Zombie Literary Theory

[S. K.]

For people who write about zombies:

What is your opinion on calling a zombie a zombie? Why or why not?

(for example, Robert Kirkman speaks freely of "zombies" in interiews, yet in his comics he rarely uses the Z word.)

[Mike]

In my work, I follow several POVs -through about a half dozen groups. Through them I developed their own adaptation of language and culture as it related to the zombie outbreak. I intentionally wrote it so that only one group refers to the hordes of dead as zombies. They were the first group of survivors that I conceived of and they are, to be frank, Zombie movie fan boys(like myself and my circle of friends).

I started my story some time in 2005 after a friend told me that when the zombie apocalypse arrived, she and her clique had plans to hole up in the walmart. She invited me along. Sadly the apocalypse never occurred, as I was head over heels for her, but way out of her league.

Anyhow, my stories take place in a world where Romero made his films - and some of my characters have seen those films and use the term zombie.

[Will]

It has become a trope. Some works use the Z word and some avoid it like the (literal) plague. The Walking Dead avoids it; World War Z doesn't.

Shaun of the Dead plays with this idea as Ed uses the Z word but Shaun doesn't:

Ed: Any zombies out there?
Shaun: Don't say that!
Ed: What?
Shaun: That!
Ed: What?
Shaun: The zed-word. Don't say it!
Ed: Why not?
Shaun: Because it's ridiculous!
Ed: All right... are there any out there, though?
[looking out of the letter-box, he sees an empty street]
Shaun: I can't see any. Maybe it's not as bad as all that.
[he turns his head and sees a pack of zombies]
Shaun: Oh, no, there they are.

I suppose it's a style thing. There is a similar thing in superhero stories where (Incredibles aside) most superheroes don't refer to themselves as "superheroes".

[Albert]

I use the term zombie a few times but my main character doesn't refer to them as such until he meets a teenager when she fills him in on what they are. For me it seems to be a generational thing where younger people throw the term around way more often than older folks.

[C.L.]

The problem with 'zombie' is that it's an inherently funny word. Thankfully, that's not a problem for me as an author since my book is meant to be funny, but I can understand why people avoid it when they're trying to be serious.