what is it that pisses zombies off?

genkaku

Wrote this today and thought I might post it here as well for any zombies or zombie-philes who may be lurking...

Except for the fact that it is scary and 'scary' is somehow fun, I can't quite get the premise of a TV serial called "The Walking Dead." I only see snippets as I switch channels, but the series seems to be premised on a lot of make-up and some notion that zombies are on the loose and those who are living need to defend themselves.

Zombies seem to be driven -- angry as hell about the fact that others are alive -- to kill off the living. Why they should be so pissed off, I'm not quite sure. Do they simply want more company? They certainly seem to have a lot of company already, if the show's premise and depiction are reasonable within the given story line. So what has these dead people who are alive so pissed off? Boredom? Jealousy? A need to succeed at others' expense? The desire for a good meal?

What is it that pisses zombies off?

I like stories that are consistent within their own frameworks, but I'm damned if I can find the consistency within this (some would say deliciously) scary adventure.

I would be delighted if some zombie could enlighten me.

Bekenze

All of us have some deep-seeded discontent within ourselves. Some deep down suffering and aching of the heart that we can't seem to get rid of. This is what leads many of us into Buddhism. This is what leads zombies to eat brains.

Zero

Zombies have no higher brain function as theyre dead - theyre left with their very basic reptile brain which just deals with food and aggression - hence the destruction of the head is key to stopping those eternally angry and hungry zombies... sometimes they're possessed by demonic forces... demons tend to be angry (except for Hellboy who isnt angry but is less than a barrel of laughs)...

genkaku

Thanks for the explanations. No doubt I will be much consoled when I run into the next person who wants to eat my brain.

person

The Walking Dead is a great show. It kind of transcends the genre in much the way the newer Battlestar Galactica did in that the story revolves mainly around the emotional lives of normal people living in an unnormal world. Highly recommended.

To what drives zombies. It doesn't seem to be anger, but rather craving, an insatiable craving for living flesh, particularly brains it seems. Near the end of season one of the show an MRI of someone while they turn into a zombie is shown. The only active part of the brain, like @Zero said, is the basic reptile brain.

In reality I don't think it would be possible for a corpse to reanimate. Even if something could reactivate the brain there is too much else that goes into moving about and acting in the world that depends on living processes. A living rage zombie or a nanobot controlled one, now that is another story, they don't have the same guiltless slaughter appeal though. :zombie:

federica

Speaking as an ex-zombie myself, all they crave is a good deep hot Radox bath, a cup of tea, and listening to 'book at bedtime' on the radio....