Cowboys and zombies: Destabilizing patriarchal discourse in The Walking Dead

Abstract

The serialized comic book The Walking Dead, written by Robert Kirkman and drawn by Charlie Adlard, has been published by Image Comics from October 2003, and is still being released in monthly instalments as of this writing. It has won numerous awards, including the prestigious Eisner Award for Best Continuing Series in 2010, and has recently been adapted as a successful TV series by AMC. A videogame is forthcoming in late 2011, the television series has been extended for a second, longer season, and there is even an official Walking Dead board game in the works. While indicative of the more general popularity of zombie fiction in contemporary mainstream culture, the Walking Dead phenomenon points towards interesting questions that are raised by its intersection of genres, as well as by its unique combination of an apocalyptic narrative and seemingly endlessly ongoing serialization. In this article, the intersection of seemingly incompatible genres will be my main focus, using Lacanian theory to engage with the ways in which The Walking Dead conflates the western with the zombie genre. This combination of genres is all the more thoughtprovoking as the western genre traditionally stages the Grand Narrative of patriarchal power from within the historical context of colonialist imperialism, whereas the zombie genre is associated with the destabilization of such forms of power. I will also engage with the serialized form in which this narrative is presented, arguing that the series' systematic lack of formal closure is fundamental to its larger decentering effect.

A postapocalyptic return to the frontier: The Walking Dead as post-Western

“…Leone’s and Eastwood’s post-Westerns attempted to reinvigorate the Western genre by, among many changes, blurring the boundaries between good and evil and including more explicit on-screen violence. Most pertinent to The Walking Dead , Cawelti (1999: 103) defines a group of post-Westerns that feature “new visions of the west,” such as the forced return to the frontier in science-fiction narratives that employ “Western symbolism and themes but in connection with contemporary urban or futuristic settings,” such as the dystopian science-fiction narratives in Mad Max (1979) and The Terminator (1984).…”

“…Other scholars have also noted The Walking Dead ’s connections to Western iconography and themes. In his essay on The Walking Dead comic book, Dan Hassler-Forest suggests that the comic “uses its zombie motif to re-articulate the fundamental narrative paradigm of the Western: that of the lone hero struggling to establish a safe and tranquil community in a pastoral frontier surrounded by perpetual savagery and danger” (Hassler-Forest, 2011: 342). The relationship between Westerns and science fiction existed long before The Walking Dead .…”

The Model Minority in the Zombie Apocalypse: Asian‐American Manhood on AMC's The Walking Dead

“…Despite Rick's colorblind talk, the power dynamics that arise in the survivor camp create a logic that supports a particular white, cowboy masculinity. Rick's ranger persona, with his refusal to wear anything but his cowboy‐like deputy hat and his entry into Atlanta on a horse with a rifle slung over his back, places him at the top of the survivor hierarchy (Hassler‐Forest 342; Rees 83). As the decision maker of the group—he determines destinations, decides if interlopers live or die, and determines who serves on particular missions—Rick becomes the camp's natural leader and protector.…”