If you haven’t been watching the TV series, then you are missing an intriguing story line, a remaking of society, while dealing with the total collapse of the old one. A virus spreads over the globe, and wreaks havoc on humans, one which causes death due to a high fever, the dead rising as flesh-hungry zombies. Those that were not killed by the initial wave carry the virus, and no matter how they die they too will become the walking dead. Of course, if one is bitten by a “walker” the injury will cause the victim to suffer the high fever, death, and return to become one of the “biters.” Okay, not the nicest of plots, but what I watch the series for is the attempt by some to reconstruct society. The small aspects of everyday life we take for granted: a hot shower, clean water, hot food, gasoline for the many abandoned cars, a safe place to sleep, music on the radio, etc. There are groups of people trying to survive, not only the walking dead, but warring factions. There are guns aplenty, and each bullet used has negative consequences, it awakens the walking dead to the fact that humans are around.
The how of the writers is to show the breakdown of our fragile society that depends on being on the grid, fossil fuel, and other systems that in the time of post-plague times breaks down mainly because the prisons, hospitals, schools, government offices are not either infected or fleeing from the infected. In each episode there are small victories while confronting deadly situations. A baby is born, but her mother, in need of a C-section, is sacrificed for the child to be born. A young couple finds love and wants to marry. Having no jewelry shops, Glen finds a
“walker” and cuts the finger off her to obtain a ring. One of the groups finds haven in a prison, they “break” in and clear the cell block of walker, finding a safe place to sleep in the cells. The world is turned upside down; photographs become a vital and treasured passion, a connection to the past. The writers of the series show those alive are not only struggling to stay alive, but to also stay” human” in the way they conduct themselves, while some others become mercenary, total survivalists, and see nothing wrong with wiping out potential competitors for resources. Most of the living are noble in their actions, while a few see themselves as the protectors of their groups, and as such must make tough, and sometimes, vicious decisions.
The upside to the destruction of society is that the old wars are no longer deemed important: race, gender, age, wealth, education, position in society. The old are seen as the sages. Women are equal to the men, some “protecting” still occurs, but she carries and uses a weapon just as well, sometimes better, as the men. Race is a non-issue; the person is alive? Then good enough!
The why the series works is, for me at least, is that it shows within the devastation of “normal” life, the drive to live is still strong, many do not give up their humanity, and a clean slate is given to all, a redo so to speak, a second chance to be whomever one chooses to be. Sure, the dread of “walker” or “biters” chasing folks and what folks have to do to avoid being bitten, or eaten, adds to the drama, heck it’s not enough life went to hell in a handbasket, we need the added element of constant impending horrific death. I think the biggest factor for
me is the idea behind the series that social justice and engaging difference are both key elements to the series as is “the common human right to a basic natural resource.”
How the series is working, what claims it is making, why it is making the claims it makes, how those claims are demonstrated through character choices, scenes, cinematography choices, musical choices, etc.
I will use the following episode to demonstrate what I have written as to the why and how the writers & I are using The Walking Dead. The episode is entitled “The Killer Within.” Recap of episode: Axel begs Rick to let him and Oscar join the group. Rick discusses this with the group. T-Dog is the only one who wants the prisoners to join but is unable to convince the others. While the group is admiring Hershel's determination to use crutches, they are surprised by a group of walkers moving through the prison compound, and the survivors are separated while fleeing for cover. Rick, Daryl, and Glenn return from outside the fences to find that the gate was left open and chains were cut, and Rick immediately suspects Axel and Oscar. However, when more walkers are attracted by the prison alarms, Rick's group has to rely on the prisoners to help them quickly find and shut down the generators. Oscar leads Rick and Daryl to the generator room, where Rick is ambushed by Andrew, who had lured the walkers in from the other side of the prison. Oscar gets Rick's gun and shoots Andrew, siding with Rick whose group he and Axel want to join. Meanwhile, T-Dog tries to close the gate that is releasing walkers and is bitten. He and Carol escape but soon are confronted by more walkers. T-Dog sacrifices himself to save Carol. Her head wrap falls off. Daryl later finds it, leading the group to assume she also was killed. Maggie, Carl, and Lori end up hiding in the boiler room. Lori goes into labor, but complications prevent a natural childbirth, so she insists that Maggie perform an emergency Caesarean section. Lori does not survive the procedure. Carl has to shoot Lori, his mother, in the head before she re-animates. When the group reunites, Rick hears the cry of a baby. Maggie and Carl appear, holding the newborn. Rick learns of his wife's death and collapses in mourning. Back at Woodbury, Andrea grows closer to The Governor and puts off a planned departure indefinitely, despite Michonne's increasing suspicions of the man. (Wiki, 2013)
Without know who all the characters are it is a bit difficult for you to grasp the full meaning of this one episode, but the fact that Lori cannot give birth naturally and Maggie must deliver the child, a girl, by knife, and Lori’s own son, Carl, is made to shoot his mother in the head after she dies from her ordeal illustrates the fact that the world has indeed been turned upside down. His act is considered mercy. Lori did have the opportunity, episodes before, to terminate the pregnancy through the PLAN B pill, but vomited them up instead, choosing her child’s life over her own. The baby, who her brother names Judith, is now a crying dinner bell for the walkers, who are sound sensitive. I remember reading about Judith in the bible. Carl says he names her after his 6th grade teacher, what 6th grader knows their teacher’s first name? The Book of Judith has a tragic setting that appealed to Jewish patriots and it warned of the urgency of adhering to Mosaic law, generally speaking, but what accounted for its enduring appeal was the drama of its narrative. The story revolves around Judith, a daring and beautiful widow, who is upset with her Jewish countrymen for not trusting God to deliver them from their foreign conquerors. She goes with her loyal maid to the camp of the enemy general, Holofernes, with whom she slowly ingratiates herself, promising him information on the Israelites. Gaining his trust, she is allowed access to his tent one night as he lies in a drunken stupor. She decapitates him, then takes his head back to her fearful countrymen. The Assyrians, having lost their leader, disperse, and Israel is saved. Though she is courted by many, she remains unmarried for the rest of her life. (Wiki, 2013)
Carl is the son of Lori and Rick, the sheriff, he wears his dad’s hat that his dad gave him after being shot by accident. I think Carl represents not only the future, but the law of the old ways, and in being such is a promise of normalcy for when the “plague” is over.
Works Cited
Wikipedia. (2013). Retrieved from The Killer Within: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killer_Within