Notes on the Zombie Apocalypse
Silas Soule
Greetings. You are all perfect in your own way. And far be it from me to discount the individual pain and pleasure of your individual libidinous drives and your utterly unique personal desires.
But, as I pondered what should be the next step into the psychological underpinnings of eRep economic, political, military and social behavior, I suddenly had an inexplicable hankering to do some work on the iconic and ironic reflection of the Zombie Apocalypse (ZA) meme into the New World, particularly as it applies to the e-United States.
Yes, that's right! You read my mind, you clever goose. It's true: I had been pondering ways in which Jungian archetypes get expressed in the game world. And I was going to write another ponderous tome on that very topic.
Most of that would be so obvious. I mean, ho hum...
The Hero
The Bawdy Pirate and Young Innocence Deflowered
Hunting, Searching, Wandering
The Trickster
Anima
Animus
Avatars
But! Exploring how the Zombie Apocalypse meme plays out as an eRepublikan lietmotif? Now that's good times!
So...
Naturally I'm thinking focus first on USWP politics as incubator/zombie-mother. Obviously, that's the iconic part. It's iconic because, within the collective story-telling of e-World (or, at leastt, e-USAnian) consciousness, whether the USWP truly embodies zombie behavior or not, they already have the zombie icon attached to them. In other words, it is still a popular meme, one they even promote themselves.
Plus there's that wonderful Mommy aspect to the USWP that resonates so well with that major psychological touchstone.
So examining how the USWP is the "Zombie Mother of US All" provides us with kind of a baseline perspective on this important question.
Eat your brains, dear!
Then I'd prolly move on to doing some "demonology" studies on the US Forums around the theme of archetypal annihilators and tricksters. That's the ironic part.
You know, get in a few zany reflections on being too cool for the zombie apocalypse meme because that is so 2009, but, in fact, participating in the game world just like real zombie would, returning from the grave to terrorize the survivors, eating brains of course, and going on various utterly inane rampages just 'cause, well, after all, what else is there to do?
US Forum bottom-feeders?
Thereby -- ironically -- providing evidence for the strength of the ZA meme after all.
And then maybe I'd finish up with a look at how various motifs involving heroic young actors, wise old men and wise old women play out over and over again, thereby providing the all-important psychological counter-point ("There is hope for us yet.", etc., etc.) and, not incidentally, organizing all us happy shoppers at the mall to fight off the zombie hordes while hewing to the spirit of integrity, unity, honesty and good, clean fun.
Because punk rock will never die.
The problem with all this is... beautiful as it as a deconstructive framework, in fact I don't know crap, really, about the Zombie Apocalypse meme. I mean, I've seen all the Night of the Living Dead movies, as well as Shaun of the Dead, plus one or two others.
But I'm not really deeply versed enough in ZA mythology to do this topic justice.
Therefore... I leave it up to you, gentle reader:
Please share your favorite zombie stories and let us all know how you think they are reflected in eRepublik.
The best, most interesting stories will be collected and turned into yet another epic bit of psycho-wonderous journalism for the pleasure of you, the reading, thinking, not-zombie public.
Thanks for reading and happy hunting,
Comments
"This is just what I wanted my son to see. Take him to work, get attacked by zombies. Your mother's gonna kill me."
- Warden Mahler, Dead Men Walking (2005)
"Because punk rock will never die." this despite the Sex Pistols' claim or proof to some point, you might have been making, about zombie behavior in life
Dead Guy for PoTUS - too obvious.
Entire remainder of Horde wordlessly responding? RIPE.
@Gnilraps trying to kill a socialists call for trolling contest. I know those Silly Freedom Pundits are always out clevering everyone. This time he wants dialogue, not the obvious, surely who would bother logging in tomorrow(think about that kind of protest), if you were told, until you do as your told...
So that others do not similarly misread me, my comment is my contribution to the dialogue, not any criticism of PQ's excellent work. Today's election story strikes me as a perfect Zombie subplot. It includes dead people AND brains gone to mush.
Mmmm... Savory.
