The Grotesque History of Zombies

[@0ccultic]

absolutely adore this video. always really love analyzing monsters as personifications of societal fears, and this scratches that itch perfectly. what i am surprised by is train to busan not being mentioned. granted, its a korean film, but it too follows the framework of zombies as oppressed workers. the first mention we hear of the zombies comes packaged with information about a workers strike (from what i can recall), the characters meant to be unsympathetic are all notably in positions of power in the work place, and overall its a beautiful story that really revitalized my love for zombie media. give it a watch if you can.

[@lilili765]

Great vid man, i never made the correlation between slaves and zombies but now that you mentioned it, you're completely right. This is what these types of videos should do, give a whole new perspective on a subject.

[@dgaf9843]

I don't understand, did west Africa people already have the conception of a zombie before the slave trade or was that an idea of the slavers?

[@prestidigititis483]

Decided to comment for three reasons: 1) Excellent video; I'm really enjoying your work thus far. Really engaging, deeply researched, enjoyably narrated. Just great. 2) Since you asked, my favorite unusual entry into the zombie genre is the movie Pontypool. I'm guessing you've seen it, but if not, you should. 3) What's that little animation sample at 14:22 from? I can't place it at all. Thanks for making this!

[@superdude10000]

There's a link to it in the description, it's from Noodle, specifically the video "how TV screens made watching movies worse," a video detailing the history of aspect ratios and movies as they came into contact with other screen types. Fascinating video, and a great KZbinr

[@binah7744]

Please tell Acorn I love her! I did a paper on zombies for uni, and getting to watch this with a little bit of background knowledge was really cool! I’ve been binging your videos and I’ve really been enjoying them. They’re very engaging and it’s cool to watch someone talk about something they’re interested in in depth

[@halesm5720]

I would say bonies represent those that have been so burned by their treatment as the other that they fully withdrew and gave into playing that role. I would liken that to groups which isolate and stop attempting to reach out or keep trying to communicate or even individuals who have solidified their world views and can no longer try to change. If I were to read the movie that way...

[@SocraTetris]

Hey, i love and appreciate thos video. I'm a 2nd generation Haitan-American, and I struggled throughout the aughts and 10's to point back to my heritage when people discussed zombies. There is much more that can be done on the cultural point, but this video will help me ALOT with the film/media portions of my writing.

[@quartermaster6235]

24:16 Damn it, Acorn!

[@GraceElliezzz]

This was such a joy to watch! Zombie media has always been a guilty pleasure of mine! Also, have you ever seen the TV show called "Kingdom"? It's a Korean period drama...about zombies. It was really interesting, because it had an ENTIRELY different take on zombies than I've ever seen before in anything, as well as taking place in historical South Korea. It was really interesting, and though it's been a few years since I've seen it, I highly recommend it if only for the new look on zombies that it showed! Beyond that, I loved this video! I had no idea about the history of zombies, and it's horrifying and terribly sad to learn about its place in exploiting slaves. Beyond that, I'm always interested in zombie media, and finding more of it! I stand in the same place as you when it comes to media like The Walking Dead. I found that show frustrating, if only because of how little the zombies actually mattered in it, as well as how pessimistic it took the human condition during that type of event. Anyways, loved this vid, it taught me lots of new things and gave me some good recs!

[@torytellstales]

If you were sick of the Walking Dead, try checking out the comic series "Deadworld", this comic series dealt with supernatural zombies, some being intelligent and the leader being a motorcycle rider who talked

[@davemurray9977]

At 32:00, I feel that part about following your passions in a new and evolving jobs market too!!! I ditched law and have been teaching myself game design and dev, and I have to thank you and your fantastic channel's role in inspiring me to do so!!! Thank you so much for your awesome deep-dives, Superdude! And keep up the inspirational work 🙇🙇🙇

[@thecosmicalcat]

God this is some goddamn awesome media analysis right here bravo, bravo

[@seanlein4284]

I love that you kept acorn rubbing on the mic and added the video effect. Had me genuinely cracking up.

[@LegendaryETS]

Another great video Superdude! Your content never fails to entertain me!

