Answering a Q

Michael Desrosiers

Professor Dilbeck

Comp 1

11/18/2013

         ZOMBIES

         

              The Walking Dead, a hit TV show running on AMC has become one of the top watched shows in the last few seasons. You may be asking the question "Why?", however the answer is simple: Zombies are awesome. Pop culture has been infatuated with the idea of zombies, which are an infected (or traditionally a dead corpse rising again) person that has become brain dead with the only focus of their simple lives is eating human flesh. To think the idea of a zombie apocalypse is ridiculous is most likely an appropriate response, however it is favored by multitudes of people that fantasize about the glorious, chainsaw slaying, shotgun blasting, blood and gore zombie war. Although the unfortunate improbability of a zombie outbreak is reality, science says that a single zombie occurrence may not be as unrealistic as we make it out to be.

             Zombie outbreak is not a realistic threat to society (as of right now) but scientists have claimed that  achieving characteristics of one are not as impossible as we would like to believe. According to the  CDC, "Simple misfolding of proteins in the brain can lead to the creation of a whole family of these  anomalies, called prions. Prions can ultimately lead to brain disease, encephalopathy, which may result in personality changes, loss of cognitive function, and muscle twitching, all highly characteristic of a potential zombie." (Nasiruddin ,812)

            Although "potential" zombie is a little exciting, it turns out that zombie's have actually been around longer than modern imagination and comic books tell us. According to Haitian and African folklore, the process of zombification is known as separating soul from body which in turn leaves one body without a soul, and one soul without body. Although most of the folklore was about shamans and dark sorcery, some of the stories were told about potions and poisons that would turn someone into a zombi. In Haiti, however, this is not just folklore. "zombiism is rather common in Haiti, with instances of people being reported dead by loved ones, only to be spotted fully reanimated and wandering around town several weeks to several years later." (Nasiruddin ,809) ,Not only is this common to them, but it is real enough to be included in their legal system. "In Haitian and African culture, zombification is a punishable offense on the same order of severity as murder." (Nasiruddin ,809).

            In Haitian culture zombis are a real part of society and a voodoo culture, but there are similarities between the zombi and what we see on TV. "A person who has been zombified, or transformed into a zombie, can have a blunt affect, dull gaze, and almost stuporous behavior, characterized by a  lumbering gait and simple, repetitive vocalizations and movements. The aforementioned traits have been incorporated into the current interpretation of zombies found in modern film and media."( Nasiruddin, 809)

The modern zombie, portrayed in movies and comics, are derived from the initial Haitian voodoo culture that were factual. Although superstition and black magic are factors to some of the stories, it appears that there are zombis made by poisons and chemically made people "without a soul."

            Although the zombie's in these Haitian stories are zombie-like, do they actually perform like a zombie? Unfortunately, as far as the records have shown, they are not the type of zombie that will chase you down an alley and eventually attempt to rip your flesh while you smash their brain with an axe. It may be too early to be disappointed, however. The same principles that made the zombi are being put back into use as early as 2012. Chemical changes to the brain have caused three separate cases of aggravated cannibalism where victims have eaten the heart and brain. "In Miami, a man at the face of a homeless man and was shot and killed by the police when they could not subdue him. A college student in Maryland killed and ate the heart and brains of his roommate. A low-budget porn star in Canada reportedly tortured and killed another man, then ate his heart and brain." (Watson). This chemical change to the brain that is causing this cannibalism is  feared to be a result of a drug called "bath salts" as many of us are aware today. The DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) took parts of the drug and placed those chemicals under control, however there are still loopholes in the law that could allow selling bath salts to be legal, however this does not include the probable illegal sale of the drug. According to the Huffington Post, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a statement in response to people being concerned about a potential zombie attack. "The CDC does not know of a virus or condition that would reanimate the dead (or one that would present zombie- like symptoms)." (Watson).

            Although the CDC has made that claim, evidence still shows that there are two real life instances in which zombie activity has been recorded. The Haitian drug induced zombi and the bath salt crazed cannibals are both extremely large parts of the characteristics as they are portrayed today. Regardless of the possibilities, both of the effects of these drugs would have to be successfully chemically combined to make a slow paced, cannibal without a brain. The chances are unlikely that the two drugs or chemicals would be put together accurately enough to create suitable zombie for the modern day zombie fan to slay in mass numbers.

            Although the desire is heightened, and many people are prepared, the probability of an uncontrolled zombie outbreak that is glorified on TV may not happen. The science shows that there are possibilities, however, for the chances of a zombie to be brought about in reality. Although a giant zombie outbreak and war is a little unrealistic, a zombie occurrence has as much potential that science will allow to become reality.

WORKS CITED

Nasiruddin, Melissa, et al. "Zombies - A Pop Culture Resource For Public Health Awareness." Emerging Infectious Diseases 19.5 (2013) : 809-813. Academic Search Complete. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.

Watson, Olufemi J. "Bath Salts and Zombies." New York Amsterdam News. 07 June 2012: 4. Academic Search Complete. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.