WHEN WE BUY WITHOUT THINKING, MOTIVATED PERHAPS BY A SUPER-LOW PRICE, LUST, OR NAKED APPETITE, WE ARE GUILTY OF ZOMBIE CONSUMERISM. BUT THE PARALLELS TO SUSTAINABILITY AND ZOMBIES DON’T HAVE TO DIE THERE.

From gorefests (Grindhouse), to classic literature mash-ups (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies), to freeway sign hacks (“Warning Zombies Ahead”), it’s clear that Zombies represent something culturally current. And acquiring Zombie culture as a lens provides a deeper look at our relationship with sustainability. 



For example, George Romero’s Zombie movie Night of the Living Dead (1968) has been classically read as a commentary on race-relations. The movie’s African American hero is seemingly (and finally) mistaken (by a white redneck) for a member of the undead in the movie’s final scene. In 1978 Romero returned with part two of the ultimate Zombie trilogy with Dawn of the Dead. True to his intent to shoot a Zombie film every decade that would reflect modern culture, in Dawn Romero keeps pace with our ever-changing American psychographics by turning his blade to consumerism. This late seventies flirt with consumerism is a perfect place to begin a Zombie dialogue about sustainability.

In Dawn, a band of heroes hide out in a mall, gorging themselves on free food as the Zombies pound at the doors. There are scenes of mass consumption as the survivors play with a pastoral sense of American bounty – everything at their fingertips to consume for free. And the Zombies? They want in on it too. The thinly veiled undercurrent of the move is revealed as two main characters ponder why thousands of Zombies are stumbling around the mall parking lot, looking for ways to get in: 



[Fran and Stephen are observing from the roof of the mall] Francine: “What are they doing? Why do they come here?” Stephen: “Some kind of instinct. Memory, of what they used to do. This was an important place in their lives.”

Later, Peter says “They're after the place. They don't know why, they just remember. Remember that they want to be in here.” 



Shopping is in the Zombie’s blood. As in the current sustainability movement, the “mall as hope” is a clear tope in Dawn. Almost gleefully, one survivor yells to others “we’re going to the mall!” as the escape from the undead. 

The visual metaphor of Zombies consuming their way through endless isles of low-priced, but culturally-costly (Save money. Live better at the expense of others.) goods without concern for impact, save their own desire, is not a stretch. Spending time at any low-cost, big box retailer in the pre-dawn hours, and Romero look like a sustainability prophet. (Interesting overlap: you can find 69 different super cheap Zombie-related items for sale at WalMart.com.) 



[to read the complete Cultural Lens Study, see this article on LOHAS]