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Zombies—A Pop Culture Resource for Public Health Awareness Melissa Nasiruddin, Monique Halabi, Alexander Dao, Kyle Chen, and Brandon Brown

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Zombies—A Pop Culture Resource for Public Health Awareness Melissa Nasiruddin, Monique Halabi, Alexander Dao, Kyle Chen, and Brandon Brown Zombies—A Pop Culture Resource for Public Health Awareness Melissa Nasiruddin, Monique Halabi, Alexander Dao, Kyle Chen, and Brandon Brown itting at his laboratory bench, a scientist adds muta- secreted by puffer fish that can trigger paralysis or death- Stion after mutation to a strand of rabies virus RNA, like symptoms, could be primary ingredients. Which toxins unaware that in a few short days, an outbreak of this very are used in the zombie powders specifically, however, is mutation would destroy society as we know it. It could be still a matter of contention among academics (4). Once the called “Zombie Rabies,” a moniker befitting of the next sorcerer has split the body and soul, he stores the ti-bon anj, Hollywood blockbuster—or, in this case, a representation the manifestation of awareness and memory, in a special of the debate over whether a zombie apocalypse, manu- bottle. Inside the container, that part of the soul is known as factured by genetically modifying one or more diseases the zombi astral. With the zombi astral in his possession, like rabies, could be more than just fiction. Fear of the the sorcerer retains complete control of the victim’s spiri- unknown has long been a psychological driving force for tually dead body, now known as the zombi cadavre. The curiosity, and the concept of a zombie apocalypse has be- zombi cadavre remains a slave to the will of the sorcerer come popular in modern society. This article explores the through continued poisoning or spell work (1). In fact, the utility of zombies to capitalize on the benefits of spreading only way a zombi can be freed from its slavery is if the spell public health awareness through the use of relatable popu- jar containing its ti-bon anj is broken, or if it ingests salt lar culture tools and scientific explanations for fictional or meat. The latter would usually cause the zombi to hunt phenomena. down and kill its master before finally returning to its fam- Although zombies are currently an integral part of our ily or its final rest as a corpse 1( ,2). popular culture, our morbid fascination with the walking Although most cultures would consider the zombie dead spans several centuries. Historians and anthropolo- to be a fictional creature, zombiism (i.e., being a zombie) gists trace the origin of zombies to the folklore of several is rather common in Haiti, with instances of people being tribes in western Africa, from Ghana to Nigeria (1,2). Dur- reported dead by loved ones, only to be spotted fully reani- ing the slave trade of the late 1500s through the 1800s, mated and wandering around town several weeks to several persons from these regions were spirited away from their years later. In Haitian and African culture, zombification is homes to till the plantations of the Caribbean and the Eu- a punishable offense on the same order of severity as mur- ropean colonies, bringing with them the voodoo culture of der (1). A person who has been zombified, or transformed magic and spells. Among some academics, zombies in the into a zombie, can have a blunt affect, dull gaze, and al- New World were thought to be wretched, half-dead crea- most stuporous behavior, characterized by a lumbering tures that reflected the bondage African-born and Caribbe- gait and simple, repetitive vocalizations and movements. an slaves suffered at the hands of their masters, working to Most medical evaluations would characterize victims of the point of exhaustion in the plantation fields while having zombification as having mental disorders such as catatonic little to no agency (2). To this day, voodoo is prominent in schizophrenia (1). The aforementioned traits have been in- western Africa, Haiti, New Orleans, and parts of the Carib- corporated into the current interpretation of zombies found bean Islands (1). in modern film and media. Haitian voodoo folklore recognizes a dual identity of zombis: one form of zombi is an ambulatory body without a History of Zombies in the Media living soul, and the other, lesser-known form is a soul wan- Zombie folklore made its appearance in modern media dering without a body (2). This severance of a body and its in Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari, a silent horror film direct- soul, known as zombification, is thought to occur when a ed by Robert Wiene, which debuted in Germany in 1921. sorcerer, or boko, performs a combination of dark magic The film’s depiction of zombies paralleled Haitian lore: a spells on a person to kill, enslave, or inflict illness upon sleepwalker under the control of another individual. The him (3). Bokos may also use poisonous powders in which notion of a zombie was primarily defined by the control an frog or toad venom and tetrodotoxin, a powerful neurotoxin individual had over another, and the main character in this film had the characteristic attributes