It was the last Saturday in June 2015. A crowd of 'living dead', covered in fake blood, glare menacingly at passers-by with bulging eyes, 'decorated' with scabs and scars to emphasise the atmosphere of horror, marched through the streets of Warsaw. It set off from under the Palace of Culture, continuing along Chmielna, Nowy Świat and Krakowskie Przedmieście streets. At Castle Square, a team of commandos armed with rifles awaited a few hundred ferocious zombies, who dealt with the monsters, saving our capital city, and most probably the whole world, from the apocalypse.

This is not a scene from a horror film, but from the happening 'March of the Living Dead', organised in Warsaw between 2007 and 2018. Each year, it brought together hundreds of zombie enthusiasts, although in recent editions attendance has fallen significantly. Nevertheless, the tradition of zombie marches, which originated in the United States at the beginning of the millennium, is still carried on worldwide. It was not brought to an end by a pandemic, which is perhaps understandable in the case of zombies - in films and literature they are often the bearers of viruses. As of autumn 2021, such marches have taken place in Paris, Stockholm, San Antonio, Orlando or Sacramento, where the first zombie parade took place in 2001; also in Mexico City....

Also in Mexico, in 2011, the largest ever 'March of the Living Dead' took place, with an estimated participation of nearly 10,000 people.

Participants in these happenings parade in bizarre creations. In October, at a march in the US town of Asbury Park (New Jersey), a man dressed as... the late Queen Elizabeth II caused a sensation. Publicists, on the other hand, pose the question: are zombie parades a critique of consumer culture or are they just a form of entertainment?

They are certainly a manifestation of the popularity of the zombie theme in culture. It has penetrated mass consciousness through films, led by 'Word War Z' starring Brad Pitt, literature or video games. Various gadgets featuring the 'living dead' are available on the market - T-shirts, mugs, key rings. There are themed websites and fan clubs. And in 2013, the zombie apocalypse was the subject of a (humorous, of course, although the speakers maintained a semblance of seriousness) discussion in the Canadian parliament. John Baird, then Minister of Foreign Affairs, assured citizens that, should a zombie outbreak occur in the world, the government would not allow it to spread to Canada.

The vampire is out of fashion

The zombie motif originated in the Caribbean, mainly in Haiti, and is linked to local mysticism, to voodoo beliefs spread by slaves brought over from Africa. When performing a ritual, the voodoo shamans used narcotics and poison to put people into a death-like state of hallucination, stupefaction and enslavement. The subjects resembled the "living dead". Over time, knowledge of the voodoo cult and the 'zombification' of people spread from Haiti to the United States.

"The zombie figure had a taste of a certain exoticism. It aroused fear of the unknown. But at the same time it became a very capacious symbol that can be interpreted in many ways," says Dr Tomasz Duda, a social psychologist from the Warsaw Medical University and the SWPS University, in an interview with TVP Weekly.

The theme of the 'living dead' was popularised by William Seabrook, an American writer and journalist. His book 'Magic Island' was published in 1929, reporting on the author's stay in Haiti, where he witnessed voodoo rituals. The book was a publishing success, at the same time popularising the 'living dead'.

The zombie figure was picked up by Hollywood. In 1932, the film 'White Zombies' was released. The story is set in Haiti, where a young couple arrives to get married. They come across a sugar cane plantation. On it, people are turned into zombies who become obedient workers. A shaman played by Béla Lugosi (who famously performed the role of Count Dracula) also turns the bride (Madge Bellamy) into a zombie.

Ksenia Olkusz, Ph.D., historian, literary critic and theoretician, president of the Facta Ficta Research Centre Foundation, which compiled the monograph 'Zombies in Culture', points out in an interview with TVP Weekly that the picture of Haitian zombies that fascinated filmmakers and writers of the time is diametrically opposed to today's image of the 'living dead'.

"Zombies were originally portrayed as slaves, influenced by the person who controlled them. The zombies we know today, at least in the most popular trend, are not thinking beings, they cannot be controlled. They are driven by two imperatives: to devour and to infect," says the professor. She adds that the evolution in the perception of zombies in cinema was initiated - with the film 'Night of the Living Dead' (1968) - by George Romero. SIGN UP TO OUR PAGE She also points out that in popular culture, the 'living dead' have displaced vampires in recent years. "The vampire has gone out of fashion. In contemporary plots, the figure has been transformed into a beautiful lover. The image of the vampire has been greatly softened by romance narratives or the Twilight series," stresses Professor Ksenia Olkusz.

