Episode 3: Zombie apocalypse - Worthy of Survival

Pod Culture Oz episode 3: Zombie Apocalypse - Worthy of Survival

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This episode of Pod Culture [Oz] looks at the perennially popular zombie trope. We go from the vintage film White Zombie, to the revival film Night of the Living Dead, to the modern dystopian 28 Days Later and The Walking Dead. And we mustn’t forget To The Lake…

Our mighty trio face down the apocalypse – through movies, tv, and games – and examine the personal and the political of zombie dystopias. We break it down into what we are calling the Three Phases of Modern Zombie Storytelling (isn’t that a mouthful!). Then we take a look at the politics of zombie dystopias, which countries get zombies, and why Snow Plough Guy is the hero we all need.

You can listen to this episode on our website, or you can subscribe on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Timestamps:

• 0:00 – Introduction

• 1:00 – Why Zombies?

• 4.34 – Phase 1: Personal horror

• 12:37 – Phase 2: Zombie Apocalypse

• 23:23 – Phase 3: Zombie Dystopia

• 37:20 – Are Zombie stories anti State?

• 52:32 – Zombies – a uniquely American genre?

• 1:03:29 – Why Snow Plough Guy is the hero we all need

• 1:15:19 – Gamers vs Zombies

• 1:32:26 – Zombies in society

• 1:38:43 – Wrap up and outro

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Books we discuss:

• Battersby, Lyn Triffitt; The Memory of Breathing

• Conrad, Joseph; Heart of Darkness

• Grahame-Smith, Seth; Pride & Prejudice & Zombies

• Herbert, Frank; Dune

• Kirkman, Robert; The Walking Dead (comic)

• Lovecraft,H.P.; Herbert West: Re-animator

• Marion, Isaac; Warm Bodies

• Matheson, Richard; I am Legend

• May, Elaine Tyler; Homeward Bound

• Shelley, Mary; Frankenstein

• Weber, Max; Politics as a Vocation – also an article discussing this, Monopoly on Violence

• White, Patrick; Voss (Flip hasn’t finished it either Nick!)

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Movies & TV shows we discuss:

• 28 Days Later

• Battlestar Galactica

• Dawn of the Dead (1978)

• Day of the Dead

• Glitch

• I walked with a Zombie (1942)

• Land of the Dead

• The Last Man on Earth (Note: Flip accidentally said The Omega Man. The Omega Man is was also based on I am Legend, but wasn’t made until after Night of the Living Dead)

• Night of the Living Dead

• Plan 9 From Outer Space

• Pride & Prejudice & Zombies

• Resident Evil

• The Returned (aka Les Revenants)

• Revolt of the Zombies

• Romancing the Stone

• Shaun of the Dead

• Star Trek

• Suspiria

• The Return of the Living Dead

• To The Lake

• The Tracker

• Train to Busan

• Walkabout

• The Walking Dead

• White Zombie

• Wolf Creek

• Z Nation

• Zombieland

• Zombieland: Double Tap

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Games we discuss:

• Cyberpunk

• Fallout 76

• Fallout Series

• The Last of Us

• Left 4 Dead

• Mass Effect

• Planescape RPG

• Planescape: Torment

• Red Market

• The Red Strings Club

• Resident Evil

• They Are Billions

• The Walking Dead games

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Other resources:

• BookThingo: McAllister, Jodi. RECAP: The Bachelor Australia – S8 E05 Dr Jodi talks about the ‘misattribution of arousal’ and why being in danger leads people to mistakenly fall in love.

• Buzzfeed: How Millennials Became The Burnout Generation

• FilmJoy – Movies with Mikey: Shaun of the Dead

• PBS Digital Studio – Idea Channel: Why Do We Love Zombies?

• PBS Digital Studio – Monstrum: The origins of the Zombie, from Haiti to the US

• PBS Digital Studio – Monstrum: Why George Romero changed Zombies forever

• PBS Digital Studio – Monstrum: Modern Zombies: The Rebirth of the Undead

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Thank you:

• Deconstructing Damsels – For advice on recording podcasts and herding cats, and all round encouragement.