Bedraggled and rootless, they wander the streets in a time of social decomposition, endlessly searching for something to eat. They are zombies, and SJ Lauro, who teaches English at America's Clemson University, says that their recent cultural ubiquity is a result, in part, of workplace and economic disaffection.
q What is her thesis on this life-and-death matter?
a Prof Lauro says that the relationship between zombie popularity and disaffection need not be overt; instead it is something that occurs under the skin. The zombie myth, she notes, stretches via Haiti to Africa, but each current cultural manifestation of it "retains the traces of the early myth, when it was an obvious allegory for slavery, about a person whose soul had been captured, or who was under the control of a witch doctor. It is also important to note that the zombie first comes to American consciousness around the time of the Great Depression, in the 1930s." At the same time, "I would say that, more broadly than just a poor economy, people feel attracted to the zombie myth when they themselves feel disempowered in some way: be it economically, politically, socially, culturally."
How do zombie walks fit into this theory?
Zombie walks are a western phenomenon in which a group of people roams the streets as zombies. Prof Lauro believes that here again, "the zombie is a metaphor most are using unconsciously and that it signifies dissatisfaction more generally". She notes that participants in a May 2007 zombie walk in San Francisco who invaded an Apple store and chewed on iMacs were "obviously making a more direct comment that capitalism reduces people to brain-dead consumers".
Capitalism is endlessly adaptable; couldn't it co-opt zombies?
Indeed. Case in point: the tech website Cnet reported that during the San Francisco zombie invasion, security staff at Westfield Mall and the Disney store fought back against the undead horde. But the Apple staff were more savvy. "In fact," Cnet said, "salespeople were jostling one another for a position where they could take the best photo of the zombies [or themselves with the zombies, or their brains being eaten by the zombies]."
And what are some of the recent cultural manifestations of zombies?
The apex of zombiedom today is The Walking Dead, a riveting American television series that ends its third season on Sunday night. Prominent zombie movies since 2009 include Zombieland and Warm Bodies; and the release of World War Z, starring Brad Pitt, is scheduled for June 21. The mash-up novel Pride and Prejudice with Zombies was published in 2009. Startlingly, the makers of the Archie comics this month announced a plan for a series of "Afterlife with Archie" comics in which the zombie apocalypse is presumed to have germinated in Archie's hometown of Riverdale. It is quite possible that the zombie trend could soon die of overkill; which, applying Prof Lauro's thesis, suggests that happier economic times are around the corner. This is not an official economic theory.
Tell me more about Prof Lauro.
Some people analyse dreams; others, nightmares. Prof Lauro is among the latter. Her publications include "A Zombie Manifesto: The Nonhuman Condition in the Era of Advanced Capitalism" (which she co-authored in 2008). As a visiting assistant professor at Clemson, she teaches courses on literature and film.
rmckenzie@thenational.ae
From Europe to the Middle East, economic success brings wealth - and lifestyle diseases
A rise in obesity figures and the need for more public spending is a familiar trend in the developing world as western lifestyles are adopted.
One in five deaths around the world is now caused by bad diet, with obesity the fastest growing global risk. A high body mass index is also the top cause of metabolic diseases relating to death and disability in Kuwait, Qatar and Oman – and second on the list in Bahrain.
In Britain, heart disease, lung cancer and Alzheimer’s remain among the leading causes of death, and people there are spending more time suffering from health problems.
The UK is expected to spend $421.4 billion on healthcare by 2040, up from $239.3 billion in 2014.
And development assistance for health is talking about the financial aid given to governments to support social, environmental development of developing countries.
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
We Weren’t Supposed to Survive But We Did
We weren’t supposed to survive but we did.
We weren’t supposed to remember but we did.
We weren’t supposed to write but we did.
We weren’t supposed to fight but we did.
We weren’t supposed to organise but we did.
We weren’t supposed to rap but we did.
We weren’t supposed to find allies but we did.
We weren’t supposed to grow communities but we did.
We weren’t supposed to return but WE ARE.
Amira Sakalla
About Takalam
Date started: early 2020
Founders: Khawla Hammad and Inas Abu Shashieh
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech and wellness
Number of staff: 4
Funding to date: Bootstrapped
Hydrogen: Market potential
Hydrogen has an estimated $11 trillion market potential, according to Bank of America Securities and is expected to generate $2.5tn in direct revenues and $11tn of indirect infrastructure by 2050 as its production increases six-fold.
"We believe we are reaching the point of harnessing the element that comprises 90 per cent of the universe, effectively and economically,” the bank said in a recent report.
Falling costs of renewable energy and electrolysers used in green hydrogen production is one of the main catalysts for the increasingly bullish sentiment over the element.
The cost of electrolysers used in green hydrogen production has halved over the last five years and will fall to 60 to 90 per cent by the end of the decade, acceding to Haim Israel, equity strategist at Merrill Lynch. A global focus on decarbonisation and sustainability is also a big driver in its development.
Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)