I probably won't be able to pull it off, I want to write an article suggesting we set up a civil service corp., that way players won't have to take part in EVERY campaign, so as have another date for a resume'. We will need another forum and branches of existing ones, for more zombies to control. It is a win for all that assume to control, hurry the election is still on going new ideas are at a premium...
i like that USWP zombie reference. that was cool.
why is this in financial business? lol
Oh boy. Where to begin?
In reality, the game itself is the root of a zombi-hood incarnate (no pun intended). It is a pandemic spread from one lost soul to another - "Hey, come join this weird, fake civilization I've been prowling with for the past three months." You sign up, get a new face, and even gifted with a new birthday. A rebirth?
After a few days, we're all zombies. You know how you can just continually shoot a zombie in the chest and it won't die? That's what happens to us every time the admins make a change we hate. Sure, we're upset for a few moments and we might even hurt something in response, but we're right back at our computers, voting and trolling away almost immediately. To kill a zombie, I believe, you must cut off his head. Almost impossible to do to an eRep junkie, unless that machete you're wielding was forged with inescapable "real life" obligations.
And this is just the most macro of eRep layers. Zombies join militias! Zombies join cliques and follow leaders. Zombies kill where and when they're told to kill. And we keep being given more and more chances to kill. Once a day not enough to sate your endless hunger? How about once every 6 hours. No good? Fine, do it every hour. Who cares, you'll just end up hungrier later.
But wait, there's more! The forums...
Here's a quote from Wikipedia describing Internet junkies:
"a hypnotized person bereft of consciousness and self-awareness, yet ambulant and able to respond to surrounding stimuli."
No wait - that was about zombies.
@hunterinmck: I was hoping somebody would say a few words about zombie economics.
@Gnilraps: I got it.
PQ steals a march on me again. However, once again, eRepublik becomes just another pale imitation of real life, since David Drezner already mined this lode in Foreign Policy magazine.
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/06/21/night_of_the_living_wonks
My daughter and I have been going back and forth about the possibilities of post-zombie apocalypse post-conflict reconstruction, which would seem apropos to the eUSA's plight. Some of my office mates want to use zombies to simulate international terrorism, but that's a different barrel of pickles.
@Phoenix, as regard Carl Jung, he is one of my favorites. Albeit most of his work has been discounted. One of my best Jung related quotes is from the TV show "Frasier", where the actor Kelsey Grammer quips with his brother Niles Crane (David Hyde Pierce), "I'm not as 'Jung' as I used to be!"
I liked that show a lot and found it quite humorous. That line made me pee a little bit. xD
@Chutley, chill out man! Your comments are starting to ramble on like mine. People will start to talk about you.
@all, I am not a devotee of zombie movies nor slasher/molester movies. My top three scary movies are "Silence of the Lambs", "The Shining" and "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (the original from 1974, uncut). No particular order.
I also like "Apocalypse Now" but it's not really supposed to be scary. Or is it?
My zombie stories? Ok I have a good one.
Once upon a time there was a candidate for President of the eUSA. Or maybe it was some where else. I can't remember. So anyways, this person was clearly not qualified to be President. He ran anyway and a ton of people voted for him because they were in the same party. Or military unit. I don't remember. Anyways this person either won or came close to winning...this was way back in..ummm.
Oh yeah now I remember! That was every POTUS election ever.
Sam, I would expect nothing less from you than to point out the meta-zombie quality of my own writing. Well done, sir.
Mark, you made me laugh out loud. Good one!
But, my friends... where are the heros? Are there any zombie-killers at all? Was GF a zombie-killer? Or are we all zombies and that's that?
click. click. look, a picture of Ged. click. click.
I know it may all be true... ok, it is, but I hate scary zombie thingys, and slime, and the general shenanigans of the undead.And the stink. I dont have a favourite zombie cos I try very hard to disregard them all. And I hated Shaun of the dead. It wasnt ironic, it was just crap.
Chutley is right, too.
But if we can widen it out to unending misery and wailing souls, then Ireland is full of them. RL and game.
AND
I was gonna have a wee rant about zombie economics for you, BUT, then I remembered where I am. ECB/IMF/PIIGS/ bailouts, and a quarterpoint rate rise today made me realise that its beyond undead. Its defunct.
Game over 😞