Philosophy and the Walking Dead: The Rules of “The Walking Dead”
AMC’s “The Walking Dead” is the story of a particular group of survivors of a zombie apocalypse, led by Rick Grimes, which has become one of the most popular shows on television. It was adapted for television from the comic books of the same title written by Robert Kirkman (Yuen, 2016). The show asks many questions within the story regarding life and death, what it means to be alive and what does it means to be human? It presents ethical conundrums and creates the basis for philosophical debate. There are priorities in the apocalyptic world, food, water, shelter, medicine and safety, which are constant goals. There is always a sense of impending doom on the show. At any moment there could be screaming and "pee-your-pants" terror; and, of course, there is the squishing and splashing of killing zombies, which in “The Walking Dead” world are called Walkers. Blood, guts, dangling entrails and missing limbs are as common for the living as it is for the dead. In fact the line between the two becomes more and more blurred as the show continues.
The Walkers on the series represent the outcomes of a disease that reanimates the dead and then sweeps across the world killing the bulk of the population. The idea is that survival is both a conscious and unconscious imperative; survival of the fittest. There are elements of utilitarianism in the series. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few comes into play. In other words the greatest good for the majority is the best course of action. In the case of “The Walking Dead,” that majority is the group, not necessarily the rest of the world. The psychological aspect of “Us versus Them” is apparent in how the living disassociates themselves from the dead and from other groups of people. Anarchy is starting to form because all of the old rules are now gone (Yuen 126-127). People keep trying to adapt and trying to survive. That survival comes with a price; the need for survival becomes a validation for “doing whatever is necessary.”Anyone who watches “The Walking Dead” or is planning to must come to accept a few important lessons.
There is absolutely no safe place. It does not matter where you are, be it fortified in a town, a high rise building or a prison; it is still not safe. It will never be safe. It does not matter how high the walls are, how secure the fences are or how many weapons that one has it is still not safe. It is not just because of the Walkers, but because of other people (Yuen 127). If you think you are safe, ten seconds later you are being eaten. Or worse, you get bit, get sick and have to lie there while your friends and family draw straws to decide who will stab you in the head after you die.
We Are Not Sure if They Are Alive or Dead:
Biologically, there is an ongoing debate as to whether Walkers are alive or dead; and either way, are they still human? But when one turns into a Walker, there essence, their personality, memories and complex thinking are gone (Yuen 111). Their humanity is gone; this is evident because Walkers will eat any living that catches its attention, as long as they are kicking and screaming, including their own children, their moms and dads and the poodle down the block because they no longer recognize them as anything other than food. This was made clear in series when a Walker stuck in a well showed no interest in the canned ham they lowered down; Lori, Rick’s wife, points out that the Walkers “didn’t raid our pantries” (“The Walking Dead” 2).
It Does Not Matter If They are Alive or Dead
If someone is groaning and grunting, smells like road kill, has parts falling off and approaches you, grasping and snapping, wanting to bite you, does it matter if they are alive or dead? They want to eat you. It does not matter and that is the logic used on “The Walking Dead,” it is about survival; get them before they can get you. Glenn tells Maggie, “I don't care if they're sick people or dead people, they're dangerous” (“The Walking Dead” 2). In other words, whether they are dead or sick they still need a shovel to the head. There are those, like Hershel, who refused to see them as anything but sick people; people who could be cured. But that is hard to validate because the bodies of the Walkers are rotting; some do not even have organs anymore. Even if they could be restored to the person they were before they would not be able to function or survive. This is why most people conclude that they are already dead so it is okay to kill them again. So if they are a little bit alive or mostly dead they need to be completely dead because they are dangerous and a threat. They are not human beings anymore.
Most of the Human Beings Are Disturbed or Dangerous
In an end-of-world scenario people change and possibly become a different people from who they were before. This can lead people to do what, before the apocalypse, would have been considered less human or inhumane; in some cases this can manifest as psychopathic or psychotic behaviors. Firstly, there was Shane. He plotted and attempted to kill Rick mostly because, “it ain’t like it was before” (“The Walking Dead" 2). Then there is the Governor, who watched Walker heads in fish tanks for entertainment; they are like a serial killer’s trophies. The people of Terminus were developing a new post-apocalyptic subculture; one that eats people, which is an ultimate taboo. Eating people is inhuman. What defined human before, no longer applies in The Walking Dead world (Yuen 114). People are not who they used to be and that may make them disturbed and dangerous.
The reality is that when one looks at the story before them there is very little difference between the survivors and the Walkers. That line keeps getting thinner based on what the survivors have been willing to do. Right and wrong has been eschewed, ethics and morality remains in question (Yuen 219). The Walkers wander aimlessly until they find food, without real purpose or goal. The survivors are no different. They are forced to keep moving for the same purpose. The Walkers will eat anything, hence the people eating; but, again, the survivors have to eat what they find, as well. Rick’s group "chowed-down" on a Doberman Pincher and a German Sheppard. The people of Terminus, again, were hunting, capturing, slaughtering and eating people for food. Walkers are base creatures, animalistic. Clawing and biting; people would not behave that way. Well that is hard to believe after watching Rick rip the throat out an attacker with his teeth or when Enid was hungrily tearing into and stuffing her face with the most unlucky tortoise in the apocalypse. People would not just kill other people to make a point; that would be inhumane. But that is hard to believe when Neegan carries around a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire that he uses to smash people’s heads to a pulp as part of saying, “Hello.”
In the end, being alive, being human and what constitutes a life worth living is constantly changing. The Walkers may or may not be biologically alive, but they try to eat people so killing them is okay. The one thing that separates the two, survivors and Walkers, philosophically is the desire to survive. Walkers do not have inner consciousness and no concept of self preservation; they will walk off cliffs or into a fire. Those people who have lost that drive will likely get eaten; that is just how it goes. In this case, being human is, in fact, a state of mind, any state of mind, which automatically separates them from the Walkers. That is probably the greatest struggle in “The Walking Dead,” trying to maintain that sense of humanity and not becoming like the Walkers; the need to make a life worth living and worth fighting for. That is how they can stay human. If not there is nothing else to be done but keep running and try not to get eaten; unlike Walkers that is not enough for human beings.
WORK CITED
Yuen, Wayne. "The Ultimate Walking Dead and Philosophy." Open Court. (2016): 1-288
"The Walking Dead." AMC. (2010-2017): 1-7. Web. <.http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1520211/>.
