Episode 761: Tough Talk

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Dave

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Zombie Cliche Lookout: Asserting Yourself

I think one of the reasons zombie stories are so popular is that it gives fan a chance of imagining themselves in a completely new set of circumstances. They are no longer constrained by the rules and mores of modern society. They’re in a live or die situation, so they can act decisively rather than politically. Many of us romanticize this. I’m not talking about romanticizing the survival aspects, although that also happens, I’m simply talking about stripping away some of the more irritating and constraining aspects of modern society.

Survival means making decisions and acting. It’s not always clean or pretty, but you’re getting things done. It’s very, very different from how we do things today. We have to worry about how other people will perceive us. We have to be concerned that our actions might cause other problems down the road. In the zombie apocalypse, you don’t have to worry about getting sued. You just have to act.

About this Episode:

Hey everyone, glad to be back after both a long weekend and a week away from home. Did I miss anything good?

In regards to the episode itself, I’m doing something I try not to do too often: not show the face of the person who is talking. I try to always show the speaker’s face because I think it gives the words more personality and character. In today’s episode, I’m specifically not showing Barb’s face because I want to take away some of her person to make her seem more scary and detached.

Discussion Question: But Do We Want to Just Act?

As I say above, I think one of the reasons the zombie genre is so popular is because it gives people the opportunity to fantasize about how they could act outside the constraints of modern society. On the surface, yeah, that sounds like a lot of fun. What we often forget, however, is that we’re also removing the safeguards that we take for granted.

That said, I suspect a lot of people like the idea of getting rid of those safeguards.So what do you think? Is that one of the better parts of the genre? Do you like the idea of peeling off the warning stickers and letting people face the (often horribly violent) consequences of their actions?

20 thoughts on “Episode 761: Tough Talk”

  1. Typo alerts:

    First off, remember to go back to the two previous episodes and fix those typos! 😀

    Then, after you’ve done the backlog, fix this typos in this episode:

    :Many of use romanticize this.” use–>us 😀

    Only one for today, but you’ve had a few whilst setting up the interim episodes for your vacation, not too bad overall I must say! 😀

    • Well, actually, a second typo in the mouseover text: Gimme has no “i” in it! 😀 But you know what? It kinda fits in a way that’s consistent with Barb beginning to lose self-control! 😀

      • To add to that “you” should be “your” but hey it’s mouseover text! For all we know, your continuity writer wrote that for you whilst still on whatever high she was on and wouldn’t care! 😉

        • Hah!

          Okay, everything in today’s episode is updated. I’ll go back and fix last weeks later this morning.

  2. I really like both the “SLAM!” effect, and the fact that we can’t see Barb’s face right now! I’m digging it so much, I feel that you should make her last sentence emboldened, to add emphasis to the fact that she has some sort of emotional bond with these people. Or maybe that should be ‘had an emotional bond’, I’m not sure now! 😀

    • Yes! Totally agree! 😉

      • Nice! I’m glad that came through well. I think it makes Barb look much more cold and commanding.

  3. Don’t worry, Barb. I think he has some in his pants. Shit, that is! 😀

    Cliche:
    “In the zombie apocalypse, you don’t have to worry about getting sued.” What does Dave always want to do that would get him sued? Haha!

    About the Episode:
    You missed EVERYTHING!
    You missed the worst thing ever… missing you. :'(

    Yes.! She does seem pretty scary! Who knew she’d be so bothered by the possible devouring of a mother and her two young children, by zombies?

    Question:

    As entertainment, yes. It wouldn’t be entertaining with safeguards. But Irl, some good and some bad. I think people like the thrill of being on the edge of death all the time. But ALL the time is a little much. No more help for you 😮 No safety nets, no seatbelts. You’re on your own. Good luck! 😉

    Word of the day:
    “Wedgie”
    “Barb is considering a Wedgie to get the truth out of, her friend, Clark!” ;D

    • “What does Dave always want to do that would get him sued?”

      Hah! My job would be much easier if I could just beat up people I disagree with.

  4. I wonder if Clark was ever bullied, as a child. This might cause some flashbacks. Haha!

    Or maybe Barb was bullied, bottled it up, and now she can Finally “cut the shit”, and beat the crap out of people. But only when necessary, of course. 🙂 😉

    Just some silly thoughts. 🙂

    • This does get me thinking.
      Maybe Barb has always been overlooked in her life. The doctor she worked with seemed a little into himself. So being overlooked, but also very smart and strong, she has the ingredients for a really Bad-Ass character! Like a Carol! 😀

      • I like the way you’re thinking through these characters’ lives, and what influenced them to get to this point. It’s pretty awesome to see these silly characters connecting with people.

  5. Negan, The Governor, and his highness from “the kingdom”
    These are just the top of my head examples of people “acting without the restrictions and no warning labels in zed-lands.
    In real world: Give people an inch, they ride it for miles… Example the apple app: “pictophile” d/l, open once, casually browse, close, delete, Clorox eyes and pray for humanity.

    As for the last panel text I like that it seems calmer than Barb really is. It makes for a forceful impact, when there is need for violence or for airing out pent up confessions.

    • “As for the last panel text I like that it seems calmer than Barb really is. It makes for a forceful impact, when there is need for violence or for airing out pent up confessions.”

      Yes! This is what I’m going for. Someone with a forceful personality that can maintain calm is a true badass.

  6. This weeks convo reminds me of when my mom has my dad dispatch a spider. It’s not enough to make a commotion and throw out a tissue. She’ll say, “I want to see the body!” just to be sure!

    • Hah, your mom sounds awesome.

    • Haha! That is totally someone I know!
      And that someone is definitely NOT me! 😉

    • I wonder what ways we’d come up with to do things, like killing spiders, in the apocalypse.

      Molotov Cocktail! Hah! 😀

    • Over here we have Mortein a fairly effective pest killer. 😀 If some spider gets in my way, a spray of it will usually kill most anything quite dead rather quickly. 😀

      I then get out the dustpan and brush and clean it off the floor into the kitchen tidy bin for trash disposal! 😀

  7. Our society doesn’t prepare us for such thing… By the time we realize we’ll have to step up 99.9% of the human race will be gone. We don’t have that instinct anymore. We used to though.. I think we will have to “devolve” to reach such behavior.
    Interesting question, do we want to? After centuries of evolution, it’s pretty much in our DNA… Can we go against that?