The original title of this post was going to be “The World Wants Your Head.” I read that in an article and it stuck with me. If I can find the article, I’ll put a link to it at the bottom of the post*.
The article talked about how the world constantly demands your attention. How it steals away your free time and weighs down on you. Not only does the world demand that you listen, it demands that you to act a certain way. It demands that you like or dislike certain things, to behave or dress a certain way. Think a certain way. And, if you dare to go against the grain, you’re “Selfish”, or “Unrealistic”, or “Undeserving.”
The world wants your whole head, your attention and your thoughts.
But that’s not quite it. Thinking deeper about it, what the world really wants are your brains. Being the time of year it is, and that we’re talking about brrraaaiiiiins…
That brings me to zombies. That’s the really frightening thought here.
You can argue that the real monsters in Zombie stories are the people. That the real scare is in considering what a person is capable of doing to other people when they’re really in the frying pan.
I don’t see it that way. Nothing knocks me out of a zombie story faster than a character doing something stupid and petty for personal gain while, all around them, there are Freaking Zombies!! The lack of “Big Picture” perspective frustrates me.
No, what really gets me about Zombie stories is idea of losing your individuality. When they get you, you become one of them. You may look like yourself, but the thing that makes you, you is gone.
You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile.
I suppose that you could say that one of the things that frightens me the most is losing my sense of self. My individuality. I don’t think you’d be too far off.
That’s what the world wants. Zombies. It wants to strangle your individuality. One of the biggest things that has ever smothered a good idea is five simple words: “What will other people think?”
We all struggle with it.
I’d wager that everyone reading this has, maybe even as recently as this week, used or thought the phrase “Guilty Pleasure” to describe something that they like.
Guilty, because you might be one of a small group of people that enjoy it. Guilty because it isn’t popular, or it showed up on some “10 worst ever” lists.
I’m making a solid effort to remove that phrase from my vocabulary. If you like something, then own that. At no point should you ever have to justify something that you enjoy.
I liked the Will Smith\Kevin Kline version of The Wild Wild West. I still listen to 80’s hair metal bands. I don’t think that Citizen Kane was the best movie ever made.** I have watched the Brendan Frasier version of The Mummy close to the same number of times that I’ve watched Star Wars, and I’ve enjoyed it every time.
I have no “Guilty Pleasures.” There are only things that I dig, that you may or may not also like, and that’s ok.
So like what you like. Do what rings your bells, as often as you can. Especially if you’re a creative type. Do what you love to do, the way you love to do it.
Yes, the world wants brains. It wants brains without knowing that it wants them. The world wants brains even as it tries to stifle them, because only through intelligence and creativity can we find a way to make the world a better place for everyone.
Resistance isn’t futile. Resistance is essential.
Time: 12:58 Pm – ish
Music: Epica – The Ultimate Return
*Here’s that article
**If you’re curious, my money is on Raiders of the Lost Ark, and I will gladly debate that with you over a burger and a beer.