The Zombie Myth In Amc's The Walking Dead

The myth of zombies has been debated for centuries and has brought about insane creative ideas about the unknown. Over time creative geniuses have looked to share their thoughts on the zombie myth through video games, comic books and television shows. One of the newest television shows that depicts a post-apocalyptic world filled with zombies is AMC’s The Walking Dead. The setting of The Walking Dead takes place in a world in which a massive, fatal, and gore filled disease has killed a majority of civilization on earth and has forsaken whomever that is left to fight to survive against the flesh eating, walking zombies and the other people that are also trying to live. The very first episode, “Days Gone Bye”, allows the audience to share the introduction to the post-apocalyptic world with the main character of the show, Rick Grimes, and build a strong bond between the audience and Rick Grimes because it is both of their first experiences with the new world. The episode focused on the core introduction of the world by explaining it all through the eyes of a character who understood just as much as the audience. Rick Grimes was introduced to the audience as a sheriff who was shot in an altercation; he went into a coma, after being shot, and woke up into
the new world full of the undead. Rick escaped the hospital he was in to find massive piles of dead bodies scattered on the outside of it. His facial expressions share the shock and horror shared by all of the audience watching the show. He would soon find out what had happened to the world about how there was nothing left and it was filled with flesh eating, walking zombies. Days Gone Bye shares with the audience an unforgettable experience that they will never forget about the show: the introduction to the world taken over by the undead.
The Walking Dead is filled with gore, horror, death, and disgusting examples of the destruction brought onto the world by the disease. From the very first scene of Days Gone Bye the audience is shown how horrific the show will be; Rick Grimes shoots a little girl, holding a teddy bear, in the forehead because she had turned into a zombie and was trying to devour him and eat his flesh. It also shares a scene before the apocalypse showing that Rick was a good man and not a heartless killer in order for the audience to connect with him on a personal
basis. Zombies have always been a myth along with vampires, and ghosts which makes The Walking Dead much more immersive. The audience is shown everyday places such as schools, hospitals, neighborhoods, and homes in order for them to gain a perception of how ruined the world has become. They are able to ponder about how their lives would be affected by the disease and what they would do if they were in that world. A social experience is established as the audience shares their thoughts on the show and in turn gain a better understanding of the show. The audience gains a better understanding of the new world as the first season of The Walking Dead progresses and they gain more and more knowledge of how civilization was impacted and how it works to survive facing unmeasurable odds. The show does a great job in creating a connection between the audience and the main character. It is successful because it is unique in how it presents itself and shocks everyone. The show increases the insanity of the myth of zombies and has everyone scared.