[@dragonfluf]

Ben's death at the end of Night of the Living Dead ends up being a really interesting adaptation of the Zombie trope's racist past. Despite the effort to separate it from the Haitian Zombie, the Ghouls end up serving the same purpose, a tool of tyrants to keep the downtrodden under their boot.

[@brianrubin2069]

Best accidental metaphor in horror (director didn't intend it)

[@dacodile2168]

Hey dude just wanted to say you are by far my favourite media analyst, keep it up man this is sick edit: also idk if you are into unsolicited advice, but i think that maybe like a small chime or bell noise when you're about to spoil something would be good. I listen to these while cleaning and stuff so I can't always look at the screen, just a thought idk

[@superdude10000]

Good thinking, I'll try something like that in the future

[@iansmith9762]

Im so happy you used The Skeleton Dance in your video!

[@canberksahinable]

I can believe you have only been doing KZbin for less than a year!! Keep it up your channel is going to blow up🎉

[@Ofxzh]

You could also see zombies as a slave to the virus, in most depicted cases never being able to escape it and not able to disobey.

[@sporadicallychill]

Having just finished a deep dive into resident evil lore 9:30 really cracked me up.🤣 Glad I finished it just in time to truly appreciate this vid!

[@Nandoluca]

Awesome video, made me think about zombies through a new lens

[@PAT3K3]

Loved the video, I just couldnt stop thinking that it missed a mention about the flood being this impending doom for the whole universe in the halo series

[@uskthedwarf]

I get the impression from your writing and style that you watch ian danskin, but in the unlikely event you don't he has a great video about guillermo del toros movies. thanks for the chill video :)

[@cyk3599]

mostly off topic to the point of the video but still cool anyways, fun fact: the voice actor who voiced the zombies in both lfd games and i am legend is mike patton, an experimental metal singer. idk when zombies started to roar but he'll always be the quintessential zombie voice for me. also the sadness is one of the coolest interpretations of zombies imo. it's genuinely such a horrifying watch, partly because of the absolutely incredible practical effects used, but also because the 'zombies' are sooo human. if you want a good modern zombie film and aren't squeamish at all, i highly recommend it.

[@alang.bandala8863]

Small correction. Mary Shelly made the first novel about a pandemic apocalypse, years later, Arthur Conan Doyle made another story as a sequel to The Lost World, but it was just a "temporal" apocalypse. I Am Legend is the first pandemic with monstrous infected as antagonists

[@laurencedl9729]

28 days layer just doesn't exist then

[@wheatboy206]

Kickass video dude. Went to toss it on in the background and absolutely HAD to pause the game I was playing (Noita) to give it my full attention. I thoroughly enjoyed hearing the fruits of your research, and your pacing gave each piece of media *just enough* time to keep it engaging. Can't believe I'm just now stumbling across your channel- looking forward to more, fellow Prey-appreciator! :)

[@karaevilsky3012]

Paranorman(stop motion from laika) and Less than human(youtube short animation) They speak for themselves, they are awesome

[@Needtheinformation]

Can't believe this only has 601 likes! Honestly fantastic stuff my guy!

[@Helmotz.]

those scooby do episodes scared the living shit out of me when I was younger

[@Cluestblue]

I *adored* everything about your video, it does an amazing job at explaining all their history and I adore how fresh new takes on the genre can get. Though the one HUGE issue I have with the genre is when the story gives the protagonists superpowers from the infection and even more when they start saying "the virus is not an infection but a cure!" like "Dead Rising (last one)", "Dead Island" and "Dying light", every one of them had nice premises but the moment they did that I felt like I didn't watch a zombie game but instead a marvel superhero bit with some blood inbetween. Outta curiosity what do you think about the virus giving to some people superpowers?

[@superdude10000]

I'm not the biggest fan. Depending on your zombie, they're usually based in a sort of biological realism, meaning they're a disease or parasite, right? I've never known a disease to improve you in any measurable way, so it pushes at realism. (Realism is an odd thing to say for zombies, but it's true) Resident Evil may be the only exception to this (for me) because while some of the characters do have zombie superpowers, there are also disease wizards in that game. I'm not gonna draw the line at Jill aging slower, it's already gone maximum camp.

