On Wednesday, I had the privilege of going to the Sweetwater County Library in Green River to give my Undead Obsessed presentation. It was a blast!
There wasn’t a huge turnout, only six people and one that wandered in a bit later, but it’s not the quantity but the quality that matters. And when the group is small like that, there’s more of a chance for discussion and questions.
I love talking about zombies. And I love talking about how zombies are a metaphor for our fears of science. But the discussion also branched out from there. We talked about the popularity of zombie films and the evolution of the monster. We talked about our favorite movies and books.
Being around other people who enjoy the same things I do is awesome. It’s so much fun to talk about our shared passion (or obsession in my case) about walking corpses. It rekindles my excitement for the undead and inspires me to write.
One of the most exciting parts about the workshops/presentations are the new ideas the audience members bring to the discussion. While we were talking about the evolution of zombies, we talked about the film Warm Bodies and how the zombies are cured and rejoin the human ranks. Some of the members thought that idea was stupid, but as another one pointed out, since zombies are supposed to be a metaphor for humans’ worst behavior, maybe a zombie turning back into a compassionate being means there’s hope for humanity. I loved that idea!
During another conversation, when we were talking about the stereotypes of science and how scientist are portrayed as greedy or money hungry, it was pointed out that in the real world, scientists have to have funding to conduct their experiments, and to get that, they have to rub elbows with people who can finance them. It may seem like they’re being elitists and power hungry, but they’re just trying to continue their work. It was a fascinating way to look at that aspect of scientists.
October is going to be an amazing month for presentations/workshops. I have several scheduled, and I’m going to Long Beach to be part of a conference. I can’t wait! I’m excited to see where the discussions lead.
I love talking about zombies.
ReplyDeleteDitto!
At DragonCon last weekend, I sat in on a panel entitled "The Mad Science Of Zombies". Capacity crowd in a large room, so it's quite clear the genre's still kicking :)
The panel was chaired by Dr Tedd Roberts with panelists ranging from virologists to neurologists. The goal was to evaluate the different methods (fungi, viral, etc) as well as outbreak types and spread. The overriding goal was the typical zpoc outcome, but there were so many alternatives and so much crowd participation that there's no way we could have covered it all within the 90 minutes allotted.
Zombies are a part of the post-apoc track at DC, but the participation is so heavy for all the z-related events, they really need their own track.
That sounds like an amazing panel! I love how excited people get about the genre and their willingness to participate. Makes my day!
ReplyDeleteI started dipping my own toe into the novel-writing waters with an idea about a zpoc a couple years back. Everyone I talked to (already in the profession) naysayed it, talking about how "over" zombies are. TWD keeps setting records, FTWD sets a record for it's opener, and the consumers seem as...hungry...as ever.
ReplyDeleteHa! No pun intended. ;) If you want to write a zombie book, if it makes you happy, do it!
ReplyDeleteTrying :) I've got Suzanne Robb (Z-Boat trilogy) helping me work the kinks out.
ReplyDeleteAwesome!
ReplyDelete