The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead is a televised American drama series about a group of people trying to survive a zombie apocalypse developed by Frank Darabont. The series stars Andrew Lincoln as sheriff’s deputy Rick Grimes, who awakens from a coma after the world yields to a zombie plague (Griffiths, 2011). Dazed and confused from months in the hospital he wanders out to figure out why he cannot find anyone alive. He makes his way home only to find his wife and son missing. He sets out to locate his family and finds many other survivors on his journey (Tucker, 2010). The Walking Dead coordinates with many social themes such as relationships, children, family, heroism, religion, leadership, humanity, hope, and discrimination. Other forms of the social themes include: gore, revenge, cannibalism, life, death, humor, suicide, weapons, friendship, fear, distrust, depression, envy, regret, pride, teamwork, and definitely the zombie element.

In the drama series The Walking Dead there are various scenes that display many social themes. The particular social themes I chose to address in a scene are life, death, depression, weapons, children, zombies, revenge, hope, and regret. A particular scene that grasp my attention that displays the social themes occurs when the sheriff, Rick Grimes loses his wife to an early birth arrival of his daughter defending from a recent zombie attack. Within that scene one can witness social themes of life, death, depression, weapons, children, zombies, revenge, hope, and regret as listed. Rick Grimes cries and yells out praying on his knees looking at sky, regarding to “God,” looking for answers to his pain. The friends gather around to console him, but Rick pushes them away blaming everyone for his despair.

After the ordeal, Rick isolates himself in guilt and frustration leaving every one worried and afraid. The appearance of exhaustion, clothes filthy with blood, guts, and dirt; the distraught man lashes out killing ever zombie he confronts for the revenge of his dead wife. Stated in the paragraph above there are many interpretations of the social theme important to the sociological understanding. In The Walking Dead scene described above one can understand the effects of losing someone dear. The feeling of lose, anger, and regret come in to play. Death is and will always be a part of life and people die every day. Tragedies come in different shapes and forms, and as a society we have to pull together to make each other strong in difficult times. We have to give each other hope that there is something better or greater to gain.

Described in The Walking Dead they are faced with the plague of zombies, the undead walking. Through the entire series it shows how teamwork, togetherness, love, and perseverance can bring others together. That same social theme can be related in society today. It is that social understanding that mankind definitely can relate to or understand. Society as a structure undergoes many examples in which it understands this nature or identification. We witness it every day when we give a hug, kiss, smile, and even an undesirable event happens. One example related to this as a social society occurs when an individual joins the military. When joining the military we face many obstacles. The first obstacle is to pass basic training. In basic training individuals learn to pull together to overcome anything that stands in their way. They learn the definition of teamwork and what it means to have someone to depend on as well as how to be a friend. This is a distinct example of what it takes to adapt in our everyday changing society.

Conclusion

In conclusion, social themes are what makes us a society and makes us human. Without social themes such as relationships, children, family, heroism, religion, leadership, humanity, hope, and discrimination we cannot say that we are a society. In any society we must have these elements. These elements make a society. As stated in this paper, we as a society interact with one another. Most of all we learn from each other. It is in that learning that we find understanding of society and how individuals operate. Without social themes or social understanding we would not be able to understand ourselves, not to mention society. “Therefore,” social themes are the things that drive us as individuals to live and interact with each other.

References
Griffiths, J. (2011, October). The Walking Dead. US Weekly, 870().

Tucker, K. (2010, November). The Walking Dead. Entertainment Weekly, 1127().