[@stripes9908]

Dead Space is my favorite cosmic horror

[@Yurxfull]

I just started watching zom 100 the day before and what an amazing surprise!! Great video as always.

[@screwystream3602]

The game world war z is pretty unique in the fact that theres a shit ton of zombies survivors have to fight

[@Nictheidoit]

18:20 nice signalis reference

[@forgiveness7959]

If you haven’t ever watched it I think the movie “Hidden” is a great claustrophobic post-zombie apocalypse movie that subverts expectations and makes a lot of points that are relevant to the ones you made in this video!

[@gmg9010]

I’m absolutely terrified of zombies or really anything dead. I also tried watching TWD and almost didn’t finish the first episode.

[@superdude10000]

If you're afraid of zombies, some non-horror Zombie media is Zom 100 (as stated in the video), but also Pushing Daisies, which is a feel good comedy-murder mystery. It's meant to be heartwarming, so perhaps that?

[@IHateTheBandsYouLike]

Great video as always

[@torytellstales]

Im currently working on a zombie story where the zombies symbolize people with learning disabilities, genuinely surprised there hasnt been any "zombie" media of that concept in mind.

[@DaJackCracker]

I doubt its an intentional correlation, but i think you could easily map the zombies of Warm Bodies to mental illness or disabilities - particularly depression, but others apply, and how society others people who dont fit in psychologically. Who struggle to express themselves, have strange or uncomfortable habits, ect. In this perspective, the Bonies would represent those who have "fallen" to their mental illness and react with hostility and a "mutual othering." They feel they've been rejected by society or that they can no longer function in it and rather than try to find a way to heal or adapt, they persist on a sense of alienation. The Bonies hate humans and anybody who sympathizes with humanity because they've lost hope that they themselves can be "human" - in other words, that they can find any meaningful happiness.

[@LutraLovegood]

It very much reads like depression and neurodivergence to me.

[@tunnelsnakesrule7541]

You should check out REC, a 2007 Spanish zombie movie.

[@harlequinz]

this was a great video! i'm kinda surprised there was no mention of call of duty's zombies though as its lore has a lot of links to real world history! if you haven't already you should read darren shan's zom-b series, it has a lot off interesting things to say about zombies as a minority group, racism, and things not always being as they seem at first glance

[@TheBabblingBabs]

NO ONE EVER TALKS ABOUT THE AFRICAN/HAITI ROOTS OF ZOMBIES!!! Thank youuuuuu!

[@drunkenhowler22]

Awesome vid man, I'd love to recommend some books, one is an obvious one... World War Z. Which has such an interesting and unique approach that resonated far too well with the C19 pandemic. Highly recommend if you havent read it! (The film is fun but is only similar in name). The other, has zombies as more of a background entity but leans into the themes it explores really well... Blindsight, and its Sequel echopraxia by Peter Watts. Genuinely one of the most existentially terrifying stories ive read and I have a feeling you'd eat that shit up in a heartbeat :) it has a unique take on Zombification, conciousness, and even has a version of vampire as an revived extinct branch of human akin to neaderthal. Insane stuff that is done really well. Let me know if you ever give them a try : D

[@TWTO8818]

Amazing vid. My favorite media is the dying light franchise (despite its faults). I absolutely love it. Zombies has always been a video game genre or focus that I’ve loved. I just wish there are more conscious zombie focus when it comes to the uncertainty of what zombies are.

[@daedula7457]

20:47 you mention the Zombie allagory changing from minority to majority due to its popularity but I'd argue that a key point of the post 9-11 zombie was the mass of zombies versuses a small group of enobled survivors. The cultural paranoia of a wave of terrorism due to various elements of the Bush administrations can be seen throughout zombie media like world war Z and beyond. The intended horror is that of a barbarous world against a american survivor group threatening to destroy and subsume them

[@magicduckman441]

“I am a hero” has a pretty cool take on zombies. Plants vs zombies or sunset overdrive too?

