I can only hope I am half this tenacious when I am old.

Douglas Rushkoff recently posted an excellent introduction to the zombie film genre which explores a few ways that the genre reflects the fears and insanity of our culture.

“Zombies tap into our primal fear of being consumed and force us to come up with something—anything—to distinguish ourselves from the ever-hungry, animated corpses traipsing about the countryside and eating flesh. Deep down, these schlocky horror flicks are asking some of the most profound questions: What is life? Why does it depend on killing and consuming other life? Does this cruel reality of survival have any intrinsic meaning?”
Douglas Rushkoff, Discover Magazine (Aug 07)

These soul-less, animated bodies walking (or limping) straight toward their ingrained desires, like “Braaaaainnnsss.” Consuming, feeding, but never being satisfied. I love these guys in the movies, but what really scares me is that we are not so different.

Just go to the mall and watch people shopping. Go to the gym and watch people working out. Go to McDonald’s and watch people eat. Watch your family when the TV is on. What are we after? Will we ever be satisfied?

Zombies are so unreal and yet somehow they are still alive. Seeking, just like us. We practice hundreds of absurd forms of self-preservation to stave off the inevitable decay of our bodies. We identify ourselves with our body: “I am that!” (as I point to myself in the mirror) or “I can do this!”

Yeah, right. Eventually all this will pass, and who are we then?

Alan Watts is a lecturer who is famous for interpreting Eastern philosophies in a way that Westerners can understand. I have listened to a number of recordings of his lectures before and always found him to be inspirational.

Recently Tray Parker and Matt Stone (creators of South Park) created animations to some short clips of Alan Watts lectures.

Here is one called Life and Music.

Life and Music