I was forwarded a link to this video from a Zombie Kickball event in 2008, and was struck by a couple of things.

First, the trend toward greater public participation and large social gatherings of Zombies has been growing for some time. While in some areas, particularly Chicago, it is now commonplace for there to be Zombie Friendly events, almost every weekend, I don’t believe that was the case a mere two years ago, when this video was shot of a Zombie Kickball game. So kudos to the organizers for being ahead of the curve.

Second, it has to be noted that in any population there are individuals who sadly feel the need to conform to the ugly stereotypes about them. Perhaps it’s just acting out, perhaps it’s rebelliousness, a passive-aggressive acquiesence to the treatment of one’s fellow citizens; I’m sure the reasons vary from individual to individual. Nevertheless, as a movement we need to strive to hold ourselves to high standards of decorum and dignity when amongst the living, especially Living people with videocameras there to get Zombie ‘antics’ on film.

Which brings me to the third and final point. The media, even the independent media, is not typically at these events to provide a balanced accounting, or a fair treatment of the plight of the Differently Animated, or even your usual puff piece that fills out the social events pages or makes for a routine blog update. Typically, they’re there to do a hatchet job; we’re just fortunate when it’s not a literal one. If you see someone filming, try to put your best foot forward. If they ask for an interview, and they’re not overtly steering it toward Zombie bashing stereotypes, then by all means, try to persuade and enlighten. But at all times be wary; what might be a harmless jest amongst Zombies and their living pals can be easily misconstrued, slapped up on Youtube or Blogspot, and be around the world before you have time to get back from the game and get a shower.

We need to be vigilant; open to conversation and dialogue, yes, but vigilant. The fight to improve the Zombie Public Image requires us to be on our best behavior, and on our guard for seedy operators, at all times.

Video below the cut.

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This entry was posted by John Sears on Monday, September 27th, 2010 at 5:14 pm and is filed under Zombie Media. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.