People Love Zombie Stories Because They Represent Hope - FiendZone
video description
I think what it really comes down to is that most audiences dont actually enjoy horror, the emotion. Horror involves a sense of helplessness in the face of something overwhelming or impossible to overcome. The emotion is the opposite of hope, and few people can stomach that and walk away asking for more. A few horror stories have done very well though, so I think that the industry attempts to capitalize on the image of horror (dead stuff, scary noises, monsters, etc) without actually bringing their audience to its knees.
Many contemporary zombie films and shows are little more than formulaic dramas or comedies dressed up in the trappings of horror, and audiences eat them up because the formula is familiar, but the trappings are edgy and let them hug a fun delusion about being emotionally braver than they really are.\r\n
Date: 2023-12-10
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Comments and reviews: 29
-justinw1384
I disagree that zombies represent hope. I also don-t see a major change lately in zombie games, they-re just telling stories about what happens after because that-s more interesting, not hopeful. It-s the same story as the walking dead, and if that-s hopeful to you Then I don-t even know. I-m surprised that you didn-t say that the major thing about Zombies is that they represent our fear of other people. We always knew that we can-t trust others and zombie media is just the extreme result of this fear. Also our distrust of people who aren-t zombies continues past the apocalypse in that often the real danger in this media isn-t the zombies it-s other survivors. That-s not hopeful at all.
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I disagree that zombies represent hope. I also don-t see a major change lately in zombie games, they-re just telling stories about what happens after because that-s more interesting, not hopeful. It-s the same story as the walking dead, and if that-s hopeful to you Then I don-t even know. I-m surprised that you didn-t say that the major thing about Zombies is that they represent our fear of other people. We always knew that we can-t trust others and zombie media is just the extreme result of this fear. Also our distrust of people who aren-t zombies continues past the apocalypse in that often the real danger in this media isn-t the zombies it-s other survivors. That-s not hopeful at all.
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-BHNative
Yeah well, everyone here is working for their futures, but a dollar costs R$ 3, 80 right now and truck drivers are on strike due to the price of gas simply being unbearable. This is very American-centric and if the gaming industry was bigger in Brazil, I'm pretty sure we would be telling a different story. Unfortunately, we have an ill, disappointing government that isn't able - or willing - to make the right investments, so our brilliant programmers, designers and sketchers get pulled away to Canada, Silicon Valley and Ireland. Brazil is bleeding brains and I can't relate to this. I haven't earned anything. We're all still hopeless down here.
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Yeah well, everyone here is working for their futures, but a dollar costs R$ 3, 80 right now and truck drivers are on strike due to the price of gas simply being unbearable. This is very American-centric and if the gaming industry was bigger in Brazil, I'm pretty sure we would be telling a different story. Unfortunately, we have an ill, disappointing government that isn't able - or willing - to make the right investments, so our brilliant programmers, designers and sketchers get pulled away to Canada, Silicon Valley and Ireland. Brazil is bleeding brains and I can't relate to this. I haven't earned anything. We're all still hopeless down here.
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-RossLlewallyn
From Minecraft to Fallout 4 (and I'm not on the Fortnite train, but that, too, building is capital I-N. For F4 in particular I found it immensely gratifying that after years of wandering wastelands and making meager and intangible progress in improving the lives of people in DC and Las Vegas I could actually give people a place to put their head at night. Food, water, defenses. It meant a lot to me.
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From Minecraft to Fallout 4 (and I'm not on the Fortnite train, but that, too, building is capital I-N. For F4 in particular I found it immensely gratifying that after years of wandering wastelands and making meager and intangible progress in improving the lives of people in DC and Las Vegas I could actually give people a place to put their head at night. Food, water, defenses. It meant a lot to me.
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-Terrakinetic
The -daddificaiton- point is really interesting, particularly when you connect the ending of -The Last of Us- to the behavior of many modern Americans, who in the early 2000s were all about self-sacrifice for the greater good. So many people today seem to take the -I have to take care of me and my own- stance today and characters like -The Boss- from MGS3 are almost anathema to them.