There are also in Poland

The authors of the book "Zombies in Western culture: the crisis of the 21st century" - psychologist Professor John Vervaeke (University of Toronto), philosopher Christopher Mastropietro, and cognitive scientist Filip Miscevica - noted that the spread of the zombie theme is a 20th century phenomenon, but it is in the 21st century that there has been a real explosion in its popularity. "More than 600 zombie films have been made since the 1920s, more than half of them in the last 10 years (counted from 2017, the year the book was published - ed.)" - they wrote. And they added that American cinema has been flooded by two waves of films about the 'living dead': the first - at the beginning of the first decade of the new millennium, the second - in 2008.

Zombie films have begun to generate revenues in the hundreds of millions of dollars. For example, 'Zombieland' (2009), 'Warm bodies' (2013) or 'World War Z' (2013), in which Brad Pitt plays an ex-agent and retired UN employee searching for an antidote to stop a zombie outbreak. - "'World War Z' was expected to be a financial disaster, yet the film was unexpectedly successful,' says Michal Zacharzewski, film critic and video game market expert. - The Korean "Zombie express" (2016) is an interesting proposition, the critic continues. Plus 'I am legend' (2007) with Will Smith or '28 days later' (2002), Danny Boyle's cult horror film. In addition, there are many popular low-budget horror films.

There have also been successful series, such as 'The Walking Dead' by Frank Darabont, director of 'The Shawshank Redemption' and 'The Green Mile', or the zombie theme of 'The Last of Us', in which a fungal outbreak attacks human brains.

The figure of the 'living dead' is also used by Polish filmmakers. - There was 'Apokawixa' (2022) in cinemas. In addition, the animated series 'Włatcy Móch' (The Lords of the Flies), whose protagonist, Czesio, is a zombie, had many supporters, says Michal Zacharzewski.

Metaphor of the human condition

"Ever since the image of zombies changed and they started to be seen as walking corpses, attacking or devouring people, this figure has been linked to social unrest. For example, with fears of the Cold War or doubts about the social status quo," says Professor Ksenia Olkusz.

The president of the Facta Ficta Research Centre Foundation, which researches contemporary culture, points out that the figure of the 'living dead' also embodies the fear of death, which "has always been present in culture and reveals itself on many levels", or of epidemics; it reflects social, political and economic fears. She points out that cultural products serve, among other things, to rework our fears.

"In fact, in the best zombie narratives,' Professor Olkusz continues, "they are not the protagonists, but the people. This theme shows the relationships between people. It reminds us that the world that the protagonists [of zombie films or books, for example] knew has disintegrated".

It is no coincidence that there is talk of a generation of 'consumerist', 'internet' or 'smartphone' zombies. "The figure of the zombie can be considered as a symbol of the human condition under capitalism. A symbol of 'people-not-humans' washed out of emotions, feelings, who are stripped of their personality by the media and the capitalist system as a whole. It is a metaphor of alienation from oneself, of perdition," analyses Professor Tomasz Duda. "On the one hand, capitalism monetises everything, so the fear of death and annihilation can also be turned into high-budget products. On the other side, art channels our fears, gives them an appropriate form," adds the psychologist.

According to Professor Michał Łuczewski, a sociologist from the University of Warsaw, the zombie theme does not necessarily tame our fears. "I would say that it expresses them. In 'World War Z', for example, it is the people who are the negative characters. Anxiety is present all the time. It seems that in contemporary culture there are no films, no stories that reduce our anxiety," he comments for TVP Weekly.

The sociologist, referring to post-apocalyptic visions associated with the figure of the 'living dead', notes that it is easier for us to show (e.g. in films) zombies than the disintegration of our society. "Especially in the younger generation, there is a sense that the apocalypse has already happened, that climate change cannot be reversed and the Earth will soon implode. The feeling that we ourselves are like zombies, living on after the death of our planet. At the same time, it is easier for us to look towards myths, fairy tales, than to look at ourselves," believes Professor Luczewski.

