it is becoming a common occurrence for adam to introduce me to some form of media that i really end up liking. it was true with doctor who (probably my favorite tv discovery of 2011) and with the civil wars (who pam and i now both love). i still am able to introduce my punk 17 year old kid to stuff every now and then but it is becoming increasingly more likely that he will be introducing me to something rather than me to him.
the walking dead is an example of another show that adam introduced me to that i am really liking. i love zombie stories. zombie stories are a medium for discussing bigger issues. that is what makes them so great. this happens because the stories are about the people trying to survive the zombie apocalypse rather than about the zombies. the zombies are the equivalent of a natural disaster. they are just the danger that makes the story of survival possible. zombies are with out personality and character development. you don’t watch a zombie movie to learn how a zombie changes and grows. nope you watch the movie to see the survivors change and grow. will the survivors go to the dark or light side? will they stay human or become beasts before they are ever infected? zombie stories end up critiquing society and that is what i love about them.
i just started watching “the walking dead” but i can already tell that i am going to really like it. it has already started dealing with bigger issues. how do the different races and socio-economic groups work together? will the needs of the individual or the group be most valuable? i’ve watched most of the first season and i am loving it. netflix is paying for itself right now. 🙂