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The -daddificaiton- point is really interesting, particularly when you connect the ending of -The Last of Us- to the behavior of many modern Americans, who in the early 2000s were all about self-sacrifice for the greater good. So many people today seem to take the -I have to take care of me and my own- stance today and characters like -The Boss- from MGS3 are almost anathema to them.
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-bravetherainbow
Ehhhhh, this explains how and why media with zombies in them have changed over the years, but doesn't really explain how zombie movies and games are any better at communicating a subtext. So there's still no justification here for why they're so overused. Other than maybe -you can kill them without any moral issue- which is a little uncomfortable anyway.
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Ehhhhh, this explains how and why media with zombies in them have changed over the years, but doesn't really explain how zombie movies and games are any better at communicating a subtext. So there's still no justification here for why they're so overused. Other than maybe -you can kill them without any moral issue- which is a little uncomfortable anyway.
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-Onitramm
ahh this was so good! the building mechanic as a metaphor for hope is really interesting. I also think it has to do with the slew of natural disasters the US has experienced in the past two decades. hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, earthquakes, etc. ; people want to build a reality that was taken away from them
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ahh this was so good! the building mechanic as a metaphor for hope is really interesting. I also think it has to do with the slew of natural disasters the US has experienced in the past two decades. hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, earthquakes, etc. ; people want to build a reality that was taken away from them
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-motherofperler
-I'm one of the handful of people authorized to talk to you about zombies-
Why do you start these videos sounding SO PRIVILLEGED? An education doesn't make you better than. You can teach people things without having an undertone of superiority.
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-I'm one of the handful of people authorized to talk to you about zombies-
Why do you start these videos sounding SO PRIVILLEGED? An education doesn't make you better than. You can teach people things without having an undertone of superiority.
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-varagor23
Great video, but I don't think the makers of Night of the Living Dead were trying to consciously make a movie about the civil rights movement. They happened to cast a black actor for the main role, so any subtext about race was not intentional.
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Great video, but I don't think the makers of Night of the Living Dead were trying to consciously make a movie about the civil rights movement. They happened to cast a black actor for the main role, so any subtext about race was not intentional.
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-dooplets. _. 5776
I genuinely love the idea of a virus that is fatal upon infection immediately, and zombies are easily the simplest way to make that actually work without the virus just dying immediately
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I genuinely love the idea of a virus that is fatal upon infection immediately, and zombies are easily the simplest way to make that actually work without the virus just dying immediately
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-james23081975
The reasons I love zombie games or films isn't because of hope. Literally the opposite.
But it's probably not allowed to refute the -factual- statements of a polygon favourite.
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The reasons I love zombie games or films isn't because of hope. Literally the opposite.
But it's probably not allowed to refute the -factual- statements of a polygon favourite.
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-robinbobbin2535
love this analysis! i hadnt really thought about the shift towards building in media, but that is kind of a relief tbh. i cant wait to hear more of jennas insights!
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love this analysis! i hadnt really thought about the shift towards building in media, but that is kind of a relief tbh. i cant wait to hear more of jennas insights!
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-xx420jin69xx
Really enjoy these types of videos that look into video games and real world culture. Ahoy doesn't make enough so I would love to see more from Polygon. Thanks Jenna
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Really enjoy these types of videos that look into video games and real world culture. Ahoy doesn't make enough so I would love to see more from Polygon. Thanks Jenna
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polygon
Hey Jenna really interesting stuff! I really hadn't thoughts of things in this way and it's got me thinking about other genres too, can't wait to see and learn more!
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Hey Jenna really interesting stuff! I really hadn't thoughts of things in this way and it's got me thinking about other genres too, can't wait to see and learn more!