Conspiracy theories

Zombie plots often revolve around conspiracy theories. "Firstly, the creators attribute responsibility for the annihilation to big pharmaceutical companies. Secondly, they impute it to politicians and the military who fail to stop the plague. A lack of trust in authority is shown," says Professor Ksenia Olkusz. 'In American literary zombie plots,' she continues, 'this second theme was very prominent when there was disillusionment with the Iraq war. When there was an assumption that there was no serious basis for starting it, that it was a political masquerade. A lot of conspiracy theories arose in American narratives at the time; outright accusations of wrongdoing by the authorities, that the war had claimed a lot of lives and a great deal of money.

The zombie motif, entwined with political conspiracy theories, was used in, among others, the trilogy by Seanan McGuire (known as Mira Grant) 'Newsflesh'. "The protagonists are young journalists trying to get to the truth in the midst of a zombie pandemic. It is dystopian literature. It turns out that the government is using zombies to control the citizens. There is a vaccine, but due to political, economic interests, it has not been distributed to the people", says Ksenia Olkusz.

The zombie figure is also used in the video game market. "Zombies appeared in games as early as in the 1980s, while the begennig of the 1990s saw the premiere of "Wolfenstein 3D", the first big hit of the three-dimensional shooter genre. The player played the role of a commando, nota bene with Polish roots, and shot at German soldiers, some of whom were zombies. The metaphor referred to Germans working on ubermensch during the Second World War, as well as to urban legends about attempts to bring dead German soldiers back to life," says Michał Zacharzewski.

The "Resident Evil" series of games, on which a series of films and a TV series are based, is very popular. "'Resident Evil' boils down to an outbreak of a virus that turns people into zombies. It actually serves as a warning against corporations, pharmaceutical companies. It gives the idea that a virus that decimates people could have been created in a laboratory," the critic continues.

He adds that there are probably several hundred games featuring the 'living dead'. These include 'Dayz', or games based on the aforementioned series - 'The Walking Dead' and 'The Las of Us'. But Polish titles are also noteworthy. - "The 'Dying Light' series of games became a worldwide hit, as did 'Dead Island', which was produced by Techland. A good game, although a bit niche, is 'Zombie Driver' from Exor Studios, in which you smash zombies with cars," mentions Michał Zacharzewski.

He mentions that once upon a time, with the zombie theme, producers circumvented the age classifications of games. "A game where people are killed contains a higher age category. But already zombies are not human, have green blood, etc. In this way, they were trying to get a lower age category, which translated into a more popular title", he explains.

Wild dogs of the Republic

Professor Tomasz Duda argues that productions that cause us anxiety and fear are linked to, among other things, a strong need to experience intense emotions. "We have a need to experience a whole range of emotions. Also the more difficult ones. This helps us to work through them. But it also knocks us out of a certain boredom and gives us the right stimuli," says the psychologist.

These kinds of themes, such as zombies, make us ask questions about human culture. "Questions about what the boundaries of humanity are, about the differences between humans and animals, as well as about what awaits us after death. These boundaries define who we are," says Professor Michał Łuczewski. "In a sense, without myths involving posthumous creatures - who are neither animals nor humans - it is difficult to define who a human being is. Liminal figures strike a great fear in us, because they question who we are as humans. They show that something can happen to us, something can threaten us," the scientist continues.

The sociologist is prompted to reflect on a book he recently read, "On the Edge of the Empire and Other Memories" by Mieczysław Jałowiecki. - The author began and ended the book by describing, in the territories of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth that were under Russian partition, wild dogs. They had a zombie element to them. They appeared in the context of major upheavals (in this case the First World War)," says Professor Łuczewski.

He concludes: "We are dealing with a crisis that manifests itself on many levels. One way of describing it, is to expose liminal figures, suspended between human and animal, between life and death. What is new is that in some productions zombies are no longer scary. In 'World War Z', for example, zombies are more human than humans. 'Or is it the case,' the sociologist wonders, 'that we used to need to define boundaries, who we are as people, what our civilisation, culture is, and now the figure of the zombie doesn't build us that boundary at all? Because it turns out that it's the people who are darker than the monstrous creatures?".

– Łukasz Lubański
- Translated by Tomasz Krzyżanowski

TVP WEEKLY. Editorial team and jornalists