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

author: Paolo Bertetti (Università degli Studi di Torino, IT)

After the zombie apocalypse. Development and crisis of a thematic-narrative form between ancient myths and pop culture

language: italian

abstract: Like a large part of contemporary post-apocalyptic imagery, the popular trend of the so-called "zombie apocalypses" proposes a peculiar thematic-narrative form, built around a series of oppositions that support the construction of the text. It refers to the clash between two universes of values: the restoration of the former pre-apocalyptic world or the foundation of a new, more just society, sometimes egalitarian and libertarian. Particularly significant in this regard is The Walking Dead (comic strip and TV series), in which the focus of narration is not so much on the fight against zombies but rather on the construction of new human communities and the clash of values ??underlying them, inspired to the pre-apocalyptic past or instead rooted in new ways of being and new ethics dictated by survival. However, there are cases in which the role of zombies is different and more significant, to the point of outlining rudimentary post-human zombie societies that seems to be the only possible alternative to humanity's inability to build new forms of sociality.

citation information: Paolo Bertetti, Dopo l’apocalissi zombie. Sviluppo e crisi di una forma tematico-narrativa tra miti antichi e cultura pop , "Ocula", vol.26, n.35, pp.29-40, September 2025. DOI: 10.57576/ocula2025-30

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