World War Z: The Viral Aspect Of The Zombie Apocalypse

Diseases are ubiquitous and menacing, creating physical and mental barriers affecting individuals and their loved ones. The natural existence of a disease destroys relationships ruining the happiness of the victims and their families. In Marc Forster’s film, World War Z, a contagious virus draws a line between the healthy and the infected creating an “us” and a “them,” thus resulting in establishing a malignant social monster. This leads humans to have a natural tendency to keep astray from these monstrous ailments. In Forster’s film, the viral aspect of the zombie apocalypse stands as a metaphor for the real-life horrors of confronting a global viral pandemic, thus showing the significance of rapid international chaos and loss of social control.

Throughout the film, examples of the zombies’ speed include how quick the rate of the disease is spread, the speed of the transformation from human to zombie, and the physical quickness of the zombies themselves. These examples connect a bridge between how fast chaos and hysteria break out internationally. The speed of the zombies, and how fast they can spread the disease and infect others, correlates with the quick decline of social order amongst the individuals who are not infected. It also represents how the cities shown in the film are swiftly destroyed after the non-infected are exposed to the zombies, alongside with the rapid spread of mass hysteria causing the situation to worsen. The speed of the zombies and their infectious nature displays the importance of maintaining social