Pathfinder -- Zombies in Popular Cultureby Sasha Westgate

IntroductionThe popular culture zombie world is mainly about media (movies, video games, comicbooks, and literature) and surviving the impending Zombie Apocalypse. There is a verylarge blur between fact and fiction and there are many resources that blend reality andscience fiction. While entertaining to read and informative in social research, it is importantto note that many individuals truly see a Zombie Apocalypse as plausible and some evenwrite fictional stories based on their real lives as if zombies have already taken over theworld (see Blogs). On the other hand, however, many still find zombies to be purelyentertaining and humorous. Frequent discussions in the following resources include slowmoving versus fast moving zombies, best zombie movies, favorite zombie video games, andgory, graphic fiction.

WebsitesAll Things Zombie - http://allthingszombie.com/All Things Zombie is a site that encompasses nearly every facet of zombie popular culture.It includes information on movies, books, comics, games, and collectibles, and also providesa very large community message board, original fiction, contests, and various other links.The site also has a Google-based search engine that allows users to search the internalpages on the site along with the World Wide Web

5 Scientific Reasons a Zombie Apocalypse Could Actually Happen http://www.cracked.com/article_15643_5-scientific-reasons-zombie-apocalypse-could-actually-happen.htmlObsessed with the oncoming Apocalypse, zombie popular culture has moved from fiction topossible fact. This article offers 5 plausible scenarios where zombies may actually begintaking over the world. Cracked.com is a renowned humor site and should not be considereda true scientific research website.

The Zombie Survival & Defense Wiki- http://www.zombiesurvivalwiki.com/This website consists of wiki-based pages that allow registered users to add and modifycontent. However, unlike Wikipedia where there is one specific page in article-format, thepages on this site are designed more like a comment board with one topic or question andusers added their input to the page. Each page has a thread for additional comments anddiscussion and there is an additional forum for even more discussion. The site is very wellmaintained and frequently updated. It also includes helpful search tools for the entire siteand also for the forum. Adding to a feeling of community, the site offers a photo gallery,member spotlights, community feedback (“To Dos”), and frequent competitions. Thoughthe focus of this site is on survival and defense, the site itself includes a myriad ofinformation from local events and original fiction.

Zombie Games- http://www.zombiegames.us/For those zombie fans needing a break from the preparing and surviving, this website offersa collection of basic computer games to pass the time, zombie-style.

Blogshttp://www.zombiesurvivalwiki.com/page/Zombie+Blogs+&+Bloggers?t=anonThis page on the Zombie Survival & Defense Wiki site offers several different blogs that arezombie related and short introductions to each. If interested in further blog reading andresearch, this site is a great place for resources.

http://www.zombieworldnews.com/frontpage.htmThis site is a fictional (though it pretends to be factual) news blog that includes variousstories, articles, and reports of zombie incidents. It is frequently updated and entertainingto read.

http://www.awilltoact.com/This blog focuses on upcoming media releases, such as video games, movies, andliterature. It is a great resource for those looking for summaries and reviews.

http://www.zombiephiles.com/This blog by the Zombiephile includes information regarding all things zombie-related. Inparticular, he focuses on upcoming media, such as movie rumors, reviews, andinformation. However, he is in the process of revamping the entire site and hopes toinclude even more information, such as polls and various how-to guides.

http://www.lastdaysjournal.com/This interesting blog is a collaborative fiction project that can be added to by any member.It assumes the zombie apocalypse has happened and offers a singular social networking siteof “survivors” to blog and account for their whereabouts.

Print ResourcesBrooks,Max. The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection From The Living Dead. 1 ed.New York: Three Rivers Press, 2003.Max Brooks writes an extremely descriptive technical book that includes information fromgeneral preparedness to emergency first aid.

Russell,Jamie. Book of the dead : the complete history of zombie cinema. 1 ed. Godalming,England: FAB, 2005.This exhaustive resource details hundreds of zombie movies ranging from big-budgetHollywood to foreign B-movies.

Brooks,Max. World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War. 1 ed. New York: Three RiversPress, 2006.In his second book, Max Brooks writes this fictional piece in a unique documentary style. Itcontains a collection of personal stories from individuals who experiences the Zombie Warand chronicles the battles from the beginning.

