When I first saw a preview of the movie “World War Z,” I was disturbed by images of what I thought was mass murder, but later, when I read a review of the movie, I realized the victims weren’t people — they were zombies.
Murdering zombies, of course, isn’t a bad thing. Murdering zombies is a good thing, an admirable thing, a desirable thing. So, I went to see the movie, but found that I am still disturbed.
“What exactly is a zombie?” I keep asking myself? In the movie, the actors who portrayed zombies behaved exactly like severely paranoid schizophrenics, a group of people I am very familiar with as a result of having worked for several years at Napa State Hospital. I keep wondering, “Do people think murdering the patients at Napa State Hospital would be a good thing?” I am sure there are some who do.
In fact, there are always, and have always been, people who think it is a good thing to murder other people. Soldiers fighting wars, for instance, and the civilian populations they protect, believe it is a good thing to murder enemy soldiers and civilians.
During World War II, loyal Americans all believed it was a good thing to murder not only German and Japanese soldiers, but civilians as well, when necessary. The Germans and the Japanese were zombies to us, and we, I am sure, were zombies to them. During the 1960s, the Viet Cong became zombies. These days, many people regard some Iraqis, Afghans and Pakistanis to be zombies. President Obama and his security team hunt what they must see as the equivalent of zombies with their drones, killing them with seeming impunity and without regrets.
Sunnis and Shiites often consider each other to be zombies, as do Hutus and Tutsis. Catholic Englishmen and Protestant Englishmen once considered and treated each other as zombies. Many American slave owners considered their slaves to be no better than zombies. In fact, the “n-word” is almost a synonym for zombie — someone who is not quite human and probably dangerous.
Frontier Americans considered Native Americans to be zombies: the only good one was a dead one, so the saying went. Perhaps some Americans today consider Mexicans to be zombies. Certainly building a 700-mile-long fence with razor wire, security cameras and guard towers makes it seem so. I am sure there are many Mexicans who think “gringo” Americans are no better than zombies.
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I bet there are some people who think gay people are zombies. I would bet there are some men who think all women are zombies, and some women who think all men are zombies. I have no doubt that almost all teenagers think of their parents as zombies, from time to time, and most parents think the same of their teens.
What is it about human beings that makes us not just capable but compelled to draw a line in the sand and declare that everyone on the other side is no better than a zombie and deserving of death? I have no doubt that it has something to do with distancing ourselves from our own fear of death. I keep wondering why it is that a guy like Brad Pitt, who in real life tries to portray himself as a socially conscious do-gooder, would choose to make a movie about nothing more than killing zombies? Sure, it is fun entertainment, but it exploits and fans the flames of what is probably the most destructive and dangerous of all human traits: the ability to murder with intent and without regret.
The Romans and the Jews treated Jesus and the early Christians like zombies, and then when the Christians took over, they treated the pagans and sometimes the Jews like zombies.
Jesus and Buddha have one important thing in common: They both said there is no such thing as zombies. All life is sacred and capable of redemption. I wish that message would get through to more people more of the time, and I am honestly not sure whether movies like “World War Z” help or hurt that goal.
Later this summer, another movie is coming out called “Elysium.” As near as I can tell, in that movie, the 1 percent and the 99 percent treat each other like zombies. I can’t wait to find out who wins.
