Zombies. Classic, but overplayed.

We’re getting a little tired of vampires and zombies. Well, I am. Holly likes vampires (but not in a Cullen way) and is getting a little desensitized to the zombie gore. We do wonder what’s coming next, though. Today’s episode: our theories.

• Also, werewolves.
• Consumerism and interconnectivity in all this zombie junk
• Vampires as today’s prostitute with a heart of gold trope
• Ensouled vampires in “Buffy: The Vampire Slayer”
• “Cabin in the Woods” and monster tropes
• “Dark Shadows”
• Restrained sexuality in vampire and werewolf fiction and the golden age of classic horror in the ‘30s
• Today’s divided society in the U.S. as part of the us/them in the zombie and vampire stories
• Zombie disasters as escapism, because we put differences aside and pull together
• Cold war nuclear radiation monsters
• Cold war alien and oceanic invader monsters
• The ‘60s and ‘70s counterculture and the evil children movies
• The ‘80s and ‘90s slasher movies ripping up promiscuous teenagers and the AIDS epidemic
• Theories for today: things that consume and things that infect
• A Holly theory: fairies, and not just because “True Blood”
• Trash Couture
• “Nightmares in Red, White and Blue”
• Important events at the end of “The Dollhouse”
• Ghosts
• “Mama”
• “The Woman in Black”
• Evil/haunted houses
• “Doctor Who” and that time when the Cybermen invaded after people thought they were ghosts
• Some more on the awkward death conversations in “ParaNorman” (and also “Frankenweenie”) (and “Lion King”)
• Science phobia and accidental awakening of horrible things (I also meant to say “Frankenstein’s monsters” here.)
• Portals to evil!
• “28 Days Later”
• The “Zombies Run” app
• John Hodgman’s “That Is All,” all animals vs. all humans, and the dogstorm
• Evil cats! Because Internet.
• Zoonotic diseases
• World War I and II and returning soldiers influencing films of the ‘40s, and whether today’s armed conflicts may have the same influence
• Happy Halloween!
• Listener mail: A Facebook message from Roy, who writes about clowns.
• How Zombies Work, How Vampires Work and How Werewolves Work
• Episode link: Zombies and Vampires and … Where is this headed?

My research:

• “Nightmares in Red, White and Blue: The Evolution of the American Horror Film.” Director Andrew Monument. 2009
• Tragos, Peter. “Monster Masculinity: Honey, I’ll Be In The Garage Reasserting My Manhood.” The Journal of Popular Culture, Vol. 42, No. 3, 2009.
• Trends In Horror
• Westrum, Ronald. “A Note on Monsters.” Journal of Popular Culture. Vol. 8, Issue 4. 1975.

Holly’s research:

• Vampires vs. zombies: Who would win?
• Scientific Reasons to Believe in Vampires, Werewolves & Zombies
• What’s With All the Vampires, Wizards and Zombies All of a Sudden?
• What Is the Next Vampire/Pirate/Ninja/Zombie Pop-Culture Figure?
• Stories that prove there’s a fine line between zombie and vampire

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