“The Walking Dead” perspective on life
I was down with a sickness last week, so I stayed home a few days and watched the first three seasons of The Walking Dead. This is how I think the Walking Dead perspective on life would go.
It’s a TV show adapted from a graphic novel about a group of people during a zombie apocalypse. Although I know it is gory and not real, it has been an interesting experience to watch it while my own head is feeling a little foggy. But coming out of the fog, I thought about how the show really gets down to the point and distills some interesting philosophical ideas and perspectives on life.
Things to live by in the world of The Walking Dead
Don’t lose sight of why you want to live
It might be soul crushing to have lost something so precious to you, but if you want to survive, you have to keep on keeping on. Whatever it is that you believe is the worst thing that has ever happened to you in this reality, it probably pales in comparison to what happens to the cast of the show. Didn’t get that promotion or got dumped by your beau? Well, you have the luxury to have these problems. You could call it #WalkingAliveProblems if #WalkingDeadProblems include having walkers all over the planet and not being able to be safe anywhere.
Fight to keep your humanity
There were several points where the group nearly made a decision to sacrifice a living person for the safety of the group. The writers do a good job of not taking this issue lightly, because it is too easy to let yourself fall into the convenience of taking a life or shooting a gun. It somewhat begs the question of, if we have to kill living people and sacrifice our humanity to continue to survive, is it really worth it to continue living on in that way?
Cherish your loved ones while you can
Along the same lines, it’s really not a great strategy to hold petty grudges. You will probably regret it when the person you love has turned into a walker.
Life after The Walking Dead
Now, I haven’t seen any of season 4 yet (the season finale of which just aired!), so please, no spoilers! I will have to see for myself all the gut wrenching details (and read articles like this one). Despite some loopholes and questionable etiology, I think it is a good series. I’m hoping that this new, walker ridden, perspective on life can bring me out of this mental place I’m stuck in. Everything should be easy since I don’t have to worry about fighting off zombies and struggle to find safety, right?
On a side note, if I were able to choose where to be holed up indefinitely, I would choose the American Museum of Natural History in New York!
Hall of North American Mammals at the American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, USA
What do you think of the Walking Dead perspective?
