Zombies have portrayed the roles of fear and horror within various films and novels since the 20th century. Their function within the genre of science fiction or fantasy has been to pursue humans who would either be their victims of brutal murder or targets for transforming from human to zombie via infectious disease. Their mass extinction or conversion of the human race to zombies would therefore mark the end of the world, thus instilling fear within audience members for their demise if an apocalypse such as the one portrayed in zombie media were to arise. The fictional zombie after popular entertainment was widely viewed as a monster or source of fear for not only children to be cautious of, but adults as well when facing threats. A popular work that discusses this occurrence and leaves a similar effect upon audience members is the fiction based novel, World War Z written by Max Brooks.
World War Z revolves around the world's apocalypse as zombies and humans battle against another in yet another world war that will attempt to end the human race. Beginning with the spread of disease that just a few humans carry ends with a pandemic that spreads across the whole world. As the pandemic worsens almost all countries in the world attempt to put an end to the disease by putting an end to the actual zombies and leading their people to safe zones where they would be protected from death and destruction. The entire theme of the novel comes together subsequently to emphasize the ideas of survivalism within situations that require the right mindset and preparation for apocalyptic occurrences that could occur in real life. This then raises the question of the government's strive to protect its people under stressful situations or threats that pose an end to the world such as the zombies that are portrayed in mass media. Who are we to trust with the protection and preservation of our lives when every man is for himself in the end?
