plot are what made it to become the world's number one television show. The fame later started zombies' big influence to our culture.

As I was searching for articles related to the show, I found one that certainly got my attention from charliewhitaker.wordpress.com. It is an article entitled "'The Walking Dead' Psychology 101." Written by Charlie Whitaker himself, the article focuses, not on reviews and criticism of the show, but rather an article that explains the psychology behind it.

The article started from the author's opinion about the show; what is the show all about and our shared concerns of how the plague began and how it will end. He then took these concerns as an advantage by asking himself various questions, until he came up with answers. His questions are, "What is the meaning of life in a world devoid of it?", "How important is human dignity in a survival situation?" and "Should normal-world social constructs remain in an abnormal world?"


He answers his first question by giving an example. He relates the show according to the decisions we make in real life. According to Whitaker, there are times that we make frustrating decisions. For instance, we're on a certain group that needs each member's opinion. Sometimes, because of own perspective and philosophy, group decision may just end up in arguments and misunderstanding until no specific decision is decided. Furthermore, he said that this situation happens most of the time to the show. He put Andrea (which he explains as cold, blond, zombie-eviscerating machine) an example of person who likes to make fatal decision. It all started after her sister, Amy, died from Season 1. For Andrea, hope and control had become extinct. However, for people who have the same mindset like Rick and Dale, hope is still there. It is just a matter of time before it appears again. Anyhow, for Whitaker, there's no right or wrong between the both parties involved. Moreover, Andrea and Rick decisions almost get them both killed.

The second question was explained by comparing and contrasting Rick Grimes and Shane Walsh (played by Jon Bernthal), both main cast from season 1 and season 2. Best friends, workmates, cops, both possessed leadership traits, are what best define Rick and Shane before everything gone bad. Eventually, their perspectives and philosophies diverted after the apocalypse started. There are instances where someone decides to leave the group. For Shane, it's fine to let them do what they wanted to do and let their own fate to decide what will happen to them. On the contrary, Rick will stop them to do what they want. The author quoted, "Save those who can’t save themselves," which put most of us into an idea that we will do the same thing as Rick, in case we are on the same situation. To sum it up, losing your human dignity to this kind of scenario doesn't help anything.

Lastly, Charlie Whitaker answered the third question by taking out some scenes from the show. For the avid fans like me and for the people who watch it, we can recall the scene where Lori Grimes (played by Sarah Wayne Callies) discovered that she's pregnant. For critical thinkers, pregnancy in a middle of zombie apocalyptic world is a shocking news. Another, Rick himself tries to maintain his ethics particularly to his group, even though Shane is against it. In a sense, these are acts of keeping social structure. In spite of growing numbers of characters from the show who doesn't care about social systems anymore, there are still people like Rick, who wants to maintain it because he had this belief that everything will return the way it is someday.

"It’s [The Walking Dead] more a hypothetical narrative regarding humanism than an impossible scenario in which character is undercut by plot, supernatural fighting ability, endless ammo, stereotypes and mildly amusing quips like its zombie flick brethren," stated Charlie Whitaker.

As a fan of the series, I must agree to author's statement. I used to hate zombie movies before, not because they contain disturbing scenes, but because they propose pornographic contents. Shows and movies related to zombies, are just the usual story of survival. But the "The Walking Dead," considered as the first zombie related television series, gave us another perspective about zombies. Though morbid, gore, suspense and scary, the show is still way greater than any other shows.

But the show is not just a show. It was not created to just pop out into our television. It represents something from our society. This was then supported by an article found in www.relevantmagazine.com which is, "The Deeper Message of 'The Walking Dead'." Written by Scott Elliott, this article focuses on the meanings and messages the show's trying to tell us especially on its devoted viewers. The author divided it into two parts.

According to the article, the first message of the show is obviously similar to my recent blog entries; our individualism. The heroes we recognize today whether fictional or historical are mostly taking all the credits for themselves every time they did extraordinary things. This tells us that they can accomplish great achievements with little or no help from others. Though the word "individualism" becomes one great virtue for most of us and teaches us that we can do great things alone, it is still not applicable once this threatening apocalypse happens. As what we see on the show, people who have joined a group, specifically Rick Grime's party, have faced the worst and they have overcome it. Otherwise, those who chose to travel alone, like Morgan from Season 1, didn't end up good. The shows' favorites, Michonne and Darryl, though very skillful, still refer to join Rick because they knew that living alone with a setting like this can lead them nowhere. In summary, there's always strength in numbers.

Next message, still according to the article, is about the community. If you are an avid fan of the series, you will be familiar to the two main community from the show; Rick's and the Woodbury. Still connected from the previous message, engaging into a group of people will lead you to become a part of the community of that certain group. From Rick's group, we can tell that they are a bold community who kills zombies in order to survive. They are also a community whose members know how to fight and kill zombies in order to protect themselves. On the other hand, the Woodbury, led by The Governor (played by David Morrissey), is a two-faced community. The citizen sees Woodbury as a community of peace that provides them bed to sleep and food to eat. In reality, it is a community that savage other communities in order to get supplies and a community that makes fun of zombies as a source of crude entertainment.

"As in real life as much as The Walking Dead, there are two kinds of dangers: external forces and forces from within. We have to fight the pride, violence and injustice we see in the world as much as we have to fight internalizing these ugly powers ourselves," stated Scott Elliott.

This quoted statement is so much metamorphic yet true. In order to overcome the danger from the real world, we must deal first to the danger from our internal self. We created these disasters and we are the only one who can stop it. If we failed to do so, it may cause devastation. For instance, some characters from the series show selfishness; they want to resolve their own problems or prefer to travel alone. In result, they got eaten. If we're going to continue to keep these attitudes, we may end up into something we didn't expected.

The Walking Dead is now on the peak of its popularity. The series will end up soon, but its influence will never stop. We will still continue to remember it for decades. Some of us even made it their own basis if there will be a possibility for the apocalypse to happen. It's realistic plot, drama and excellent casting is what made the show fantastic. It deserves a spot from our televesion and from our hearts.