re: #87 Shiplord Kirel, Friend of Moose and Squirrel

The zombie apocalypse scenario can certainly be a metaphor for racist anxiety, and there is no doubt they often take it that way. I think it is more universal than that, though, always serving as a metaphor for the specific prejudices and anxieties of the viewer or reader. To me, for example, the mindless brain eating hordes are a powerful metaphor for southern fundamentalists. For other readers and viewers, with different anxieties and fears, the metaphor represents a different threat. The zombie is always filtered through the perceptions of the viewer and becomes the feared “other,” whatever form that may take in the real universe.

The original “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” can be viewed as an anti-Communist metaphor or an anti-McCarthy metaphor, depending on whether you hated the Communists or the McCarthyites. I don’t know if that means it’s really skillfully made or if fear just naturally finds the path it needs to get to your brain…