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Research Log.

Title and Publication Details: The Zombie Survival Guide Publisher: Three Rivers Press. Publication date: September 16th 2004

Text Type: Book

Author: Max Brooks

Date of Entry: 4/5/08

Research Notes:

Question one: (What effects do the impossible odds have on social relationships?)

This novel is not written as a traditional story, but more like a hand guide on surviving my chosen impossible odds (Zombie Apocalypse.) It explains how social relationships may change. It makes notion that martial law would likely be instated in areas controlled my military groups, and this would have profound effects on social relationships, and it would quickly become a “caste” type system. With the military officials at the head, making the decisions and the lower “caste” (civilians) would be forced to go along with any decision made, no matter how awful it may be. (Example: The book sites that if in a group of twenty men were running away and the two leaders told them to leave behind one of the group who was wounded, that everyone would have to do so, or risk themselves being left behind.)

In a civilian type of survival group, the book says that everyone would become very military orientated anyway, using what little knowledge they had to build their own system, nominating a clear leader who would make decisions for the pack.

Question Two: (What effects do the impossible odds have on the state of the Earth?)
The book offers many possible scenarios for what will happen to the state of the world. It says that most major cities will burn the ground, from explosions and the like during the initial outbreak. It claims that governments will likely be very powerless to stop the threat if it makes it to a large scale (Zombie Apocalypse level). And that the survivors would live in small communities in what ever refuge they could find.

Question Three: (What similarities are there between impossible odds in the studied texts?)

The book sets out clear explanation on what they define the impossible odds (Zombies) to be. They explain exactly how the impossible odds function and work, and in most other texts I have studied, they are very similar. Only small things change (E.g- The ability for the “zombies” to run in Dawn of the Dead).

Research Log.

Title and Publication Details: World War Z Publisher: Three Rivers Press. Publication date: September 16th 2004

Text Type: Book

Author: Max Brooks

Date of Entry: 4/5/08

Research Notes:

Question one: (What effects do the impossible odds have on social relationships?)

This novel is full of good information about the effects of social relationships. For example during the Great Panic it was shown that people who owned or operated boats would often take passengers on in exchange for items, such as food, water, gasoline or even sex. – “There was even one boat owner who would only take on young beautiful woman…sleeze bag.” It also went on to explain that during the panic people would often find themselves in situations that they would not normally find themselves in, for example a mother was forced to attempt to kill her five year old daughter in an attempt to prevent the legions of the undead. Ther was also massive sheep like behaviour during the great panic, in one situation a blimp pilot reported to watch a massive evacuation of a town down a strech of highway and that was heading straight into another infected town, and that infected town was heading towards the same place that the original group ran from. Even though there were many changes many roles stayed the same, for example in one case a group of nuns took it on themselves to protect the children at a church from the zombies, taking up the role as protectors even it was through unusually violent means.

Question Two: (What effects do the impossible odds have on the state of the Earth?)
"The Great Panic" chapter describes the rout of civilization in a similar manner to H. G. Wells's The War of the Worlds. The tales cover many genres -- the story of a Chinese admiral who spent the war on a submarine would fit easily among techno-thrillers, and the story of Todd Wainio, an American soldier who takes part in the long struggle to regain the United States would appeal to a lot of young adults. The viewpoint is not exclusively American, but focuses on the global nature of the struggle. This use of small personal tales creates a patchwork tapestry of the larger events unfolding in the book. Brooks addresses current issues such as environmentalism, the War on Terrorism and international health care. He also offers an interesting juxtaposition between the modern world and that of postwar Earth. For example, Cuba becomes the world's leading economy, the Israelis and Palestinians make peace, Russia becomes a religious theocracy, China became a democracy with its population severely reduced, and Tibet becomes the most populous country. It is implied that tribal groups such as South American Indians, Zulu of Southern Africa and Māori of New Zealand fared well early on in comparison to other fighting forces. One character relates an anecdote about how 500 Māori engaged half of the Auckland horde, using traditional tribal weapons, and fared much better than the world's various military forces or Western civilians.

Question Three: (What similarities are there between impossible odds in the studied texts?)

The book sets out clear explanation on what they define the impossible odds (Zombies) to be. They explain exactly how the impossible odds function and work, and in most other texts I have studied, they are very similar. Only small things change (E.g- The ability for the “zombies” to run in Dawn of the Dead).

