GOING VIRAL

Zombies,Viruses,and theEnd of theWorld

DAHLIA SCHWEITZER

WEEK 10: OUTBREAKS AND THE APOCALYPSE

1. Based on the X-Files episode discussed at the beginning of the chapter, if we are not afraid of getting sick, of what are we afraid?

2. What is a significant difference between contemporary fears and fears from earlier decades?

3. What do our current fears have in common?

4. What is Peter Knight’s explanation for the rise in conspiracy theories?

5. In contemporary outbreak narratives, how have the notions of blame and responsibility been complicated?

Discussion Questions, Going Viral Conclusion

6. What is the appeal of the eco-terrorist plot?

7. How does Elaine Showalter distinguish between infectious disease and infectious epidemics?

8. Why are fictional texts especially useful at mapping out the world?

9. How does the new media immediacy impact rules of temporality and geography?

10. Why is it significant that journalist Tad O’Malley, on season ten of The X-Files, broadcasts via the Internet?

It is not merely that viral outbreaks break down bodies; they break down civilizations.

(Meirelles, 2008) (Forster, 2013)

(Lawrence, 2007)(Boyle, 2002)

Blindness trailer (Meirelles, 2008)[video clip]

World War Z Trailer (Forster, 2013)[video clip]

(AMC, 2010-present) (TNT, 2014-present) (Syfy, 2015-present) (Fox, 2015-present)

The Last Ship Trailer (TNT, 2014-present) [video clip]

12 Monkeys Trailer (Syfy, 2015-present)[video clip]

zombies

metaphorical zombies

Pre-9/11 Post-9/11 hope no hope

(Lawrence, 2007)

The Last Man on Earth Trailer (Ragona and Salkow, 1964)[video clip]

The Omega Man Trailer (Sagal, 1971)[video clip]

(Lawrence, 2007)

Each version is different, reflecting anxieties of the time: • Original book: initial outbreak blamed on mosquitos

spawned by dust storms caused by weapons used in a massive war (appropriate for several years after World War II and one year after the end of the Korean War)

• The Last Man on Earth (Ragona and Salkow, 1964): fairly faithful to the book

• The Omega Man (Sagal, 1971): the cause of the zombies is a bioweapon bomb, and, specifically biological warfare between China and Russia (appropriate for Cold War)

• I Am Legend (2007): the cause of the zombies is scientific alterations of existing viruses

I Am Legend Trailer (Lawrence, 2007)[video clip]

I Am Legend Intro Sequence (2007)[video clip]

I Am Legend Original Ending (2007)[video clip]

I Am Legend Theatrical Ending (2007)[video clip]

What are the differences between the two endings? Why would Hollywood have decided to change the movie so dramatically?

zombies + viruses + terrorism = inevitable

zombies + viruses + terrorism = inevitable zombies + viruses + apocalypse + violence = inescapable

America’s unrelenting emphasis on security and protection obsession with guns

Focus is on the survivors and their attempts to rebuild

Do we become better people when the world ends?

“The world as we know it is gone. The world of commerce and frivolous necessity has been replaced by a world of survival and responsibility…In a matter of months, society has crumbled, no government, no grocery stores, no mail delivery, no cable TV. In a world ruled by the dead, we are forced to finally start living.”

—Robert Kirkman, from the first Walking Dead graphic novel

“Where are you right now? Somewhere warm? Safe? Next to someone you love? Now what if that was all gone? And the only thing you could do is survive? You would, right? You’d try? You’d do things. Horrible things. Until you lose that last thing you have left. Your self.”

—12 Monkeys (2015)

Or do we become monsters?

zombie narratives = patriotic odes to government supremacy and military power

• The Walking Dead: questions the cost of a constant need for violence comes

• 28 Days Later: questions out-of-control science and technology

• The Last Ship: questions at what cost power comes • World War Z: questions the repercussions of too much

fighting and too many wars • Resident Evil: questions what happens when corporations

have unlimited power and no oversight • I Am Legend: questions the repercussions of playing god

The Walking Dead “Days Gone Bye” Intro Sequence (AMC, Oct. 31, 2010)

[video clip]

The Last Man on Earth, “Alive in Tucson”(Fox, March 1, 2015)

[play episode]