A friendly zombie photographed at the Philly Zombie Crawl.
Why are we so obsessed with zombies? Maybe they are an allegory for the way we feel about ourselves and our lives. Traditionally, zombies were believed to to be under the control of their "sorcerers" as their personal slaves and maybe we all unconsciously feel that way to a degree. If we are "controlled", then how do we explain a friendly zombie? Why would the "sorcerers" want us to be friendly?
Australian social psychologist Alex Carey is credited to have pioneered the work on corporate propaganda. He wrote: "The 20th century has been characterized by three developments of great political importance. The growth of democracy; the growth of corporate power; and the growth of corporate propaganda as a means of protecting corporate power against democracy". Possibly, this is most disturbing of his observations: "It is arguable that the success of business propaganda in persuading us, for so long, that we are free from propaganda is one of the most significant propaganda achievements of the twentieth century". Something you can think about if you're not a "friendly zombie".