Zombies in the Media

By Rae

Constantly in the media, the names of myths are not used in the genre of the myth. Vampires, ghosts, mummies, werewolves, the list goes on. However, the one which really gets me is zombies. I am a major fan of zombies, which is probably why the different names for them bother me the most, although vampires are up there with ‘annoying’ as well. It is constantly irking me that the writers of these movies, TV series and books won’t call them by what we all know them as.  

In The Walking Dead, it is set out that the characters have never heard of a zombie apocalypse before, so I can forgive them a bit. I must admit, some of the names they come up with are pretty good. Most commonly the ‘zombies’ are walkers, as well as biters which is what the Governor calls them. However the names get better: a walker in armour is a ‘tin can’, a bloated zombie is a ‘swimmer’, ‘roamers’, ‘monsters’, a particularly decomposed one is a ‘rotter’, a hiding zombie is a ‘lurker’, ‘lame brains’, ‘creepy crawlies’ and an assortment of other names.

The other day, I read a book called Forest of Hands and Teeth. I found it quite disappointing, particularly because the protagonist drove me insane. But the names they had for the zombies were some of the strangest I had ever come across: the Unconsecrated and Mudo. In Immortal Rules, the zombie-like creatures are called ‘rabids’. In the Mortal Instruments, the creatures which share common properties to zombies are called, ‘The Forsaken’.

However, there are an assortment of stories where the zombies have been recognised as zombies, such as World War Z, Warm Bodies and, one of my favourite zombie comedies, Shaun of the Dead. Although, in Shaun of the Dead, there is one exchange which I enjoyed very much regarding the naming of the creatures as it showed humans' lack of comprehension of the situation and general unwillingness to accept the situation and recognise the myth:

Ed: Are there any zombies out there?

Shaun: Don't say that!

Ed: What?

Shaun: That.

Ed: What?

Shaun: That. The Z word. Don't say it.

Ed: Why not?

Shaun: Because it's ridiculous!

Ed: All right...Are there any out there, though?

- Shaun of the Dead