POST-APOKALİPTİK ZOMBİ ORTAMLARINDA UMUT VE HAYATTA KALMA: WORLD WAR Z & ZONE ONE

Year 2024, Volume: 7 Issue: 3, 479 - 492, 30.09.2024

Olgahan Bakşi Yalçın

https://doi.org/10.37999/udekad.1500502

Abstract

Zombi kıyameti anlatılarının çeşitli medyalarda son zamanlarda kazandığı popülerlik, bu anlatıların sosyal, kültürel, siyasi ve çevresel meselelerle olan derin ilişkisini vurgulamaktadır. Bu anlatılar, zombileri genellikle çevresel ihmal ve toplumsal çöküş gibi güncel sorunları ele almak için alegorik figürler olarak kullanmaktadır. Çağdaş kurguda zombi yaratan bir virüsün ortaya çıkışı ise, biyolojik ve ekolojik felaketlere dair korkuları yansıtmakta ve zombi kültürünü endüstriyel-kapitalist toplumlardaki çevresel bozulmanın bir yansıması olarak ifade etmektedir. Zombi post-apokaliptik kurgu, çevresel yıkımın potansiyel sonuçlarını vurgulayarak, sosyal düzenin çöküşünün korku, güvensizlik ve bencillik gibi kolektif hayatta kalma çabalarını engelleyen iç çatışmaları nasıl ortaya çıkardığının altını çizer. Bu anlatı aracı, çevresel ve biyolojik tehditler önemli olsa da, ahlaki ve sosyal uyumun krizlerin üstesinden gelmek ve hayatta kalmayı sağlamak için eşit derecede önemli olduğunu öne sürmektedir. Sunulan korkunç senaryolara rağmen, zombi anlatıları aynı zamanda kolektif eylemin, uyum becerisinin ve sosyal birimlerin yeniden inşasının önemini göstererek umut vermektedir. Dolayısıyla bu makale, hem Max Brooks’un World War Z (2006) hem de Colson Whitehead’in Zone One (2011) adlı eserlerinde umut ve hayatta kalma tasvirlerinin basit tematik analizlerin ötesine geçtiğini, zira zombi kıyametinin ardından toplumların nasıl toparlandığı ve yeniden inşa edildiğinin gösterdiği üzere, insan yaratıcılığı ve dayanıklılığının doğuştan gelen nitelikler olduğunu savunmaktadır. Bu iddia, kıyamet sonrası toplumların kaçınılmaz olarak ölüme mahkum olduğu şeklindeki geleneksel görüşe meydan okumakta, bunun yerine sadece insanlığın iyiliği için değil, aynı zamanda Dünya gezegeninin korunması için de ilerleme ve yenilenme potansiyellerini vurgulamaktadır.

Keywords

Umut, Hayatta Kalma, World War Z, Zone One, Zombi Post-Apokaliptik

Thanks

Sayın editör ve hakemlere değerli zamanları ve katkılarından dolayı teşekkür ediyorum.

HOPE AND SURVIVAL IN ZOMBIE POST-APOCALYPSE ENVIRONMENTS: WORLD WAR Z AND ZONE ONE

Abstract

The recent popularity of zombie apocalypse narratives across various media highlights their deep engagement with social, cultural, political, and environmental issues. These narratives often use zombies as allegorical figures to explore contemporary problems, such as ecological neglect and societal collapse. The emergence of a zombie-creating virus in contemporary fiction mirrors fears of biological and ecological disasters, framing zombie culture as a reflection on environmental degradation in industrial-capitalist societies. By highlighting the potential consequences of ecological destruction, zombie post-apocalyptic fiction underscores how the collapse of social order exposes internal conflicts—such as fear, mistrust, and selfishness—that obstruct collective survival efforts. This narrative device suggests that while environmental and biological threats are significant, moral and social cohesion are equally crucial for overcoming crises and ensuring survival. Despite the grim scenarios presented, zombie narratives also offer hope by showcasing the importance of collective action, adaptability, and the rebuilding of social units. Thus, this paper argues that the portrayal of hope and survival goes beyond simple thematic analysis in both Max Brooks’ World War Z (2006) and Colson Whitehead’s Zone One (2011) since human ingenuity and resilience are innate qualities, as demonstrated by how societies recover and rebuild following a zombie apocalypse. This claim challenges the conventional view of post-apocalyptic societies as inevitably doomed, instead emphasizing their potential for progress and renewal, not only for the betterment of humanity but also for the preservation of planet Earth.

Keywords

Hope, Survival, Zombie Post-Apocalypse, World War Z, Zone One

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