The Walking Dead and Philosophy: Zombie Apocalypse Now (Popular Culture and Philosophy) by Yuen Wayne

Author:Yuen, Wayne [Yuen, Wayne]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9780812697926
Publisher: Perseus Books Group
Published: 2012-06-18T20:00:00+00:00

Anarchy in Georgia

There are plenty of criminals, but little organization, in West Central Prison. After Chris and Julie engage in a botched murder-suicide pact, Tyreese murders his daughters’ killer and later freely admits to Rick, “I enjoyed it. . . . I turned into an animal on him—I mutilated him over and over—I ripped him apart and watched him come back for more” (Issue #23). Rick lets it go; there are no repercussions, setting a precedent for vigilantism as the means for resolving inter-personal conflicts. This is a significant marker in the failure of state formation. By refusing to enforce any penalty or sanction, Rick loses this opportunity to impose a formal, uniform code of justice. This surrender of the monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force is an invitation to anarchy. Rick is a now a lawman in an environment where there is no law, and without law, there can be no order.

A second critical flaw coded within the social order of West Central Prison is the total failure to establish a formal hierarchy of command and control beyond the assumed leadership of Rick Grimes. Rick never has, and never aspires to, anything more than a first-among-equals, one-of-the-boys style of authority. This has catastrophic implications whenever Rick is not personally in a position to assume responsibility for the resolution of a specific crisis impacting the group. For example, without declaring his intentions or destination, Rick spontaneously leaves the prison in order to exorcise his demons by eliminating the reanimated corpse of his partner-cum-nemesis Shane. In his absence, the community immediately degenerates into complete anarchy. Tyreese launches a suicidal attack on an entire gymnasium full of the undead; two little girls, Rachel and Susie, are murdered by one of the remaining prison inmates, Thomas; and another inmate, Dexter, is accused of the crime and locked up.

The disintegrating bonds of trust within the community are highlighted in Dexter’s bitter remarks to fellow inmate Andrew: “These fucks ain’t our friends. They ain’t fucking normal. They crazies. . . . What they been through, out in the world—it’s tore ‘em up. They broken. Now they killing each other an’ blamin’ us” (Issue #16). With no institutional means of seeking redress, for Dexter there is “Only one way out of this.” That way is by force.

Thomas is apprehended after he attempts to murder Andrea. Having returned from his personal mission in the midst of this crisis, Rick savagely beats Thomas and condemns him to be executed on the basis of the doctrine “you kill, you die” (Issue #17). The terms he uses to justify this unilateral assumption of both law enforcement and judicial power speak to the basis of his leadership: “I’m a cop – I’ve been trained to make decisions like this. I’m the only one here in a position of authority. I’m making the choice that’s best for all of us. That’s what you all look up to me for. That’s why everyone comes to me for advice and guidance. I’m in charge.

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