Can zombies be virtuous?

[Guest Alana]

"if there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report, or praiseworthy..."

So here is what I've been contemplating. Can a zombie book, full of blood and gore and hordes of undead be appropriate reading? I love zombies. They scare me and I like it. But I'm wondering, if I was going to write a story about them, with plenty of violence against them, am I stepping over a line? I don't have a problem with real accounts of war stories that can be graphic because they let you know what it was really like... but with zombies, I'm just not sure. What is your point of view?

[bodhigirlsmiles]

"if there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report, or praiseworthy..."

So here is what I've been contemplating. Can a zombie book, full of blood and gore and hordes of undead be appropriate reading? I love zombies. They scare me and I like it. But I'm wondering, if I was going to write a story about them, with plenty of violence against them, am I stepping over a line? I don't have a problem with real accounts of war stories that can be graphic because they let you know what it was really like... but with zombies, I'm just not sure. What is your point of view?

i believe that stephanie meyer, the author of the popular series about vampires, is lds. i know that doesn't answer your question directly, but her books tend to have a gory element to them, and i know she has answered questions in interviews about this very topic. perhaps you could look to her for guidance....

(sorry to assume you are lds yourself, if you are not.)

[bodhigirlsmiles]

"if there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report, or praiseworthy..."

So here is what I've been contemplating. Can a zombie book, full of blood and gore and hordes of undead be appropriate reading? I love zombies. They scare me and I like it. But I'm wondering, if I was going to write a story about them, with plenty of violence against them, am I stepping over a line? I don't have a problem with real accounts of war stories that can be graphic because they let you know what it was really like... but with zombies, I'm just not sure. What is your point of view?

btw, i am buddhist, and i have no problem with zombie stories....i think they are just that, stories.

i am also a librarian....

[Guest Alana]

i believe that stephanie meyer, the author of the popular series about vampires, is lds. i know that doesn't answer your question directly, but her books tend to have a gory element to them, and i know she has answered questions in interviews about this very topic. perhaps you could look to her for guidance....

(sorry to assume you are lds yourself, if you are not.)

Yeah I've read her books. What I'm thinking though is nothing like what she writes. My goal would be to gross the reader out a little. Getting very descriptive with brains and blood and guts and smell going on and on for pages. Ok, maybe not that crazy. But I wouldn't want a 5 year old reading it, doubt a 10 would want to.

[DigitalShadow]

I would like to see a book with a sympathetic Zombie character. For some reason, no one ever does that.

[bodhigirlsmiles]

Yeah I've read her books. What I'm thinking though is nothing like what she writes. My goal would be to gross the reader out a little. Getting very descriptive with brains and blood and guts and smell going on and on for pages. Ok, maybe not that crazy. But I wouldn't want a 5 year old reading it, doubt a 10 would want to.

i suppose, then, it depends on what you consider to be "appropriate reading." as a librarian, i absolutely abhor censorship of any kind. this does NOT mean that i would want all audiences reading all things. there is a saying that i've always enjoyed...."censorship, like charity, should begin in the home....but unlike charity, it should remain there." i think it is up to individuals as well as parents (when it involves their children) to determine what is appropriate for them.

[pam]

i suppose, then, it depends on what you consider to be "appropriate reading." as a librarian, i absolutely abhor censorship of any kind. this does NOT mean that i would want all audiences reading all things. there is a saying that i've always enjoyed...."censorship, like charity, should begin in the home....but unlike charity, it should remain there." i think it is up to individuals as well as parents (when it involves their children) to determine what is appropriate for them.

I agree with you. We have the capability to make choices about everything we do in life. That also includes what books we would or should read.

[hordak]

I would like to see a book with a sympathetic Zombie character. For some reason, no one ever does that.

Watch the movie FIDO.

[Guest Alana]

so lets get away from the whole zombie thing. I guess it comes down to if violence is ok to read about, even if just a story. Of course it's just a story, but there are plenty of books out there that simply do no good at all. Do I think they should be censored? Of course not! I just don't read those, obviously. I suppose 'let the spirit be your guide' is a good guide (as always.)

So would you agree/disagree that you can read a book with descriptive fictional violence and still have the spirit with you? I mean, the story could be uplifting with heroes and valor and sacrifice... but if you go crazy with the gore, does that ruin it all?

[Guest Alana]

I would like to see a book with a sympathetic Zombie character. For some reason, no one ever does that.

Can't think of any books, but they do it in movies. Good ol' Bub:)

[pam]

so lets get away from the whole zombie thing. I guess it comes down to if violence is ok to read about, even if just a story. Of course it's just a story, but there are plenty of books out there that simply do no good at all. Do I think they should be censored? Of course not! I just don't read those, obviously. I suppose 'let the spirit be your guide' is a good guide (as always.)

