User talk:Ethan Frome

From the Desensitized boards:

wcil says, "I play zombies because they're the underdogs. Plain and simple.

Edit: After reading your page, I disagree with you. Your Zombie = Evil is a naive and rather immature connection. Especially as you're connecting it with sex (wtf)"

My response:

I think you kind of missed the point.

Zombies are constructed as the Other -- whatever is opposite that which is assumed to be pure and righteous. This is, I think, on some level why people fear zombies -- they fear the symbolic taint which zombies bring with them. It's not the same fear that would exist if this were a game taking place in the Old West where it was the Hatfields and the McCoys fighting over buildings and resources. There is a very symbolic element to the building up of walls, and the violation of those barriers when they are breached by an "infected" other.

And this ties in to sex, of course. If humans (the unmarked, "normal" part of the dichotomy) are seen as righteous and pure, then naturally they will be associated with chastity and virtue. Zombies, as the Other, are associated with sexuality and violence. Why else would there be a moral panic when, in real life, an "infected" Other is seen to be encroaching on one's own "pure" territory? The first vision of moral panic is often sexual in nature. It's unclear in what direction the flow is, but it should be evident from playing the game that the use of "gangbang" and "a banana in granmaz azz" is not coincidental. Surely there's some element of immaturity to it, but why should immaturity seem naturally to be in the realm zombies? You guessed it -- because they are constructed as a "lower" life form. Just give it some thought, and see what you come up with.

EDIT: Also, you say that you play as a zombie because they are underdogs. Okay, sure. But have you ever considered what forces *cause* zombies to be the underdogs, and to stay that way? What causes people not to create zombie alts, or to remain as zombies when they get killed? That's what I am trying to investigate.

Notmtwain says:I think you've missed the main point of being a zombie-- the joy of breaking down the barriers and killing a few survivors

My response:

Hehe, don't get me wrong. I certainly enjoy that as much as any other zombie! I was just caused to wonder *why* zombies love smashing into a safehouse and infecting the survivors there. And I am thinking not just about Urban Dead, but in wider cultural representations. The page I linked to is just a first grasp at an idea about these topics, initially in the framework of Urban Dead.

• Zombies attack survivors because that is the Tao of the Zombie. We've seen zombie movies before, and we know that this is what zombies do. So we're gonna do that. With the far-off goal of a survivor-free Malton in mind. Same reason why people try to conquer the world when they play Risk. --New Coldness