The Walking Dead and Philosophy: Zombie Apocalypse Now

On Walkers. Wayne Yuen, ed. The Walking Dead and Philosophy: Zombie Apocalypse Now. Chicago, IL: Open Court, 2012. 288 pp. ISBN 9780812697674. $19.95 pbk.Reviewed by Mark McCarthySome of philosophy's most enduring questions attempt to explain what it is to be human, so it is only appropriate that the "Popular Culture and Philosophy" series would turn its attention to the massively popular graphic novel turned AMC drama The Walking Dead. Populated by our uncanny kin (zombies to most, walkers in their parlance), The Walking Dead and Philosophy: Zombie Apocalypse Now draws from the various texts of The Walking Dead universe to engage philosophical topics from morality and ethics to epistemology, existentialism, and more. Inclusive in its scope, this anthology draws on the television show, graphic novel, and webisodes to deliver a broad philosophical survey that is accessible to a wide audience. Because of the format, which features twenty essays in less than three hundred pages, and its goal to use The Walking Dead to bring complex philosophical concepts to life, this book is perhaps best suited for armchair philosophers, fans of The Walking Dead with no philosophical background, and those looking to pop culture to breathe a little life into the discipline. While some essays assume a certain level of philosophical knowledge that others do not, it is never to the extent that the reader would be lost. Most concepts are painted with such broad strokes and deftly animated by examples torn from The Walking Dead that the anthology succeeds in demystifying these concepts while hopefully sparking an interest in further philosophical endeavors.As the television series concludes its third season and the graphic novel reaches one hundred issues, the complexity of these texts are increasingly attracting diverse scholarly attention. Because of this potential one slight, disappointment with this book is that at times the essays overlap in ways that do not add to the reader's experience, instead leaving one with a feeling of deja vu. The book is broken up into four sections that group the essays within larger philosophical constructs (for example, the opening section deals with ontology and consciousness, while the final section is devoted to questions of morality and ethics). This works, for the most part, although the second grouping, while interesting and worthwhile, seems forced. In contrast, concepts in other sections border on over-representation leading to a sense of repetition and a missed opportunity for a richer experience. Thankfully, this is not always the case as several essays seem to actively speak to one another, like Ashley Barkman's post-feminist essay "Women in a Zombie Apocalypse" and Danny Pye and Peter Padraic O'Sullivan's "Dead Man2« Party," both of which deal with the representation of gender in the walking dead universe. Similarly, Jeffery A. Hinzmann and Robert Arp's "People for the Ethical Treatment of Zombies (PETZ)" playfully engages with Franklin Allaire's essay "The Only Good Walker Is a Dead Walker" by examining humanity's moral responsibility (or lack thereof) to zombies and other non-fictional creatures. …