So would you agree/disagree that you can read a book with descriptive fictional violence and still have the spirit with you? I mean, the story could be uplifting with heroes and valor and sacrifice... but if you go crazy with the gore, does that ruin it all?

My feeling on it (again only my opinion) is that whether reading or watching a movie..you get visual images that sometimes stay with you. Do those images in your head invite that spirit? They don't for me. It's whether I can get those images out of my head to invite the Spirit back in that is the key with me.

[Hemidakota]

Alana - is it uplifting to your spirit?

[HoosierGuy]

Can zombies be virtuous? Why not? There are Saints who are unrighteous. There are those (all of us) who should forgive who do not. There are those who should be objective who are not. There are those who should observe and look with both eyes open but chose to look with only one eye or none at all. Yes, I think zombies can be virtuous.

I would say fictional violence is ok to a certain extent. There's a point when a little action/adventure/violence becomes way too much. As has been said - let the Spirit guide you.

[Guest Alana]

Alana - is it uplifting to your spirit?

That is the question. Hmm, usually if the answer is confusion, that in and of itself is the answer, no.

[FunkyTown]

Can't think of any books, but they do it in movies. Good ol' Bub:)

And Fido. That was a great Zombie film with a sympathetic zombie character.

[Fiannan]

Can zombies be virtuous? Why not? There are Saints who are unrighteous. There are those (all of us) who should forgive who do not. There are those who should be objective who are not. There are those who should observe and look with both eyes open but chose to look with only one eye or none at all. Yes, I think zombies can be virtuous.

I would say fictional violence is ok to a certain extent. There's a point when a little action/adventure/violence becomes way too much. As has been said - let the Spirit guide you.

Not sure I'd trust this zombie:D:

[Fiannan]

And Fido. That was a great Zombie film with a sympathetic zombie character.

Two comical zombie movies "Shaun of the Dead" and "Return of the Living Dead" have zombies that are a bit more human but still want to eat people.

[drjme]

I would like to see a book with a sympathetic Zombie character. For some reason, no one ever does that.

Or a tale of love about two zombies that can never be together because the girl zombie's family don't approve. they don't think he's good enough for her because he's horribly disfigured and she doesn't have the guts to stand up to them.....

[Fiannan]

Or a tale of love about two zombies that can never be together because the girl zombie's family don't approve. they don't think he's good enough for her because he's horribly disfigured and she doesn't have the guts to stand up to them.....

Now that reminds me of Peter Jackson's "Braindead" movie.

[Wingnut]

so lets get away from the whole zombie thing. I guess it comes down to if violence is ok to read about, even if just a story. Of course it's just a story, but there are plenty of books out there that simply do no good at all. Do I think they should be censored? Of course not! I just don't read those, obviously. I suppose 'let the spirit be your guide' is a good guide (as always.)

So would you agree/disagree that you can read a book with descriptive fictional violence and still have the spirit with you? I mean, the story could be uplifting with heroes and valor and sacrifice... but if you go crazy with the gore, does that ruin it all?

I read The Kite Runner (by Khaled Hosseini) this summer. It had quite a bit of violence in it. He was delicate in how he portrayed the rape of a child, so that it could have been far more disturbing than it actually was, but there was a fight scene toward the end of the book that absolutely turned my stomach.

I'm the kind of person who prefers to read sex or violence than to watch it (not that I seek it out either way). When I read, I have a lot more control over how far my imagination decides to go. When I watch it, those images stay with me, and I can't get rid of them. On the flip side, I prefer to hear swearing in a movie than to read it in a book, because it jumps off the page at me, big and ugly. Some people are like me, some are not.

You cannot control who reads your books, or how their minds will work. I would use yourself as a judge. If you are uncomfortable writing it, then don't. My guess is that you are at least a little uncomfortable with it, or else you wouldn't be asking for our input.

[bytor2112]

She seems very virtuous.......

[Moksha]

Would a Zombie count as a new conversion for the missionaries,

or would it only be marked down as Baptizing the Dead?

.

[Bookmeister]

I pretty much figure zombies should be treated the same way I treat any sort of evil, creepy, gross, homicidal, disgusting, evil (wait, I already said that), putrid, rotting, foul, slimy, freaky, abnormal, icky creature that would try to kill me and/or eat me.

Just keep reloading.

[Guest Alana]

would a zombie count as a new conversion for the missionaries,

or would it only be marked down as baptizing the dead?

.

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Guest Alana]

So here are my thoughts today on the subject. There is a difference between violence and gore. When I read 'The Hot Zone' I fell in love with the way the author described all the ways the virus ravaged the human body. In many ways it made me appreciate the different functions of the body and how tough we really are. This had nothing to do with violence but was pretty bloody. That's what I'm aiming for. If I was to focus on a scene that was just violent to be violent, see how mean I could get with it, then I think that wouldn't be a worth while scene. A little blood though can go a long way:)