Why Viewing Audiences Love Zombies

Fear the walking dead?

Not according to viewing audiences who have embraced the show Fear the Walking Dead as well as anything else zombie related.

Case in point, The CW’s iZombie has amassed a loyal and passionate fan following who eagerly tune in to see the latest adventures of medical student turned zombie, Liv Moore.

But what is it about zombies that brings fascination?  The definition of “a zombie is a corpse said to be revived by witchcraft, especially in certain African and Caribbean religions. It is also defined as the body of a dead person given the semblance of life but mute and will-less by a supernatural force usually for some evil purpose.” Both these descriptions shouldn’t yield admiration but nasty images that would make one cringe.

But television and movies have glamorized zombies, painting them as misunderstood social misfits and far less evil or dangerous. iZombie’s Liv Moore is considered a hero that solves murders.

Part of the reason for the zombie love is the packaging. Some of the television zombies are just so darn attractive. But even when the zombies look like a horror show, the heroes fighting them are cheered on, making the zombies interesting. Supernatural’s Sam and Dean Winchester use head-shots to bring zombies down and look cool doing it. Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse added another element to the zombie lovefest: humor. The plight of fighting zombies in this movie was funny.

Zombie love goes far back as the early 1980s. Remember Michael Jackson’s video Thriller? Those zombies were hideous but could bust a move!

So, it looks like zombie groupies are here to stay and the love of zombies will live for a long time.