apocalypse

Walking through The Walking Dead (Season Six): Who’s the Real Villain Here?

Kalie Zamierowski, , , , , , , , , , 3 Comments

Guest Writer: Michael J. Miller

walking-dead-4
Photo Credit – AMC’s The Walking Dead

As a fan of AMC’s The Walking Dead, I spent the past week re-watching Season Six to get ready for this Sunday’s impending Season Seven premiere.  So much of the undercurrent of last season was devoted to slowly building the tension (and anxiety!) surrounding the Saviors and the introduction of their boss, Negan.  In the final moments of “Last Day On Earth” we finally meet The Walking Dead‘s ultimate villain.  This profanity spewing, motorcycle jacket wearing, bat swinging, vision of dread certainly radiates menace.  And, from what I understand, he’s to be the Joker to Rick’s Batman.  But, if I’m being honest, he’s not the character who scared me the most last season, nor is he the one I fear the most going forward. Continue reading “Walking through The Walking Dead (Season Six): Who’s the Real Villain Here?” →

Walking through The Walking Dead (Season Six): Who’s the Real Villain Here?

The Professor, the PhD Candidate, and the Undead

Kalie Zamierowski, , , , , , , , 2 Comments

Zombies: pop-culture’s electrically hyped up obsession.  While we haven’t completely tired of vampires yet, we love the thought of plague-stricken, psychologically incompetent but paradoxically dangerous human-monsters bumbling around, chewing flesh and making trouble for everyone.  Surely The Walking Dead, which has received attention on a season-by-season basis on this site, is responsible for much of the captivation provided by the dead-in-life, alive-in-death status of these hungry roamers.  But while The Walking Dead has some spot-on zombie action, I always suspect that maybe we’re more interested in a vision of the apocalypse – and the varied problematic but original scenarios an apocalypse creates – than the zombies, who serve as both a means to that vision and an entertaining sideshow.  A recent short-story I read seems to validate this theory.  Stephen Graham Jones’s Chapter Six is a zombie short-story that puts zombies in the backdrop of a sinister, surprising human drama.  Continue reading “The Professor, the PhD Candidate, and the Undead” →

The Professor, the PhD Candidate, and the Undead

Walking through The Walking Dead (Season Five): Aahh – I’m Losing Faith in Humanity!

Kalie Zamierowski, , , , , , , , 3 Comments

Guest Writer: Michael J. Miller

Walking Dead 5
Photo Credit – AMC’s The Walking Dead

Season Five contained an odd experience for me.  By nature, I am a trusting person.  I believe in (and hope for) the best in people.  I think a better, beautiful world can be forged.  I believe we can overcome our darker habits and live in the light of love.  I’m as nonviolent a pacifist as you can be, thoroughly believing that violence only breeds more violence.  I even unashamedly believe in the potential to transform our world, free of hate and violence, in the power of love, trust, and mercy.  However I seemed to forget all of that when our intrepid group of survivors wandered into Alexandria. Continue reading “Walking through The Walking Dead (Season Five): Aahh – I’m Losing Faith in Humanity!” →

Walking through The Walking Dead (Season Five): Aahh – I’m Losing Faith in Humanity!

Walking through The Walking Dead (Season Three): The Characters

Kalie Zamierowski, , , , , , , 1 Comment

Walking Dead Season Three I love watching The Walking Dead before bed.  I have coined the term “Dead ‘til bed” for nights I set aside for a Walking Dead marathon.  Nothing says nighty-night like slaughter, zombie guts and involuntary bloodletting.  Indeed, I just finished season three, and I started watching the show a couple weeks ago, so I’m catching up quickly.   But if mindless zombie hacking was all the show was about, I would have already stopped my viewing, and the show wouldn’t be in its sixth season.  Much of The Walking Dead’s intrigue lies within its characters.  The show presents us with complex, dynamic characters who evolve and adapt to a disorienting apocalypse, many of them with admirable gusto.  We warm toward them and cheer for them.  Season three, in particular, is rife with captivating character development. Continue reading “Walking through The Walking Dead (Season Three): The Characters” →

Walking through The Walking Dead (Season Three): The Characters

Walking Through The Walking Dead: Ethical Quandaries in Seasons 1 and 2

Kalie Zamierowski, , , , , , 1 Comment

Walking Dead TwoWhy do so many people watch The Walking Dead?  I’ll admit, I was a bit cynical when I first tried to answer this question.  I reasoned that people watch The Walking Dead because it has an unprecedented amount of violence, or because Americans love guns.  And those elements of the show might be appealing to some viewers, but they don’t fully explain the show’s intrigue.
Continue reading “Walking Through The Walking Dead: Ethical Quandaries in Seasons 1 and 2” →

Walking Through The Walking Dead: Ethical Quandaries in Seasons 1 and 2

Walking Through the Walking Dead (Season 1): Questions the Zombie Apocalypse Raises

Kalie Zamierowski, , , , , 9 Comments

Walking Dead OneMichael and I have finally started watching The Walking Dead.  So that means we’re about six years behind schedule.  I saw a few episodes, once, a long time ago, with friends, but I never latched on to the Walking Dead phenomenon.  I had nothing against the few episodes I saw, but at the time I was more into watching old re-runs of HBO’s Six Feet Under.  Ostensibly, I wanted to contemplate death without focusing on unfortunate and unholy resurrections.  Plus, Six Feet Under gives death a thorough examination. The Walking Dead sort of dances around it and runs from it, while flaunting it at the same time. Continue reading “Walking Through the Walking Dead (Season 1): Questions the Zombie Apocalypse Raises” →

Walking Through the Walking Dead (Season 1): Questions the Zombie Apocalypse Raises