Zombie as Parody: The Misuses of Science and the Nonhuman Condition in Postmodern Society

Abstract

For this project, I will focus on those zombie films/texts that locate scientific and medical advances (or “advances”) as the source of cultural critique. Like Frankenstein in his laboratory, these particular zombie texts focus on the misuse of science and medicine. The main questions to answer for this project are: what is this virus that infects humanity? Where does it come from? How, if at all, are we to survive? What statement is being made about our society based on the portrayal of culture in these texts? Is this part of an emergent structure of feeling or residual structure of feeling? My argument is that these texts are part of a conservative movement away from scientific progress to the skeptical notion of “progress” or so-called progress. It seems to be that by playing with nature, we destroy nature. We corrupt ourselves by altering science in ways never meant to be done.