Atlanta Zombie Symposium

 

 

Atlanta Zombie Symposium, 2009
 Streaming video of the complete AZS panel discussion      

 

Pictures from the AZS

 

  

AZS in the Media!

 

 

 
PLAYING — It begins from Tonight
of the Living Dead by 400 Lonely Things
A dark-ambient instrumental remix project over a year in the making,
using treated dialogue-free audio from the 1968 version of Night
of the Living Dead as its only ingredients, and is accompanied
by a 12-page booklet of photo treatments adapted from the movie as
well.  MORE
Atlanta Zombie Symposium
September 12, 2009
Zonbi, Wilson Biguad, 1953 -- Born in Port-au-Prince, Bigaud was discovered by Hector Hyppolite, who brought him to Le Centre d'Art in 1946. During his career, Bigaud has seen much political upheaval in Haiti. In the late 1950s, his expressions turned toward violent feelings and his world was transformed into a demonic place, resulting in an emotional collapse and several nervous breakdowns between 1957 and 1961. His painting, Zombies deals with the religious fraternities known as secret societies. Today, some function as strictly religious organizations; others are used as fronts for illegal activities. For a long period, Haiti lacked the infrastructure to be truly governable from its capital city, Port-au-Prince. So, before Duvalier instituted the system of section chiefs, the countryside was in effect governed by vodou secret societies that controlled the rituals of zombification. The zonbi is characterized as lifeless because of a nerve toxin that may have been administered by members of the secret society. This would have been done clandestinely to destructive or overly offensive members of the community (usually in rural areas) as part of a mock death sentence followed by a real funeral. Later, members of the secret society would break open the grave of the 'dead' person, resuscitate him or her, and banish them from the area. Sometimes brain damage would result from either the toxin or the lack of oxygen during entombment. The zonbi character is central to Haitian folklore. It articulates a memory of the loss of control over self suffered during the period of slavery--a very real cultural event in Haitian history. In Bigaud's painting the zonbi has further reference to the physical labor of slaves on Haitian plantations. The zonbi-slave is forced to do mindless labor on a plantation owned by a tyrant-sorcerer. He is led around on a leash, chained at night, and beaten when he does not respond quickly enough.
Zonbi, Wilson Bigaud, 1953
Figge
Art Museum		 The idea of the Zombie long predates
that of the bloodthirsty undead that populated horror films since
the 1960s. The original zombies were drugged victims under the
control of certain powerful spiritual practitioners. Zombification
may have been used as punishment for certain crimes. Lately,
the word “zombie” has found a place in diverse discussions, in
disciplines such as economics, computer science, and entomology,
among others
The Atlanta Zombie Symposium includes
a panel discussion, entitled The Zombie Perceived: Religion,
Media, and Society; a double feature film screening of Night
of the Living Dead and Return of the Living Dead,
directed by Dan O’Bannon; and Dance of the Undead,
a dance party with Zombie Transformation Chamber. Area partners
will participate through presenting other interpretations of
the idea of the “zombie”.

1 – 3:45 PM, Panel Discussion The Zombie Perceived:
Religion, Media, and Society, Dr. Dianne Stewart,
Emory University; Dr. Andrea Wood, Georgia Institute of Technology
Laszlo Xalieri. Moderated by Stan Woodard.
Clary Theater, Bill Moore Student Success Center, 225 North Avenue,
NE, Georgia Institute of Technology. FREE
(SEATING IS LIMITED, ARRIVE EARLY!)

5 – 9 PM Films Night of the Living Dead,
(1968) directed by George Romero + Return of the Living Dead (1985),
directed by Dan O’Bannon, A rare opportunity to see
George Romero’s classic on the Big Screen, followed by Dan O’Bannon’s
hilarious send up of the zombie scenario.
Plaza Theater, 1049 Ponce De Leon Ave. $9
for one, $12 for both

10 PM – 2 AM, Dance of the Undead,
Including the Zombie Transformation Chamber.
Graveyard Tavern, 1245 Glenwood Ave., East Atlanta Village $2

MAP JPG   PDF

The Atlanta Zombie Symposium is created and organized by Stan
Woodard, with participation from the School of Literature, Communication,
and Culture, Georgia Institute of Technology, Gorehound Productions,
and Public Domain, Inc. This program is funded through the generous
support of Robert Brawner, Gene Hooff, Louis Corrigan, Hormuz
Minina Louise Shaw, and Deborah Ryan.

Additional funds are sought, contact Stan
Woodard to donate. (Your donation is tax
deductible. Consult your tax advisor for details.)

Press Release
IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE ATLANTA
ZOMBIE SYMPOSIUMCALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
The
online journal PERFORATIONS announces the call for issue 32: ZOMBIE! (PDF)Le
Flash, October 2
We Are Survival Machines, Carl Di Salvo and David Holstius
Curated by Louise Shaw in association with The Zombie Symposium.
 

Zombies in Vodun
According to the tenets of Vodun (voodoo), a dead person can be
revived by a houngan or mambo. After resurrection, it has no
will of its own, but remains under the control of the person
who performed the ritual. Such resurrected dead are “zombies”.

Zombie,
From Wikipedia

Bernard
Diederich;Claudia Wallis, “Zombies: Do They Exist?” Time
Magazine, Monday 17 October 1983

Timothy
Sexton, “The Truth About Voodoo Zombies”, AssociatedContent.com,
March 27, 2008
“DDoS
attacks with zombie computers – ‘North Korea’s powerful hacker
army’?”
The H Online, July 10, 2009Nicole
Kobie, “Korean cyber attacks traced back to UK”, PC
Pro, 15th July 2009
 
 
 

Have you heard of the new book, “Pride
and Prejudice and Zombies: The Classic Regency Romance –
Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem!”? someone added zombies
to Jane Austen” novel.

Some possibly suggested reading, from Jon
Ciliberto

I am sure you are familiar with this one:

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/70258815&referer=brief_results

It is in the same series with The Philosophy of the Simpsons, The
Philosophy of the Matrix, etc., all popular culture oriented tomes
of light-academic work (I guess in some cases less light than others).

The other book I browsed was a lot more heavy:

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/218880885&referer=brief_results

There is quite a bit of work in philosophy dealing with consciousness
and zombie states… the ‘philosophical zombie’. This guy
in particular has written on the subject:

http://consc.net/chalmers/

There is a link on his page which leads to lots of academic zombie
stuff.

Probably you already know about all this. . .

I got the impression that your thing is more about cultural issues
in the uprise in zombie interest in film (and other media) at the
end of the twentieth c.?

And, an interesting link relating Easter Island to Zombies:

http://www.archaeology.org/online/interviews/zombies/
 
Jewel Wasps zombify cockroaches to reproduce
White Zombie A young man turns to a witch
doctor to lure the woman he loves
away from her fiance, but instead turns her into a zombie slave.
Zombie Fire Ants
 		 Fungus Makes Zombie Ants Do All the WorkFungus Makes Zombie Ants Do All the Work

Jack Jeans Zombie Jamboree – French pop take on the classic
song

Zombie Snails

Construction sign warns of zombies