Research Log.

Title and Publication Details: Cell, Publication date January 24th 2006.

Text Type: Novel

Author: Stephen King.

Date of Entry: 1/8/08

Research Notes:

Question one: (What effects do the living dead have on social relationships?)

In this novel we see excellent examples of how the living dead effect social relationships, with Clayton Riddel quickly befriending a short homosexual man named tom, and a fifteen year old girl named Alice, both of which he comments “Never would have met had it not been for the pulse” (Note: The pulse is what caused the Zombie outbreak in Cell.) It becomes clear that because of the outbreak that social relationships change hugely and in a world were being someone’s friend took months and years of work, and a lots of things in common with the person (Or a contract from a reality T.V series in the case of Paris Hilton) it becomes drastically different were the only thing that dictates if people can become friends or not is if they are a crazy homicidal zombie or still a normal person.

Question Two: (What effects do the living dead have on the state of the Earth?)
In the prelude to the text the state of the Earth is very clearly explained. “Every city from Moscow New York stunk to the empty heavens…” It showed that the Pulse was a world wide event and caused the collapse of the entire world as we know it, causing us to slip into “a second dark age” as the book refers to it.

Question Three: What effects do the living dead have on individuals?

Research Log.

Title and Publication Details: 28 Days Later, released 1st November 2002.

Text Type: Film

Director: Danny Boyle

Date of Entry: 16/9/08

Research Notes:

Question one: (What effects do the living dead have on social relationships?)

The effects on social relationships are many, but one important one is pointed out by the general in the movie in the quote:

Question Two: (What effects do the living dead have on the state of the Earth?)
In this movie we see that the living dead (or those infected with rage virus, in this movie) have all be quarantined to the point of the outbreak which is only in England, and we can see that close to all of England has been abandoned . It is unknown thought out the text what happened to the British government or the royal family. They are suspected to be dead. In Britain however we see that close to all people are dead, and the one surviving military unit has become obsessed with attracting females to ensure a chance at re-starting the human race, in fear that the entire world is whipped out.

Question Three: What effects do the living dead have on individuals?

In this text we see that people begin to fear that they are the last members of the human race, in specific the military soldiers that control the last bastion of living humans that anyone can find, in order to capture females and ensure that man kind continues to live. One could call this survival of the species but others could call it rape, which is exactly how the movie portrays it.

Research Log.

Title and Publication Details: Dawn of the Dead, Universal Pictures, March 19th 2004.

And Special Report: Zombie Invasion

Text Type: Movie/DVD Special Feature

Director: Zack Snyder

Date of Entry: 4/3/08

Research Notes:

Question one: (What effects do the living dead have on social relationships?)

The effects on social relationships are:

Normal society laws are broken, and new survival laws are imposed. (E.G- Stealing food from the mall to survive.)

Relationships are broken, new ones with different people formed. (E.g- When Ana is forced to run or be killed by her husband when he turns into a zombie, and she then escapes her home and meets a group of people who a white nurse would not usually socialise with a police officer, an illegal immigrant and her husband.)

Marshall Law among the survivors in the mall. (E.G- When the main group of survivors enter the mall, and are put under lock and key by the three security guards there. They then turn on the guards, and imprison them.)

Question Two: (What effects do the living dead have on the state of the Earth?)

In the special features section of Dawn of The Dead, there is a news caste which follows the events of the Zombie pandemic.

It is revealed that China fired a large portion of it’s nuclear arsenal at a neighbouring country, it is not revealed if it was to contain the infection there, or for what reason they were fired, but it does give a view of the state of the world, if China, the worlds most powerful nation, is willing to unleash it’s nuclear arsenal on any country. It can be reasonably assumed that things must be going very badly for China.

It is also revealed that the United States president has fled the white house, under heavy cover fire, to a secure, undisclosed location to seek refuge from Z-day. This again gives us a very good impression of how things must be going for the United States in general.

Question Three: What effects do the living dead have on individuals?

People are forced to decide between staying with their zombie loved ones who are attempting to kill them or to try and kill their loved ones and move on. People start to accept that there are things in the world that cannot be changed and do not mourn for the death of their loved ones due to there not being enough time to do so.

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