XVII Congress of the Brazilian Studies Association

The Zombie Apocalypse as a Post-Capitalism Utopia in "O Pirotécnico Zacarias" and "Reality Z"

• In Event: Dystopian Futures in Brazilian Literature and Cinema

Abstract

From the proto-zombie of the early twentieth century to the contemporary post-Romero zombie, the figure of the zombie in Brazil has evolved significantly over the last hundred years. In an unsustainable, neoliberal world, it is sometimes easier to imagine the zombie apocalypse than the end of capitalism. I position the zombie apocalypse as an alternate utopian future, free from capitalism and the resulting inequalities, with zombies as an anti-neoliberal posthuman. I read “O Pirotécnico Zacarias” by Murilo Rubião and the Brazilian show Reality Z through the lens of Sarah Juliet Lauro and Karen Embry’s “A Zombie Manifesto” and Frederic Jameson’s “Archaeologies of the Future” to show how the zombies escape their subjecthood under capitalism to create an utopian “communitas.” I contrast the liberty Zacarias experiences in his living death and the enslavement to capitalism experienced by the youth who killed him, and analyze Zacarias’ belief that the world is coming to an end and humanity will be better for it. I draw from Elizabeth Ginway’s reading of the story, along with other scholarship, to argue for the utopian nature of Zacarias’ forthcoming apocalypse. In Reality Z, I analyze the corruption, inequality, racism, sexism, homophobia, and transphobia of the humans, which leads to complete societal breakdown, comparing it to the egalitarian nature of the zombie hoard. As there is no existing scholarship published about Reality Z, I rely heavily on the show itself and theoretical frameworks provided by Sherryl Vint’s “abject posthumanism,” Foucault’s “heterotopia,” and Victor Turner’s “communitas.”

Author

• Rowan Grayson, University of North Carolina at Charlotte