Here's an idea, the recent resurgence of zombies
is because of technology.
[GROANS]
Ideas.
So unless you've been in your bunker preparing for the zombie
apocalypse, you've probably seen plenty of zombies recently.
You know the type, shambly walk, groany voice,
very restricted diet.
And for whatever reason, we can't
seem to get enough of this gray undead hoard.
"The Walking Dead," "Left for Dead," "Day of the Dead,"
"28 Days Later," "Dawn of the Dead,"
"Zombieland," "Abraham Lincoln, Vampire-- oh wait, no.
We're going to talk about vampires later.
So what is it about zombies that inspires the creation of dozens
of new properties and their invasion in two older
properties?
I mean it's not exactly their looks or charm, which I
mean I guess it never is right.
We've had cultural love affairs with all kinds
of ugly monsters.
And it's not because we love them or enjoy seeing them
in the same way that we do with Superman, Batman,
or whatever superhero Ryan Reynolds and his chin
are currently portraying.
Besides the fact, sometimes we just enjoy
being a little scared, we tend to love monsters
because they symbolize something in our real lives,
something we're not fond of.
And in the movies, we get to see the protagonists defeat
or live alongside of whatever terrible thing is causing them
strife.
We watch ourselves persevere in the face of extreme menace
and that feels kind of nice.
For instance, in anti-communist McCarthy-era America,
uber popular science fiction films depicted an America
under threat from alien invaders, some of whom
looked like just like us.
After the bomb was dropped on Japan,
and they were dealing with fears of the nuclear age,
Godzilla appeared to just ravage Tokyo.
In the '70s as Son of Sam, Ted Bundy, and The Zodiac Killer
were making national news, slasher films
featured unthinking, remorseless murders.
What is it then about us and now and zombies?
Some critics say the George A. Romero's film specifically
might symbolize the colossus of capitalism,
or the brainless insatiable hunger of consumerism.
But I don't think we, on the whole
are as afraid of consumer culture or class warfare as we
are of, say, terrorism or the continued
effects of economic collapse, both of which
like zombies are forces against which reason feels useless.
There's no bargaining and at a certain point,
everybody's fate is just sealed.
You can't erase terrorism, undo the effects
of a crashed economy, or reverse the zombie apocalypse.
The hoard is a symbol for a world beyond human control,
like the tides, or the seasons, or new UWE Boll movies.
There's nothing we can do to stop it.
In the games and books and movies the feature zombies,
we get to see ourselves suss out an existence
in an evil dangerous world that is literally
trying eat us alive.
But I really don't think it stops here.
Their present, but threats of bankruptcy and violence
aren't exactly universal.
And violence and economic collapse
aren't the only forces out of our control in this crazy topsy
turvy world of ours, are they?
Not to mention, the stuff that's outside of our control
might be scary, but that doesn't mean
that it is necessarily evil.
Zombies aren't evil.
They have no ill will or malintent.
They're just victims of circumstance.
They're hungry and super dumb.
They're basically just running a program.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute.
Are zombies technology?
To many people, technology marches forward,
seemingly completely disinterested in humanity.
Media, ways of communicating, systems of commerce,
all change regardless of what you want.
The kids, they won't put down their damn iPhones
and Apple just gets rid of ports that you were using and doesn't
give a hoot no matter how much you tweet about it.
Techno phobia is a real thing, especially
in times of great technological upheaval.
Luddites, the pejorative term we use
to describe people who are afraid of technology,
were a real group of people in the 19th century who
went around destroying machinery because it threatened
their livelihood.
And in this all internet, all email, mobile phone with you
all the time times, I think it's safe to say that a lot of us
feel a little threatened or pursued by technology.
And what happens in so many zombie films?
Survivors rely not on technology or infrastructure
to save themselves, but rather simple handmade
machines or cricket bats.
The classic zombie apocalypse survival plan
is to go to an island where natural resources are
plentiful.
You get away from the zombies, but you also
get away from technology and from everything.
You return to a simpler time.
Technology, like zombies, changes the--
[PHONE RINGING]
--way we think, what we do, our relationships.
It changes everything.
Now, am I saying that technology is bad and scary?
No, I'm just saying that zombies and other monsters
for that matter can symbolize the scary parts of good things
just as well as they can the scary parts of scary things.
And do I think the zombie fad is going to last forever?
No, times change and the horrors that we put our movies change
with them.
Vampires once signified a menacing other.
You might have spoken to them or tried to reason with them,
but their central purpose, even whim,
was the complete destruction of our way of life.
They were amongst us, just waiting to strike.
Today after the Cold War, vampires are well different.
They've gone from crafty terrifying villain
to creature seeking human companionship and integration.
And this kind of thing is already
starting to happen to zombies.
After an ambivalent justiceless world and its progress
leaving us behind is no longer scary,
zombies become things like pets and love interests.
So we move onto the next scary thing.
So what will that be?
Biotechnology?
The availability of information?
The diminishing sanctity of personal privacy?
And what will be the baddy that embodies it?
Keeping in mind, of course the Sharktopus is already taken.
What do you guys think?
Do zombies represents technology?
And what monster will we be obsessed with after them?
Let us know in the comments.
And if you want to join the Idea Channel hoard,
you know what to do.
Last week's comments were better than a chat book
a Vogon poetry, though I guess that's not really
saying that much.
Let's see what you guys had to say
about the universe as a computer.
Slayerfail and Daniel Hope point out
some more interesting characteristics
of the simulation argument, which
says if the universe is a computer,
then we should be able to make simulation like ours.
And if we can't, then we are in trouble.
Sam Bergeron recasts lastly question to ask whether or not
computers are universes.
I think this is really interesting.
Poetically, it's maybe an easy argument to make.
It really makes me wonder what a dualist like Levi Strauss
would think.
As far as actual universes, I think maybe up
in the air, a little up in the air.
GGfacepalm points out that if the universe is a computer,
then math must be an objective part of the universe,
referencing our episode from two weeks ago.
I want to know what you guys think about this one.
Do you think that those two things are that related?
Let us know in the comments.
I think this is, this is really great.
To MegaDBZBT3, and it will probably take a while.
DesperadoZ51 points out some of the ramifications regarding
free will if you believe that the universe is a computer.
Do you really have it?
Does it exist?
This is really, this is a good one.
To Joshua Moore, maybe you should stretch it more?
I don't know, maybe by watching Vsauce's
"How Do You Know" video.
We'll put a link in the description.
Tooexcitedbytheunknown and everybody else, say it with me
now, "jife."
TheWeaponshold point out that we do
in fact know why the bowl of petunias thought,
oh no, not again.
And Graham Kristensen drives it home with the explanation.
Spoilers.
This week's episode was brought to you
buy the clicky fingers of these talented individuals.
And the tweet of the week comes from Leah Gates,
who points us towards a Tech Dirt
article about a lawsuit filed against Warner/Chappell music
in the hopes of getting "Happy Birthday" in the public domain.
Very exciting news.
And one additional news item, Geek & Sundry blogs
is currently having an open call for 10 vloggers.
So if you or someone you know is an awesome geeky vlogger,
you should dominate them for yourself.
We will put a link in the description.
Check it out.
It's going to be really cool.