McIntosh, Shawn. Zombie Culture: Autopsies of the Living Dead. Edited by Marc Leverette.Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 2008.Shawn McIntosh brings cinema experts, sociology scholars, and video game specialists andexamines the Zombie movement and place in popular culture.

Kirkman, Robert. The Walking Dead: Days Gone By. Volume 1. California: Image Comics,2004.A groundbreaking monthly comic began in 2003 and shows the life and deaths of severalcharacters trying to survive in a Zombie infested world. Several comic books are combinedinto volumes. Volume 1, as cited above, contains issues 1-6. As of March 2009, the latestissue is #58.

DictionariesZombie- http://www.onelook.com/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/bware/dofind.cgi?word=zombieThis site lists over 35 dictionaries that define “zombie.”

EncyclopediasZombies in Popular Culture- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zombies_in_popular_cultureWhile most encyclopedias focus on the religious and mythological aspects of zombies (suchas the Voodoo zombie), these articles show a different aspect. The first Wikipedia articleoffers a brief overview of the Voodoo zombie, the folklore zombie, the pop culture zombie,and the philosophical zombie. The second Wikipedia article gives a more in depth look atthe zombie in popular culture, particularly in film. Due to the difficult nature of researchingpopular culture, these articles are the only encyclopedic articles that I was able to find thatrelated to the pop culture zombie.

DatabasesThe Zombie Movie Database- http://www.zmdb.org/Derived from the famous Internet Movie Database (IMDB), the Zombie Movie Database(ZMDB) is just as entertaining. Included in this database are over 4,000 records that are allzombie-related movies. Each record includes vital information such as title, director,writer(s), date, and keywords. Additionally, there are summaries, user comments, forumdiscussions, and the “zomb-o-meter,” which indicates the amount of zombie content withinthe film. This site offers the user the ability to search the entire site for a film, giving exactmatches, “fuzzy” matches, and similar matches. Additionally, there is a forum that offersdiscussions on zombie movies and news, general movies, and free discussion. This is agreat place to begin any research on a particular film or multiple zombie movies.

Zombie Reporting Center- http://www.zombiereportingcenter.com/zombie-comic-database/Though not as interactive as the ZMBD, the comic database offers a fairly large list ofcomics and graphic novels that focus on zombies and the zombie apocalypse. Over 100 arelisted and, though they do not include additional details or summaries, they do indicate thetitle, the publisher, and the date. Overall, it is a great place to go if one wants to browsezombie comic books or to quickly obtain publisher information.

Zombie Fiction Database- http://baseportal.com/cgi-bin/baseportal.pl?htx=/slushgod/zombieIncluding major publications and minor independent works, this zombie fiction databaseproject is a key tool in finding various novels, novellas, short stories, and comics. Thoughsome information is sparse and has some missing information, many list the title, author,date of publication, publisher, length of work, and special notes and comments by thedatabase moderator and recommenders. This site should not be considered the absoluteanswer in information seeking, but a tool to be used for browsing various works. There isnot a search engine if you are looking for additional information about a specific publication.

AssociationsZombie Squad- http://zombiehunters.orgA large part of zombie enthusiasm is the survival factor. Many individuals who haveimmersed themselves in zombie pop culture have been offered countless survivalist tips,tricks, and information. The popular question, “What would you do if zombies took over theworld?” has long been a conversation starter with these individuals and in 2003, ZombieSquad was founded to unite all of those with the answer. Zombie Squad is now aninternational group that incorporates survivalist knowledge and preparedness and, whilenever straying too far from preparing for the Zombie Apocalypse, uses their expertise tohelp those suffering from natural disasters, raise awareness for disaster preparation, andvolunteer their time and efforts towards emergency response agencies. They helped raisefunds, food, and blood donation for numerous charities and non profit organization.

Currently, there are three physical chapters in the United States and one physical chapter inCanada, and several hundred members all over the world, including the UK, theNetherlands, Philippines, and Serbia.

Sasha Westgate (c) 2008