[@Ivvilon]

I hate to be "that guy" but for Warm Bodies, read the fu(|(|ng book. It's so much better than the movie I can't stress it. Same with World War Z. In fact, zombie literature as a whole is pretty great as long as you aren't reading any young adult novels. If you want a breath of fresh air or just want a new story that isn't super cliched you might find some good $#!+. I recommend T.W. Brown for some grounded and darker stories. I would recommend an author for more lighthearted ones but it's been a minute since I've taken the time to actually read a novel.

[@Entersillyman]

I love you and this video superdude but… no chapters :(((

[@superdude10000]

Thanks for letting me know, it should be fixed now.

[@RowanMackenzie]

I remember a show called iZombie or I, Zombie, where someone who works as a mortician has to keep eating brains to stay sane but also uses these powers to fight crime? It was odd

[@finnzimmermann3128]

I think it was interesting because we can see how the outbreak starts and how it gets more and more apocalyptic.

[@AirsickDolphin]

Great video! I'm not sure what it was about the title or thumbnail that made me take so long to watch this, and seems like I'm not alone. I think what could help is some kind of "SD" logo on the thumbnail to create some kind of branding for people who maybe find your videos through recommendations and are not subscribed. Then there's something about the title, once I watched the video it was great but in the KZbin algorithm I think it's a bit bland. Completely fair if you don't want to game the algorithm, but yeah something more clickbaity probably would have helped a lot.

[@AirsickDolphin]

At least having some white text on the thumbnail would have made me more quickly recognize it as part of the other videos.

[@zlatimirrangelov3352]

Nice video superdude. I really like your work. I always wanted to start a KZbin channel but I was too afraid. I have one seperet to this one with one video but it's quite boring. I want to make videos in your style do you think I need some knowledge in game design for them to be engaging? Do you have a background in games? I will be happy if you give me some advice 🙂. Thank you.

[@superdude10000]

1.) Snappy editing helps. Edit out empty space and try to remove any dead air. I have a (future upcoming to-be-determined) mother-in-law who only watches videos at 2x speed because she thinks they're all slow. If she does that with my videos, they're too fast for her. That's a good thing. 2.) Bring something new to the table. When I made my Prey video, someone told me this exact video has been made before, and they questioned why I bothered. While that hurt to hear, it's true. Make sure every video is doing something new. Now, that doesn't mean DON'T make a video about the thing everyone's talking about, just make sure you have something interesting to say, or a new connection to make. Sometimes your passion is enough, also. If you are really excited about something, write about it! 3.) To answer your question, I have studied game design before, but I've also been playing games for more than two decades now. That's experience, both academically and "in the field." So it helps, but all it was is reading, studying, and playing. It wasn't hard for me because I like doing it. That's another way of saying, "write about what you like." If you were already interested in it before you started writing, the research will feel like fun more than work. This is what Writers/game devs/artists mean when they say, "always be reading/writing/creating/playing/et cetera." If you engage with your medium of choice often, it gives you a greater comparison point to work off of, and more places to draw inspiration. This video is comprised of A LOT of the zombie fiction I've consumed, and then some I hadn't before I started researching. This only happens because of that body of work, interest, and willingness to research. The autism helps, but it didn't feel like work, it felt exciting. In summation, edit quick, write what you like, bring something new to the table, and passively consume what you enjoy. That last part is annoying to be told, but it's a bit like learning a language or practicing an instrument. If you don't put in the work to produce this library of reference behind you, then what you write will be less developed because you have less to go off of. That's everything I can think of off the top of my head; I hope that proves helpful.

[@tuguldurtumee5059]

KZbin algorithm be missing out rn!

[@Jediahgames]

Read Zom100's manga, it's pretty good too

[@kyryloslav]

I feel obligated to say, in my opinion, 28 days later (NOT 28 months later, it was a horrible hollywood-ised abomination), is a perfect zombie movie It hits every single base for me, and the ending is AMAZING Huge recommend to anyone and everyone

[@qwaykes8840]

did you get the panel at 31:18 from Signalis?

[@superdude10000]

Yes. Seemed useful for self-censorship

[@cpoenasty]

Zomboid mentioned

[@nunyabiznes7446]

THE ED *IS* TOP NOTCH ISNT IT???

