On Zombies and Shakespeare

  So I don't get the recent fascination with zombies.  Apocalyptic books and movies seem to be the go-to genre for the masses. I get that people like horror and the thrill of a heart-pounding adventure, but I'll be the first to admit that I'm not into the blood and gore. And there is a lot of blood and gore, death and dismemberment in this genre. It's like Hollywood is having a contest to see how many people they can gross out. Face it, most dystopian fiction is grim. Everyone is serious because they're fighting for their lives, and are just relieved if they don't die in some gruesome way. I don't get it. What's so entertaining about death on a mass scale? Unless it's Orcs, of course, but that's a different genre.
  Over the past month, I've (reluctantly) watched some popular dystopian movies with my family. Mockingjay Part 2, The Scorch Trials, Insurgent. Grim stuff. The hero never smiles -- did you notice? Everyone looks serious All. The. Time. Even when the good guys win (hello, Katniss), the ending is sad because the death toll is staggering.
  I admit that my own books are categorized under dystopian, but my apocalyptic details are mentioned only in passing. World War III (whatever, pick a number) isn't the point of the story. The point is how people learn to thrive and find happiness in the aftermath. I think a little hope goes a long way, and I use it. In college, Shakespeare's tragedies was one of my favorite courses. Macbeth with his bloody knife was a forerunner of The Walking Dead. Grim stuff, but Shakespeare used one brilliant strategy in his tragedies: comic relief. He always added a few chuckles in with the death and dismemberment. I think this is why his work is still popular in our day.
  This is totally my opinion (hey, it's my blog) but I would predict that zombies are a fad. The gross-out factor will get old after a while and ride off into the sunset along with disco and pet rocks. People want to feel good when they finish a book or leave the theater. Do I want to pay $10 to watch the earth be destroyed? Um, no. I think I'll see something funny instead. This is why movies like Star Wars have remained popular for decades: humor. Yes, I know Star Wars isn't dystopian (episodes 1-3 aren't even watchable without a barf bag) but you get my point.
  Give those zombies a sense of humor, and then they'll truly live forever.