Wednesday, November 6, 2019

The Walking Dead. Professor Ramos Blog

The Walking Dead. The Walking Dead was released eight years ago and was an instant hit with almost everybody. It is now on its ninth season and seems to be still going strong as AMC recently announced they will be filming a Walking Dead movie based on the shows most famous character, Rick Grimes. A former sheriff deputy in Atlanta Georgia who was shot in the line of duty and fell into a coma, only to wake up in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. Without the show ever giving you much details of how this zombie apocalypse happened, it leaves the viewer eager to see what the next episode or season will bring to the table. The Walking Dead shows major character development throughout this apocalyptic scenario most viewers enjoy. Kimberly Hickok a staff writer for Live Science believes Zombies represent a longing to reconnect with humanity. â€Å"Humans are naturally good at empathy, but we are bombarded with information from news outlets and technology, which tends to destroy that empathy, especially when it comes to empathy for people outside your personal circle† (Hickok). But, without technology the characters in the show are personally responsible deciding whether the person they encounter is good or bad. These decisions Rick Grimes and other characters need to make in the show really take a toll on the themselves as they fight for any means of survival. You slowly watch the empathy of these characters fade and in some sort of way reappear in certain situations, though rarely. As the show goes on you find yourself becoming in some way attached to each character, almost as if you were part of the show itself. The Walking Dead goes through its abundance of characters as quickly as some of these characters don’t last on the show. Whether they are eaten alive, turn into zombies or as this show likes to call it, â€Å"walkers†. Or inevitably meet their fate to another group of survivors trying to harvest each other goods such as food and weapons. What I like most about this show is I feel it gives a good representation of how scarce supplies can be during such an apocalyptic event. Which in end causes characters having to make rash decisions based on their survival throughout the longevity of the show. You see people go from good to what looks to be bad based off events the characters must do in order to survive. This show is filled with many major antagonists that show signs of pure evilness with zero sense of empathy. One of the most infamous of these antagonists is Negan. So evil and almost God-like, people bow to him in fear as he torments his group of people with torture and death to keep them in line and in constant fear of their lives. Without giving too much away, there is a scene with Negan in one of the episodes of seasons 6 that leaves you with a gut-wrenching feeling of hopelessness that feels so real it keeps the viewers mind racing. It is during this episode that you can truly and without a doubt get sense of their reality and what it might feel like to be in a situation like that. Maybe this is why it is one of the most memorable episodes The Walking Dead has released (Bryant). Though the shows does indeed have some downfalls, such as random deaths where a single zombie somehow puts people or characters I should say, into this frozen fear where the character almost allows himself or herself to just be eaten or bitten. Noel Murray a reporter for the Rolling Stones says, â€Å"The characters talk and talk and talk†¦This isn’t really a new problem with The Walking Dead, nor is it at all unique to the show. But still – there’s an awful lot of â€Å"conflict† that consists of two people with opposing viewpoints just standing around and grumbling at each other†. Yes, the show does consist of episodes where there may be more talking and less dying or fighting but Murray also counters his argument with, â€Å"The writers seem to think this is essential to the drama. Muted dialogue scenes give the story room to breathe and clarify where everybody stands. But the characters hardly ever talk about anything new.† But at wh at point is there anything â€Å"new† to talk about besides looking for food, shelter, weapons, and surviving from zombies. After all, those are a lot of the most important things in need during a zombie apocalypse. So, I find it hard myself to believe the characters would be focused on talking about anything but those necessities. Overall, IMDb gives this show an 8.4 out of 10 stars as where I’d give it a little closer to nine. This show brings a brilliant edge on a world filled with zombies as everyone scrambles to survive. It fills the viewer with emotions and character fulfillment that many want in all of their shows. The Walking Dead was nominated for a Golden globe for best television series as well as being a winner for a Primetime Emmy for outstanding prosthetic makeup for a series, miniseries, movie or special. And I couldn’t agree more, as the show progresses you see these zombies become so real, with blood, guts, and rotting, decaying corpses that they mindlessly walk in. The Walking Dead has been nominated for Primetime Emmy’s multiple of times for outstanding prosthetics as well as special effects the show brings. If you love a zombie apocalyptic themed show that keeps you on edge and brings a real-life factor of survival and rash decision making than look no further, this show is for you. I’ve seen my fair share of zombie movies, and I would choose this show 100% over any of them. What really makes the show is the Actor Andrew Lincoln, also known as Rick Grimes who portrays his character effortlessly as if you were watching a documentary of his life during this zombie apocalypse. Andrew Lincoln brilliantly portrays his character development through all nine seasons and makes â€Å"The Walking Dead† a must watch Tv series. Bryant, Adam. â€Å"Everything You Need to Know About the Walking Dead.† Tv Guide. January 2018. https://www.tvguide.com/news/walking-dead-primer-everything-you-need-to-know/ Hickok, Kimberley. â€Å"9 Reasons We Have an Undying Interest in the Undead†. Live Science. August 2018. https://www.livescience.com/63365-why-love-zombies.html Murray, Noel. â€Å"The Walking Dead: What the Hell Happened to this Show?†. Rolling Stone. April 2018. https://www.rollingstone.com/tv/tv-news/the-walking-dead-what-the-hell-happened-to-this-show-627893/ â€Å"The Walking Dead†. IMDb. November 2018. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1520211/?ref_=tt_urv Eric Kazos English 010 3pm

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