Zombie Apocalypse and the Crisis of Global Capitalism

Class, Precarious Work, and Environment

Dados Bibliográficos

ID4928784
AutoresKhorapin Phuaphansawat (0009-0001-3972-2620, Chulalongkorn University, autor correspondente)
Ano2025
Volume55
Fascículo1
Páginas134-154
Data de publicação2025-01-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessNão
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoJournal of Contemporary Asia (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0047-2336 • E-ISSN: 1752-7554
EditoraInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00472336.2023.2252429
OpenAlexW4386608322
IdiomaEN
Referências citadas28

Zombies have always represented sharp criticisms of state and capital. From their roots in slavery in the Caribbean colonies to George Romero’s zombie films, which can be read as criticisms of racism and consumerism, this article proposes that zombies have embodied both the “mindless” labourer deprived of soul and forced to work eternally as well as the fetishised consumer in a capitalist world. By the end of the first decade of the current century, zombies began to appear in films which were neither Hollywood-style nor, indeed, American at all. This article argues that these non-American zombie films portray the zombie apocalypse as a crisis of contemporary global capitalism. It will closely examine four international zombie films, Backpacker (Thailand, 2009), Seoul Station (South Korea, 2016), Cargo (Australia, 2017), and Little Monsters (Australia, 2019). The zombies in these international films reveal several aspects of capitalism such as illegal migration, the precariat or disposable workers, and the ecological crisis. Moreover, these films also reflect the way out of the zombie/capitalist dystopia which touches upon not only revolutionary but also indigenous and generational politics.Key Words: capitalismcrisisenvironmentalismfilmprecarityzombies Notes1 Examining contemporary experiences of marginalisation and resistance among ethnic minorities from the South and Southeast Asia regions in Hong Kong, Leung demonstrates how radio programmes provide a space where collective voices or “denotative voices” against racism and discrimination can be formulated across ethnic minorities (Leung Citation2020, 264).Additional informationFundingThis work is part of a research project entitled “Global Politics and Zombies: Globalisation, Popular Culture, and the ‘Living Dead’ through Critical Perspectives,” funded by Thailand Science Research and Innovation

Art history · Capitalism · Globalization · Hollywood · Media studies · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Racism · Sociology · Zombie · Gender Studies · Geographies of human-animal interactions · Gothic Literature and Media Analysis · History · Law · Utopian, Dystopian, and Speculative Fiction