Having never gotten into The Walking Dead franchise previously, I decided to give the comics a read. Two weeks and 48 issues later, I really enjoy the series thus far. Surprisingly, to me, I found the comic isn’t actually about zombies. Sure, the zombies are there (in all their horrific glory), but the comic is about people reacting to a crisis situation. The zombies represent an ongoing threat. The continual pressure on the human characters forces them into a position where society can never be normal again.
***FULL SPOILERS AHEAD FOR ISSUES 1-48 of A 20 YEAR OLD COMIC***
(But please give the comics a read, if you haven’t already)
Protagonist, Sheriff Rick Grimes begins the series as a very morally upright citizen of the law. He upholds human values as much as possible, and seems to believe people are basically good. He steals abandoned goods for survival, but would never do anything to harm a living person. Rick’s good nature almost cost him his life when his best friend Shane decided he needed Rick out of the way. Rick, never expecting his best friend to act that way, would have died if not for the intervention of his son.
A few months later, the convicts decided Rick and his people needed to leave their prison, leaving the relative safety of the prison could mean death. When nearby undead cause a distraction, Rick sees his opportunity and kills the lead prisoner. A few months after that, Rick sneaks away from his tribe, runs over a man, and leaves him to be eaten. Again he acts with the intention of protecting his people, but this time, Rick doesn’t feel bad about it. This time the person he killed isn’t an ex con, but somebody trying to look after his own people. Both time’s Rick kills he lies about it, knowing the others wouldn’t be so quick to give up their morals.
Rick Grimes, at the beginning of the story, represents the best humanity has to offer. His rapid corruption is a commentary on the dangers of power. Every time Rick makes a compromise, every time he does something morally questionable--he does it in the name of protecting his people, the greater good. Rick fully believes his behavior is necessary, but knows his friends wouldn’t be so convinced. He makes those hard decisions, often acting alone. All in the name of his people.
The Governor, in The Walking Dead, exists as a dark reflection of Rick. The governor does many obviously evil things, and the Governor justifies his own actions. This is where Rick’s behavior ultimately leads. Being forced to make amoral decisions, wears a person down. Eventually anybody would lose sight over basic moral principles.
If you believe the rapid fall of Rick is improbable, look no further than the Stanford Prison Experiment. This social experiment saw students randomly assigned to play the part of prisoner or guard in a mock prison. After only a few days the guards were horribly abusing the prisoners. Keep in mind, they weren’t real prisoners or guards. They were all students from the same school. Afterwards, in an interview, the students who played the guard insisted they weren’t bad people. I believe they weren’t. Anybody who finds themself with unchecked power will too soon lose sight of morals. The prison experiment was abandoned after only 6 days.
Nobody questions the Governor. His followers have a cult like belief in him and follow his every whim. Rick, on the other hand, has friends who keep him in check. When his friends find out that he murdered a prisoner, they quickly decide the weight of leadership is too much for one man, and they establish a committee. The committee seems to help him regain some of his humanity, but he still manages to run another man over. Perhaps, Rick Grimes is already too far gone.
No comments:
Post a Comment