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-keithrockel410
that footage of FO4 and talking about hope, one of the lines the sole survivor can say to Piper about the main storyline is and I quote -don't lose hope-
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that footage of FO4 and talking about hope, one of the lines the sole survivor can say to Piper about the main storyline is and I quote -don't lose hope-
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-Monolith174
Too bad State of decay's story sucks. just like the first one's did. It's a cookie cutter zombie game plot, don't try and make it into more than what it is.
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Too bad State of decay's story sucks. just like the first one's did. It's a cookie cutter zombie game plot, don't try and make it into more than what it is.
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-peanutquest8765
I would really love to see a follow up video since the past two years occasionally felt like they were verging on the apocalyptic themes mentioned.
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I would really love to see a follow up video since the past two years occasionally felt like they were verging on the apocalyptic themes mentioned.
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-soccerandtrack10
atleast someone else other then extra credits talks about murder morals in video games/movies/tv,
LITTERLY (EEEEEEVERYONES) AN ANTIHERO!
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atleast someone else other then extra credits talks about murder morals in video games/movies/tv,
LITTERLY (EEEEEEVERYONES) AN ANTIHERO!
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-gabe2048
I took an undergrad horror class recently and we talked a lot about this sort of stuff. So cool! One of my favorite topics! Excited for this series
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I took an undergrad horror class recently and we talked a lot about this sort of stuff. So cool! One of my favorite topics! Excited for this series
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-PendelSteven
Well, you're authorised to teach about this.
But anyone may talk about zombies. It's a free world (for most of us anyhow, thank god.
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Well, you're authorised to teach about this.
But anyone may talk about zombies. It's a free world (for most of us anyhow, thank god.
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-Epilogued
holy shit i didn't realise we were doing media crit. yes oh my god please more this is the shit i CRAVE. give Jenna a million dollars
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holy shit i didn't realise we were doing media crit. yes oh my god please more this is the shit i CRAVE. give Jenna a million dollars
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-willsasine809
Dammit Jenna. Stop making me learn. I just want to watch and anthropomorphic panda kill papa john. (Keep making me learn please)
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Dammit Jenna. Stop making me learn. I just want to watch and anthropomorphic panda kill papa john. (Keep making me learn please)
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-GoldenPerception
Super excited for more of these videos! I love cultural and literary analyses so this is right up my alley! Nice job Jenna!
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Super excited for more of these videos! I love cultural and literary analyses so this is right up my alley! Nice job Jenna!
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-daboredghurl
im not entirely sure what the premise of this series is (examining video game culture i guess) but damn have you got me hooked
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im not entirely sure what the premise of this series is (examining video game culture i guess) but damn have you got me hooked
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-hannahmiriam9796
This was so good! Applying critical theory to all media is my jam, and I'm so happy to see Jenna taking center stage.
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This was so good! Applying critical theory to all media is my jam, and I'm so happy to see Jenna taking center stage.
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-devanelle1889
I really really love this type of analysis, the short sweet format made it even better. Can't wait for more like it.
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I really really love this type of analysis, the short sweet format made it even better. Can't wait for more like it.
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-ThatPazuzu
I was admittedly expecting a pretty basic take on zombies but this was really good and interesting. Great job, Jenna!
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I was admittedly expecting a pretty basic take on zombies but this was really good and interesting. Great job, Jenna!
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polygon
Ooh man, this is an academic niche that I'm veeeeery interested in. I'm looking forward to more content from this show!
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Ooh man, this is an academic niche that I'm veeeeery interested in. I'm looking forward to more content from this show!
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-barnyardhouse
I guess that explains why I was suddenly interested in zombie stuff again when I played Telltale-s Walking Dead
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I guess that explains why I was suddenly interested in zombie stuff again when I played Telltale-s Walking Dead
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-xbonjouradieux
Really great and insightful video! I love hearing media analysis and I'm always happy to see more of Jenna.
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Really great and insightful video! I love hearing media analysis and I'm always happy to see more of Jenna.
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