Example 9: Walking Dead

WARNING PARTIAL SPOILER ALERT IF YOU PLAN ON WATCHING THE WALKING DEAD I KIND OF REVEAL A FEW THINGS The Walking Dead, one of my new favorite t.v. shows that I just can't seem to get out of my head, presents to us very intense scenes and themes that grant us insight into the human psyche. To some, the parallels between Homer's tales and the Walking Dead might be a bit of a stretch, but one thing is certain: they are both pretty epic. The acts of unmitigated violence committed during the siege of Troy are very similar to the desperate means the characters in the Walking Dead are forced to take in order to survive, in the sense that they differentiate a great deal from typical actions. During the Iliad, we see great heroes depart from their homes for a king's honor, but in the process drift farther and farther from the norms of Greek culture. Before the war even begins, for example, Agamemnon kills his own daughter to whip up the winds. Agamemnon commits further atrocities: belittling his equals and killing noble Trojans who had surrendered. Other heroes are guilty as well. Achilles himself attempts to deface a man who was clearly loved, not only by his people, but Zeus himself. Oh, and apparently Hector's son was thrown off of the walls of Troy. Cowardly and completely anti-Greek? Maybe just a little. Meanwhile, in the Apocalypse, all rules are thrown out the window. People are left for dead, women suppressed, children executed (Zombies, but still), women raped, husbands cheated on, suicides are a regular occurrence, and families are completely destroyed. The list goes on, but you get the point. Women in particular get the shit end of the stick quite often. Sorry ladies, but its back to washing laundry. So far in the Odyssey, we have seen many of the characters longing for home and their families book after book. Odysseus wants nothing more than to reach his homeland and hold his wife and child. Time and again, however, he is delayed. Cyclopes, Gods, and an extremely seductive Nymph gets in his way. The characters in the Walking Dead also want nothing more than a safe place to stay and their old lives back. However, the world has changed for the worse, and not only do zombies oppose them, but other humans and even people in their group attempt to kill them or convince them to commit suicide. When Rick first wakes up alone in the hospital, his first thoughts are of his family. As he walks through Apocalyptic America, Rick goes through many trials and tribulations before reuniting with his family. Even then, things don't become blissful. Rick and the others still long for their dead culture. I think the major difference between the Odyssey and the Walking Dead, is going to be that once Odysseus is home, things will be settled and return to normal. Story over, drop the curtain. What makes the Walking Dead such a fascinating retelling, other than the fact that there are zombies running around, is that we don't know for certain that that will happen in their case. Rick could die. Shane could die. Laurie could die. Many characters have already died. Furthermore, unlike Odysseus, Rick and his merry band of ethnically diverse misfits have nothing to go back to.