Zombies

The Map of Zombies

Artist's Statement

Zombies have been part of pop culture since the 1930s, but globally exploded in the decade after the 2002 release of 28 Days Later and the 2004 Dawn of the Dead remake. More than any other type of popular monster, zombie "rules" are similar enough from film to film (and book to book) that it was possible to make this chart classifying over 350 different stories by how the zombies behaved (fast or slow? intelligent or dumb? 'dead' or just unfortunate victims of a virus?) and the many small and large variations. Unlike, say, alien invasion stories, which tend to revolve around using some clever gimmick to defeat the invaders, zombie stories at their best are about human interactions in the face of the unknown. As embodiments of the inevitability of death, or mob violence, or the dehumanization of modern life, zombies can be used for many kinds of political and artistic messages, and their relatively low SFX budgets ensure that zombie films will be around for many years to come.

Image used with permission. The Map of Zombies (c) 2014 Jason Bradley Thompson (@mockman)

Map Clues

If you dare to take on this ghoulish task, find these Zombies origins in the map and return your answers to jstadler@bryantx.gov. Participants will be in pool for a prize drawing!

  1. I’m a zombie long since passed away, you have to bop me in the head for me to lie. I scare a large doggie and owner bye and bye, and am a slave to voodoo who am I? 
  2. I’m a living zombie and I do bite people. I’m a mean bald machine that lives in an apocalyptic world. 
  3. I’m deader than dead, virus to be found, I’m slow as molasses, and retain memories. My last memory is that my best friend wants to go to a bar. I’m ghoulishly dead, the first to be filmed of my kind. If you die you may become like me, te he he. Don’t worry I’m sluggishly slow, not terribly smart, and haunt only in the dead of night. 
  4. I’m slow and dead as well, not too bright, but found in a comic book all through the night. I’m hunted by a man in a hat and woman with a sword, as not to be so terribly bored.
  5. I’m dead as can be, don’t you see? I’m out of this world, and have a crablike friend. Where am I from?
  6. I’m dead and tall, 50 feet to be exact…I’m fast and quick and eat you as a snack. You find me in Manga and on TV. Where am I from, just look and see. 
  7. I’m truly dead, or so they say. I want you to come and play. I’m a true fiend to be sure, smart as a whip, fast and sure. I’m a serial killer, ruthful too…and I love Friday’s too. Where am I from?
  8. I’m ghastly and dead, but wait, there’s more! I’m in a fan club occult too. I like movie theaters and groovin with the tunes. What am I from?
  9. Booo, I’m a ghost…wait, and a zombie? Either way I’m dead found in a book series with a little fluffy animal for a title.