EDITOR CLAYTON PATERSON THE VOICE, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2012 5 Zombie culture is taking over aa TAD PHOTOGRAPHY photo A group of zombie enthusiasts pose for a shot at this sum- eo _mer’s Zombie Walk event. a BRANDON KOSTINUK photo Above: Just a small sample of the zombie-related literature available to purchase. CLAYTON PATERSON photo Below: The poster for the Langara course on zombie pop-culture. ‘the transformation of terror-ist and beyond. Selected course materials include: © George Romero's Dawn of the Dead » Max Brooks’ World War Z - Stephen King’s Cell ~ Richard Matheson's | Am Legend + Victor Halperin’s White Zombie messi cee | Erin Robb, 604.323.5212 | erobb@langarabeca wwwlangara.be.ca Langara. From events to classes, the undead phenomenon’s popularity is rising By BRANDON KOSTINUK ombies have taken over! Well, the genre has. With Halloween around the corner, a rash of zombie-themed events have cropped up around the Lower Mainland, adding to the already huge zombie culture that includes fea- ture films (Resident Evil), best-selling novels (World War Z), a hit television series (The Walking Dead) and a real life, bath-salt-induced zombie attack (Google it.) The Voice wants to know: why zom- bies? “People like the unknown and zom- bies feed that curiosity,” said Matt Leung, a human kinetics student.. “T think it’s the biohazard element that really hits close to home,” said Shawn Ederis, a second-year fine arts student at Langara. Second-year arts and sciences stu- dent, Scott King, simply offered, “It’s the survival aspect.” Ernest Mathijs, a UBC film studies professor and pop- 66 culture expert, had some further insight. People like “Vampires used to be more threaten- the un- ing in the 1980s and known and early ‘90s because of the link between ZOMBIES ood and AIDS,” fuelthat said Mathijs. Yai “But because zom- curtosity * bies coincide with MATT LEUNG economic crisis, they have become more relevant,” he added, “and Twilight [did help] domesticate the vampire, making zombies a superi- or mythical creature.” Motifs within the zombie genre thus play a significant role when it comes to garnering attention. “A zombie only has a desire to con- sume,” said Mathijs. “They don’t think about anything else.” Mathijs added that some see this as a reflection of today’s society, and he believes it makes for thought-provok- ing material. What’s more, a view into a post-con- sumerist world where zombies tend to exist fascinates people because of the current economic context, said Mathi- js. It’s a look into what could be. “It also helps that shows like The Walking Dead look so good,” he added. For students looking to satiate their zombie craving this spring, Langara’s English department offers a zombie pop-culture course next semester. EVENTS “THE ZOMBIE SYNDROME” A site-specific, interactive, smartphone enabled, roving theatre adventure. Learn more at www.thevirtualstage.com ZOMBIE COMBAT ZONE Fight through a zombie apocalypse, in a creepy forest, using paintballs. {Actors are the zombies, not you). Learn more at www.zombiecombatzone. com Retailers prepare for the Wii U launch MICHAEL LETENDRE photo Some stores, such as Electronics Boutique, are already displaying promotional material in advance of the release of the Wii U. Nintendo’s newest console hits Canadian stores on Nov. 18, just in time for the busy holiday shopping season. JOHNSON NGUYEN Langara chemis- try student By MICHAEL LETENDRE ing system, is already sold out in most stores in the Lower Main- land, and it hasn’t yet been released. Best Buy’s gaming senior Brian Chalifour said the Wii U’s features, such as its touch screen controller and HDMI compatibility at 1080p resolu- tion, have contributed to the high amount of pre-orders. Chalifour says the high amount of pre-orders is also attributed to Ninten- do having a larger fan base than other consoles. Chalifour expects the Wii U to con- tinue to sell-out, especially over the holidays, and that is due to the system’s wide appeal. “TPeople of] any age can use it,” he said, “it’s for people that are looking for a console for themselves, as well as their kids.” Chalifour said when the Wii U ar- rives in stores Nov. 18, he is expecting social media to change how people find the systems. “As soon as we get stock ... people will go on Facebook and Twitter and T: Wii U, Nintendo’s newest gam- say that we have them, and they will be gone pretty quick.” The Wii U comes in two bundles: a white system with 8 GB of internal stor- age for $299, and a black system with 32 GB of internal storage for $349. Johnson Nguyen, a Langara chemis- try student, is hoping to buy one. ”Right now, I want it for just the one game: Pikmin 3,” he said. “Pll probably get it around Christmas, after finals are over.” Nintendo has sold almost 100 million Wii’s since its release in 2006. The gaming giant is hoping for simi- lar sales with the Wii U, but the cost of buying another console may be too much for some. “T don’t think I'll get it. I’ve already got an Xbox 360 and PlayStation 38... The graphics aren’t as good with Nin- tendo,” said economics student Austin Guan. The graphics capabilities of the Wii U are in fact superior to the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. To coincide with the release of the Wii U, Nintendo will be dropping the price of the Wii in Canada from $150 to $130 at the end of October. Posting personal pics online Some people continue to upload graphic images of themselves despite the situation that can result. By SAM REYNOLDS to an unknown audience, as hap- pens regularly on the Internet fo- rum Reddit’s “gonewild” section, is not an entirely abnormal behaviour, ac- cording to one SFU criminal environ- mental psychologist. Ehor Boyanowsky describes Reddit’s “gone wild” section as something simi- lar to an animalistic mating parade — where women clamour for attention by showing themselves off to an audience of males. Reddit’s owners promote the section as “a place for open-minded adult Red- ditors to exchange their nude bodies ... in a comfortable environment without pressure.” Boyanowsky argued that attractive people like to display themselves, cit- ing the sometimes extravagant pur- chases of clothing and cosmetics that people make. “The reason people post pictures, es- pecially if they are attractive, is be- cause they aren’t getting the attention they want. They want more attention. This is a way of doing this without breaking any social norms,” Boya- nowsky said. Boyanowsky explained that venues such as this may be some of the only places that shy people — who want to feel appreciated sexually — feel com- fortable displaying themselves. “On the Internet anything goes,” said Boyanowsky. “It’s a free for all.” While Boyanowsky praises such an environment as a safe space for people to express themselves sexually, Red- dit’s promiscuous subculture does not entice everyone. A number of female Langara stu- dents are against the idea of posting sexual pictures of themselves online. “It’s unsafe but people do it because they think it’s cool,” said Larissa Punzalan, an arts and science major. “Who knows what people will do with the image after?” Boyanowsky said that after looking through the site’s “gonewild” comment section, which contained mostly posi- tive comments, the experience for most users will be safe and positive. “It’s a game, and for most people it’s a safe game,” he said. ae oneself in a sexual fashion PHOTO COURTESY OF LES BAZSO/PNG Hundreds attend a vigil for bullied teen Amanda Todd. Todd took her own life after being harassed over personal photos released online.