Pride & the Apocalypse: Are Zombies Better than the Living?

"Night Life" - Photo by Matt Wynne

When I am in school from September through halfway into June, homework sometimes (fairly often, actually) takes over my night life.  This leaves very little time for television.  When shows that we're intrigued with are on, they're usually recorded and saved for later.  The summer is "later" for me, and my husband and I are catching up on the AMC series The Walking Dead.  We're taking it one episode at a time and allowing each one to percolate a bit and fuel our evening banter and creativity. 

Mortal Combat

No, I'm not talking about the video game; (otherwise I'd have spelled combat with a K) instead, I'm talking about combat in the mortal, or physical, realm.  My husband and I just finished watching The Fighter.  In this movie, a boxer overcomes some intense personal and professional struggles in order to attain the world welterweight title in the 1980s.

Photo by Trista Wynne

I have to say that I have an incredible respect for hand-to-hand combat.  One of the sad trends in zombie movies and books is an intense focus on combat from a distance.  You want to keep the enemy away from you and kill them before you can even recognize their (former) humanity.  As my husband and I slowly work our way through The Walking Dead, (I was attending class when it was on, so we recorded it to watch during summer break) I am delighted to see that zombies are treated humanely.