I'm a believer in the Jungian concept of a "collective unconscious", wherein subconscious messages and symbols present themselves through art and other mediums. Zombies, represent, in my view, a "call to awaken" from the collective unconscious. In this day and age, when religion has lost its ability to "fill the void", so to speak in many people's lives, there is a sense of people "adrift". Not sure what to cling to for meaning in their lives, and simultaneously bombarded with popular entertainment as a panacea, people are left to find meaning where they can find it: in materialism, New Age fantasies, etc. It is said that the sexual impulse is the most "mechanical force" in the universe. Its pleasures hide the grip it has on persons and society. The celebrity culture would love to say its all about passion and freedom, but when one looks at it objectively, one sees it is the result of a strong , unconscious force having its way with sleeping people, content in their dreamland. Most people would recoil in horror and resentment were one to suggest that they are indeed the "walking dead" ( or, at least, the walking asleep).
Many take to causes: stop the current war, save the environment, stop prejudice, etc - certainly all noble causes in one sense or another. And many will tell you that there is indeed progress being made. But, I'm not so sure. To me, these all seem like temporary "noble causes" that distract from the real work to be done, that is: waking up.
There is a principle.."one's being attracts one's world". That applies to individuals as well as collective bodies. As long as Mankind continues to be fractured , and "in pieces", there will be more of the same.
What do I mean by being "in pieces"? An example: recently, there was posted online some statements by an artist which were quite confrontational and shocking. What was horrifying to me, though, was to see the viciousness and vile comments in response, coming from people whom, until that point, I had considered rational and sound. All it took was some "vile words" to bring out a corresponding vileness in otherwise gentle persons. This was a fairly innocuous event, but underlined the fact that we are indeed, merely reactive, subjective beings who are not really "free" inside in any real sense of the word. We are all pawns to the forces that shape us. It has been shown that Rwanda and other genocides would not be possible were it not for the fact that normally friendly, gentle, God-fearing people also have the potential to become angry, blood-thirsty killers when the right buttons are pushed. We in the USA think we're above such behavior, when in fact, its only our present state of material comfort that keeps us in check.
When I was battling my inner "zombie demons" as a boy I played out a scenario in my mind: me as the zombie, running along mindlessly, doing what zombies do; eating people, running, eating some more, etc. The only thing that could break the spell was a growing sense of remorse. I think "remorse of conscious" is an inner force created to assist in spiritual awakening. Its a particular type of remorse:
the realization that I am not actually living. I am merely asleep, living in a dream. Its said, that when a person receives this type of shock there is a possibility "to awaken" because that person may then be willing to begin the real work of what it takes to awaken and be a free human being in the truest sense of the word.
Below: a rather amusing piece I did entitled, "Zombie Regret":
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