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Top 5 Zombie Apocalypses OF ALL TIME

2011-11-16 · list · John · 3:46 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Pop culture (also: Books & writing) · mode: Advice & reviews

John counts down his five favourite zombie apocalypses (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, The Walking Dead comic, Night of the Living Dead, Left 4 Dead 2, I Am Legend), arguing that the best ones use 'viral' zombies because the genre is about exposing the fragility of human social orders.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Greeting (Wednesday), thanks for the Beckoning of Lovely; a golden age of zombie apocalypses, perhaps tied to unemployment; are zombies people?

  • ★ John says the Beckoning of Lovely was lovely and thanks everyone who was there. — 00:00:00 · The Beckoning of Lovely
  • ★★★ John observes that we are in a golden age of zombie apocalypses and suggests it might be related to high unemployment and a general feeling of malaise. (hedged) — 00:00:00

00:00:29 — No. 5 Pride and Prejudice and Zombies; No. 4 The Walking Dead comic (better than the TV show)

  • ★★ John wonders whether zombies, being 'ex-human', are still people, and says he loves zombie apocalypses because they ask the big questions. (playful, unsure) — 00:00:29
  • ★★ At No. 5, John praises Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: it still feels like a Jane Austen novel, never becomes a shtick and is very readable, but is short on zombies. — 00:00:29
  • ★★ At No. 4, John picks The Walking Dead comic over the TV show: small-town cop, brilliant illustrations and the right kind of zombies. — 00:00:55

00:01:24 — Two kinds of zombie apocalypse; the viral kind is superior because the genre exposes the fragility of social orders

  • ★★★ John distinguishes apocalypses where all the dead reanimate from those where only the virus-infected do, and prefers the viral kind as more like what would really happen. — 00:01:24
  • ★★★ John argues that at its core the zombie apocalypse is about exposing the fragility of human social orders. — 00:01:24

00:01:53 — No. 3 George Romero's Night of the Living Dead: most influential, but the wrong kind of zombies

  • ★★ John says George Romero's 1968 film Night of the Living Dead basically invented modern zombies, though it never uses the word; zombies originally come from Haitian folklore. — 00:01:53

00:02:22 — No. 2 Left 4 Dead 2, with Jonathan Coulton's 'Re: Your Brains'

  • ★★ John ranks Night of the Living Dead only third, despite calling it the most influential zombie work, because its zombies are the 'boring, shuffley' kind rather than viral. — 00:02:22
  • ★★ At No. 2, John picks Left 4 Dead 2 as the only zombie video game featuring Jonathan Coulton's 'Re: Your Brains', which he calls the best zombie apocalypse song. — 00:02:22

00:02:52 — No. 1 Richard Matheson's novel I Am Legend (Shaun of the Dead is No. 6); without it no disease-apocalypse fears

  • ★★★ At No. 1, John picks Richard Matheson's 1954 novel I Am Legend, which he says invented everything awesome about zombie apocalypses; Shaun of the Dead is his No. 6. — 00:02:52
  • ★★ John suggests that without Matheson's novel we might not worry about disease apocalypses at all, only 'boring' ones like meteors and food shortages. (hedged) — 00:02:52

00:03:21 — Meteor apocalypses are boring; praise for Hank's Monday song; sign-off and gesticulation joke

  • ★ John declares meteor apocalypses boring and cliche, joking that he may be inviting one. (playful) — 00:03:21
  • ★ John compliments Hank on his song on Monday. — 00:03:21

In the description and comments

Humor (significant)

  • John links the golden age of zombie apocalypses to unemployment and general malaise. — 00:00:00

    “I think what's bad for people is good for zombies.”

  • Explaining why Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is only No. 5, John states his standard for zombie novels. — 00:00:55

    “In an ideal zombie apocalypse novel, I want to see at least a one-to-one paragraph to zombie killing ratio.”

  • Announcing his No. 1, John heads off the expected favourite. — 00:02:52

    “not Shaun of the Dead, that's number 6 on my list, sorry fanboys.”

  • After calling meteor apocalypses boring and admitting he may be inviting one, John addresses the world directly. — 00:03:21

    “World, if you end that way, it's super cliche.”

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: I Am Legend (novel) · Zombie apocalypse

Also: People: Jane Austen

Works: Left 4 Dead · Left 4 Dead 2 · Night of the Living Dead · Pride and Prejudice and Zombies · Re: Your Brains · Shaun of the Dead · T-Shirt and Jeans · The Beckoning of Lovely · The Walking Dead · The Walking Dead (TV series)

Concepts: Societal collapse

Myths: zombie

Only in the description or credits: Bank of Nerdfighteria · George A. Romero · Grand Haven, Michigan · Jonathan Coulton · Kiva · Richard Matheson · The Fault in Our Stars

Later videos replying to this one

Part of an exchange of 5 videos, 2011-10-28 – 2011-11-25.