In the midst of all children’s fantasies is the idea of how they would survive a zombie apocalypse. If faced with the circumstance of being infected, how would they react? To be a zombie or not to be, that is the question. After weighing the options, even if they seem farfetched, I would hands down want to experience the path of metamorphosis into a zombie. There are many reasons for this conclusion, the two I will discuss are that zombies seem to have no restrictions and no reasoning capabilities. These can be viewed for their positives and negatives in any situation, however I see them as both being very appealing to me.
It is very common in this day and age for movies and television shows to include the idea of a zombie or undead monster. From as early as when I was in middle school, I formulated an idea in my mind as to how being a zombie would pan out. Starting with a game called Metal Slug 3, where your character could turn into a zombie, I loved playing as a zombie more then as a human. The feeling of being fearless was very tempting and who doesn’t like projectile vomit evaporating their opponents. Movies, such as Shaun of the Dead, also portrayed being a zombie as less of an end of existence and more of a new beginning. The protagonist’s best friend Ed enjoys some nice PlayStation 2 after being infected, and as unrealistic as it seems, the idea is just so enticing. Although the zombies being discussed in this paper don’t hold these same features, the concept has surfaced in my mind numerous times throughout my youth.
All through my childhood I have had rules, limits, and consequences. Whether physical or mental no one wants to deal with these principles. The amount of sacrifices someone makes in their life to make the “right” decision, over the one that most benefits them, are countless. I would love to just be able to not feel bad and just go with no conscience weighing me down. The lack of emotions felt from these choices simply means that zombies revert back to the ways of hunters. Whatever you must do to survive, even if this only entails killing humans, is how you must live. The benefit of this method of survival is that it is truly no ones fault but your own for not providing for yourself. You do not have anyone to hold you back, or slow you down.
A huge factor in our life is the love of our friends and family. Without these emotions and restrictions we lose the need for others to be around us. This means there are no real feelings of sadness to a loss, or sympathy while a love one is ill. The tradeoff is large, but with the lack of distractions affecting us, zombies can potentially be more efficient at accomplishing their goals then humans could ever be. A world with no sadness would make the general public less flustered; maybe becoming zombies could help fix our economic problems, the poor and rich zombies are finally equals.
One of my worst habits in my everyday life is overthinking decisions; would this type of food be better, or is this game more fun to play at a given time? A world without reason can make those stressful little decisions obsolete. The time saved by avoiding these choices would add up and save room for more feasting on human brains. There’s nothing better then sitting in the passenger seat for the ride. Heck, we can’t even workout anymore without a personal trainer telling us exactly what to do, sometimes even at home through the television screen. Most 9-5’s are simply following exactly what’s been scheduled for a worker to do, why not just look at zombies as the literal definition of “mindless” labor. Being a zombie would simply allow for us to sit by and follow one plan everyday, drag our right limp leg, hold our arms out straight, moan, and feast. Although this is just the typical Americanized zombie, no matter what the behavior is, thoughtlessness would be evident.
An on going debate between scientists and even the general public is how humans are superior to all other animals. Last I checked destroying the planet with our new technology and building weapons of mass destruction is far worse then what a monkey does to a tree while it swings, or an ostrich does to the ground when it burrows its head. Although these examples are not very dangerous, the common animal might not be as smart as a human in some ways, but they simply follow their role in the world and don’t risk all animals’ survival, as we know it. A zombie would be just like a spider that has to eat smaller insects, except this time humans wouldn’t be the superior beings in the food chain. Overall being in a vegetable state might not be the definition of freedom that Americans want, but maybe not being able to destroy the world is worth giving that definition up.
The human mind acts in strange ways; as long as something is “normal,” then it is accepted. I think being a zombie can be just as natural as being a human if you look at it from the right point of view. We fantasize about having no restrictions all the time, I’m sure even the most responsible human wishes he could just be limitless for a minute sometimes. When humans try to flaunt their superiority they are being no better then a zombie who kills for food, because humans kill for science, war, and some even for no reason. So why not just take away the reasoning privileges that are being abused and at least only kill for your own survival. Although being a human is a great honor, and I would not want anything less, if I were given the choice between begging for death after being infected or embracing the journey, I would chose the later any day. When it comes down to it, it would make for a great bedtime story, “The Time I Became A Zombie.”