Zombies!
Zombies are fun, and they have several qualities that make them a great plot device to tell stories. They’re simple – just take dead people, add animation and a ravenous hunger. Stir and repeat. You don’t really have to explain them, or explain how they happen. They are implacable, but not incredibly difficult to kill or even escape for brief periods of time. So there’s the sense that even a normal human being can handle themselves, if they’re careful. And yet there’s a constant sense of tension and dread at what might be trapped in that locked house, or shuffling across the camp ground. They’re also a way of having an apocalypse that wipes out much of humanity, but then sticks around afterward to harass the survivors. There is a constant threat looming, but it’s slow.
Which is really the key. Zombie stories allow for a lot of human interaction. Once your survivors have escaped the initial onslaught and barricaded up the building, what do they do? Do they turn on each other? Band together to survive? Split into factions and fight over supplies? To me, zombie stories are a great showcase for how terrible human beings can be to each other. Theoretically, I guess, you could use it as a showcase for how people can overcome even this, the worst calamity to befall humanity, but it usually doesn’t work out that way. Most people don’t handle stress well even in every day life, much less with monsters chasing you. I guess it all just depends on your view of humankind’s nature.
So for today’s sketch, the beginnings of a zombie story. Just a few hundred words. Continue reading
