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This article has been published in: Ocula 35, Zombesque. Sociosemiotics of a cultural epidemic

author: Eduardo Grillo (Dipartimento di Giurisprudenza, Economia e Comunicazione (GEC), Lumsa, Palermo, IT)

Introduction: Besieging the Zombies

language: italian

abstract: This contribution introduces the monographic issue "Zombesque. Sociosemiotics of a cultural epidemic," tracing the transformation of zombies from cinematic figures to pervasive cultural phenomena. Through examining zombie walks, politico-religious movements like Slovenia's Trans-Universal Zombie Church, and advertising campaigns, it documents the exodus of zombies from the boundaries of fiction. The contribution presents prevailing metaphorical approaches in zombie studies, proposing instead a semiotic perspective that analyzes textual articulation processes. Zombie liminality (neither living nor dead), cannibalistic instincts, the impossibility of authentic individuation, and continuous siege states require an analysis of specific sense-articulation modalities, beyond and alongside metaphorical methods.

citation information: Eduardo Grillo, Introduzione: Assediare gli zombi. Dal senso alla significazione, "Ocula", vol.26, n.35, pp.5-12, September 2025. DOI: 10.57576/ocula2025-28

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