Why zombie smashing is the new American past time

This day and age, you don’t have to go far to see a new zombie move dig its' way from the dead. Whether it’s the big screen, straight to DVD release or a YouTube indie flick you can find just about any flavor for your liking. You can take it further in video games. Resident Evil and Left4Dead are two of the prominent renditions of this past time that people (myself include) have been enjoying for many many years. You can also play zombie versions of Call of Duty online in Call of Duty Modern Warfare and Call of Duty World at War.

But why is this popular? What has these poor, misunderstood zombies ever done to you?

Well, other than eating your family (except for your black sheep uncle who you’ve always suspected to being brain dead) they tromped all over your yard, destroyed your house and they’re trying to eat you.

So, grab your 2x4 / chainsaw / axe / shotgun / etc and go on the hunt!

But .. why? What is so appealing about his genre that people are consistently remaking it – often poorly.

My appeal, at least while playing the Call of Duty version, is that I know the goal. It isn’t a huge plot. You don’t have to over think. You go, get a gun and survive. There is no gray area with this. There is no negotiating and trying to talk them out of nuking your whole life. You see a zombie you shoot it or you run. Maybe even both.

The outcome really isn’t going to change either. It’s either you get caught and eaten (maybe changed into a zombie too) or you bash them all until they’re all dead … again. You don’t have to think about later in life, once you take the zombie capitol, that you’ll have to live next to a zombie. You don’t have to learn a new language. Laws won’t be past allowing them to run for government positions. A zombie is a zombie.

There is no racism in zombies. They’ll eat anyone. You shoot any color of zombie. White, black, brown, yellow, red, green, blue, purple .. doesn’t matter.

Unification. You stand next to just about any living human to fight. Doesn’t matter if three months prior they where on the list for the Taliban … if a zombie horde stands in front of you two then at that point you are brothers till the end.

See, zombies make life easy. Fight and die. Together. That’s it.

Simplicity .. I like that. I don’t like this complex life thing.