The Walking Dead

Samuel Collins wrote, "To me, this era seems especially significant: anthropologists and science fiction writers have never been so close" in his paper, Sail On Sail On: Anthropology, Science Fiction, and the Enticing Future. My first thought was “um...duh”. Nevertheless, he writes a convincing piece on the future intersections of science fiction and anthropology. Especially, since anthropology has typically been seen as a comparative and historical social science. Needless to say, I'm looking forward to our upcoming class.

I've been asking people in my circle for an example of current science fiction, since class yesterday since... I seem to be the only person freaking out about what to share for class (lol). Anyways, my mom told me that the Walking Dead is science fiction.  I was like “Really?! How? Isn't it fantasy?” She said: "No Chelsey, clearly it's science fiction with a 'twinge" of fantasy"? My response: "-_-". So, I watched an episode of Walking Dead and I suppose it could be classified as "science fiction".  The definition of a zombie (supposedly) is: A reanimated body that still carries some function that allows it to move. Quite literally, they are the "living dead".  The Walking Dead is a TV show based on a comic book, about a post apocalyptic world taken over by zombies. What I find particularly interesting is the way in which the zombies have to be killed, survive, and exist in this post apocalyptic world.  Anthropologically the way zombies have been culturally constructed since the late 1800's to the way we see them portrayed in the show is fascinating with elements of scientific realism. I would be interested in not necessarily discussing if it's science fiction or fantasy, but rather what classifies the show as science fiction? What examples do we see in the show that makes it scientific? How does society's understanding of zombies affect the way they are portrayed in the show? Is the anthropology of science fiction a worthy field of inquiry?  I've posted a link to a blog article entitled"5 Scientific Reasons a Zombie Apocalypse Could Actually Happen”:   

http://www.cracked.com/article_15643_5-scientific-reasons-zombie-apocalypse-could actually-happen.html.

Also, check out a few minutes of Walking Dead on Netflix or Hulu. I also found this New York Times article thought provoking too: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/09/arts/television/review-the-walking-dead-goes-even-bigger-in-season-6.html?_r=0