of the early zombie: Author affiliation: University of California, Irvine, California, USA the unique lumbering gait, lack of higher cognitive ability, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3201/eid1905.AD1905 and obedience to another individual. Emerging Infectious Diseases • www.cdc.gov/eid • Vol. 19, No. 5, May 2013 809 ANOTHER DIMENSION Drawing inspiration from Richard Matheson’s 1954 the end of the film. None of these interpretations are neces- novel I Am Legend, George A. Romero spawned the more sarily out of step with the use of zombie movies as a useful modern film manifestation of the undead zombie and the public health messaging tool. notion of a zombie apocalypse in The Night of the Liv- Though most popular in film, zombies are present in ing Dead. These zombies were the corporeal expression of other forms of media as well. They can be found in print, strife, a mechanism to demonstrate rising social tension in with novelizations such as Zombies for Zombies: Advice response to a ruinous threat. Subsequent media have con- and Etiquette for the Living Dead and the popular comic tinued to use adaptations of Romero’s zombie. The film ad- book series Marvel Zombies. Increasingly, however, these aptation for I Am Legend depicts humans who have under- flesh-eating monsters have found themselves in video- gone physiologic changes, developing intolerance for the games, feasting upon unwary protagonists since the in- sun and a unique form of communication while maintain- troduction of Zombie Zombie in 1984 (5). Zombies have ing the ability to learn through mimicry and form social hi- since spread to the more general population in games such erarchies. In the film 28 Days Later, infected humans trans- as Plants versus Zombies and Resident Evil, available on form into creatures characterized by preserved intellect and several different platforms of accessible technology. tremendously aggressive behavior. However, this expan- A brief look through the history of the zombie’s evolu- sion of aptitude is not uniform in modern media: Shaun tion within media unearths their progressing ability to serve of the Dead portrays zombies as very slow-moving, with as a vehicle to reach greater audiences. Frank Darabont’s incredible strength but no intelligence—they are fooled by award-winning television adaptation of The Walking Dead normal humans who mimic their gait and groans. In addi- comic books has proven that zombies maintain thematic tion, Juan of the Dead includes zombies dismissed by the prominence even when serving as the backdrop to a char- Castro government as dissidents, and Warm Bodies depicts acter-driven television drama. In his critically acclaimed zombies as human protectors once they begin to transform novel World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, back into humans. Land of the Dead revolves around the Max Brooks explores social issues surrounding zombie zombie siege of a noninfected gated community and sees apocalypse, such as the efficacy of government. These the leader of the zombies gain class consciousness toward popular and varied manifestations of zombies elucidate the potential for a comprehensive dissemination of knowledge, Table. A comparison of zombies folklore and rabies epidemiology* from identifying traits indicating infection to explaining the Characteristics Zombies Rabies significance of public health infrastructure. Zombies are a Susceptibility Human infection Requires environment unique medium that allow for the audience’s suspension of requires fictional with infected animals, apocalyptic such as dogs or bats disbelief and for intellectual engagement. environment Cause Tyrant virus, other Mononegavirales Zombies and Parallels with Other viruses, unknown pathogens Public Health Issues Virus Bites and scratches; Bites; saliva infected Although zombies are certainly not the only favored transmission unknown pathogen; with rabies virus; supernatural creatures in modern times, they appear to be spread human to spread animal to the best conduit to educate the layman about reemerging human; 100% human effectiveness infectious diseases such as rabies. The current popular inter- Virulence Victims die Victims die and pretation of vampires, for instance, has shifted away from and become stay dead the classic grotesque undead creature that voluntarily dines “walking dead” Symptoms Fever, chills, loss of Delirium, anxiety, on the vein and sires new vampire progeny and instead has hair and pigmentation, stress, hallucinations, embraced the idea of vampirism as the paragon of human hobbling gait muscle spasms, existence, alive or undead. The interpretation of zombies convulsions Control methods Avoiding bites from Avoiding bites from has been diverse, but at its core, zombiism remains an ex- existing zombies; dogs and bats; istence in which the victim has been stripped of any higher intervention includes postexposure consciousness or agency. The reimagining of zombiism as a destroying brain prophylaxis virulent, incurable disease makes it an effective analogy for of zombies Exposure in popular culture understanding of and interest in other infectious diseases.
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