Zombies Details

One of the most fascinating aspects of my personal fear, are the minor details that can determine whether or not I freak out. Instead of being a broad brush, like a general fear of guns - and it won't matter what type of gun, my fear is much more finicky. While I do know a large amount of Psychological theory as it pertains to personality - I know strikingly little about the dynamics of how fears develop and mature in ones psyche.

I know it sounds strange, but my fear is only triggered by a few specific sets of characteristics that if they are not in the correct alignment I am not as afraid. You see my fiance pointed this out to me just a few weeks ago, I am not afraid of the rabid humans from "I am Legend", when by all obvious accounts I should be. In fact, the level of virulence is so very high in that film that it is almost unbelievable. The people mutated by the virus still ate everyone else, they still destroyed humanity in almost it's entirety. I am not sure what it is about this that helps me to watch the film - though I admit I am still nervous about the virulence of the disease. In fact, I am more worried about the virus than I am the rage-filled mutants eating and killing everyone.

Let's take another example - Skeletons. by all accounts, if my fear of the undead was a blanket "they should be dead but are not" than my fear should also cover skeletons. However this is not the case, I am actually quite fine with them running around as an army bent on terrorizing the local village. Hell, I even have my best friend from high school to credit with an incredibly useful trap for aquatically inclined heroes in D&D and other role playing games.

No, my fear really is about a very specific set of things that must be in place for zombies to terrorize me. Virus - yes. Eating people - yes. Stumbling rotting flesh bent on mindless consumption that is society - yes.

I am not sure I will ever figure out what specifically qualifies a specific thing to become terrifying, but I am sure it is in there somewhere. I guess as the saying goes - the devil is in the details. 

The Coming of the "Z"

I love movie previews, I admit it - I am one of those weirdos that will watch a movie preview repeatedly until I have memorized the lines (or my 2 year old daughter has memorized the Dwarven hymn from the hobbit preview). It is one of the reasons I show up early to movies - I like seeing the previews. I even enjoy some of the ones found on movies once you buy them and bring them home (not for the same movie) but I will grow tired of them then. 

However, this year I get to wait in fear - of the World War Z preview. I hear it is great - and I intend to miss it as much as I am possibly able to. I am prone to covering my eyes, plugging my ears and humming while zombie previews play in the theater. I will skip over Walking Dead commercials on TV. I will not be a part of it. I simply try to avoid any Zombie input I possibly can to save myself from the Trauma of having my mind take Zombie-ism and run with it. 

My significant other is already trying to convince me to see the movie - I am adamantly opposed. Any of her friends reading this - please go with her to see the movie. there was supposedly even a new zombie love story coming out - no I won't see that either. I don't care if it is a funny undead film, I can't watch it. Many of you should remember the blog entry where I wrote that I barely made it a few scenes into Zombieland. Which brings me to a solid point to any wold-be con artists of the undead destroyed world: If you tell me you were bitten and are infected I won't take time to hem and haw about what comes next. You get ten seconds and then I leave or take care of business. Talk about a con-artist backfire.

As an example, I could not even handle the Marvel: Zombie! comic series. I tried reading part of one in the book store last year. By the time I was a few pages in I could feel my blood pressure rising and my fears kicking in. For crying out loud - how the HELL could my brain be so loopy that I am worried about The Hulk being a zombie? *sigh*

Anyways, My holiday season, while I try to get all the movies I want to see (Hitchcock, Flight, Skyfall, The Hobbit...), now gets the added bonus of having to hid from zombie flicks. Maybe I will get lucky and will just get movies that don't have the previews containing the undead, I will hope for that. If not - I will just look forward to being more skittish than ever.

PS: Movie theaters - Worst place ever for a zombie refuge. Qualifies as a ZBA.