[@GrotesqueYT]

my name's in the title 😱 Just wanted to say that I've been watching you for a little while now, and I've loved every single video that I've watched. Keep up the great work ❤️

[@Escobar1519]

Amazing video

[@PhantomHalf]

Fuck I hadn’t thought about tell tales the walking dead in a long time. My heart got stabbed again thinking about the ending

[@bonkaz6192]

My fav zombies are still to this day the call of duty black ops zombies. Originally thought to be a Nazi experiment gone wrong, it's actually from an ancient race of aliens led by God eternally battling another ancient alien race (also led by God)

[@tuguldurtumee5059]

Oh a new upload 🎉❤❤

[@CybenX_yt]

i cackled at the bonies part, banger joke dude

[@nathan3827]

while watching this video and encountering so many media I love I suddenly realised I actually really like zombies as well😅

[@zacki102]

Honestly? Warm bodies ate~ (oh uh oops a pun dw abt it) Like zombie media? Rewarding the power of human connecton? Booyah~

[@onetitwndr]

30:31 is had me rollin😂

[@nachoolo]

The Walking Dead and the Last of Us reminds me of the obsession American post-Apocalypse has with the idea that society *will* (not could) collapse if there's a disaster. That roughed individualism will triumph over a world that wants to harm you and your family. The thing is. We have had apocalyptic-level disasters throughout history. We have had entire states collapsing upon themselves either for internal or external problems. And, while there was violence, society still prevailed. Which it is the actual fear that American apocalyptic stories serve as escapism from. The idea that American culture built on pure individualism is wrong. The fear that we are social and communal animals. Which honestly does contrast with Zom 100. Which, instead of a greater than life protagonist who's survives by the power of masculinity, thriving because society is a lie and only individualism is true, we have a regular bloke who sees escaping society not as an escape for the lie of communal living, but as a escape of the brutality of Japan's society and work-force. It basically has more to do with Isekai stories than with The Walking Dead or the Last of Us.

[@ThatReplyGuy]

Two words: Gakkou Gurashi

[@LutraLovegood]

The western world: America (the USA), and the United Kingdoms (England)

[@twinkbreaker_]

this was well researched and nuanced and made me think of zombies as metaphors in new ways. if i could post that drake clapping gif i would. also anyone reading this should like the vid

[@pendantblade6361]

I'm still waiting for someone to make a game that has zombies clearly being created by not!Covid and people still ignore that it's a virus that exists.

[@andreirusu6064]

bro really forgot about halo's flood

[@CrashSable]

The thing about zombies is that they're so boring, videogames can't help but create extra non-zombie threats that become the main mechanics and/or story of the game. At least in films and books they can be used in the background of the actual story and are usually a metaphor, but even then they're so dull and the metaphor is so blunt that there's nothing of worth beyond a single entry in any series. In games they're just the grunts and are usually used as a lazy excuse to not bother designing fun grunts to kill.

[@LutraLovegood]

Zombies in themselves aren't boring, you just need to make something beyond an MVP about killing zombies. Lots of people love Project Zomboid and its zombies are as basic as they get.

[@remontariv1130]

First

[@JohnZiTAB]

Argh.

[@dragonfluf]

Second

[@dread46]

People still do this, doesnt this get boring after a few years?

[@mileslugo6430]

I hate Warm Bodies with a white hot passion.

[@thagomizer8485]

Most of this video is a reeeeeaaaal stretch. Zombies are an allegory for terrorist? C'mon.

[@superdude10000]

That's straight up a common reading from that period. Like, that ain't even my opinion alone, that's a well known horror trend from that time period that zombies slot into in the way I described.

[@PinkMonkeyBird]

CONTENT WARNINGS OMEGALUL

[@nerdywolverine8640]

yeah, telling people what you're going to be talking about so they can decide whether or not they actually want to watch it is so cringe amiright -_-

[@PinkMonkeyBird]

@@nerdywolverine8640 Yes, it literally is cringe 😂

[@nerdywolverine8640]

​@@PinkMonkeyBirdare spoiler warnings cringe too now? lol