Social Constructs in The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead happens to have a lot of hidden messages in it. You would think that a show with zombies would pretty much be about death, gore, and violence. Well it is. But there is a lot more to it. For example there are many political issues addressed on the show. The different types of governing tactics used by the miniscule communities that formed through a mutual bond of depression and oppression are vast.

                The first form of government is a very small established community and is therefore formed as a Democracy. This all goes quite swimmingly for a while, actually. They all get a say in what to do, there aren’t many problems amongst the group, and the leader only calls what to vote on. There are too many holes in this government, as when one person never gets his way, he takes matters into his own hands. He tries to kill the person who everyone has been following and believing in. To me, this sounds like a stab at our two-house democracy, where if one political party doesn’t get their way, they decide to protest the government itself. Is democracy flawed by the selfish nature of many humans?

                In the totalitarian government, as seen in Woodbury, “the governor”, as he calls himself, controls everyone’s thoughts, feelings, and emotions in order to do what he wants. If anyone in the establishment steps out of his self-defined line, he has no problem torturing them. When he wishes to assault Rick and his establishment, he lies and manipulates his town in order to get them to attack with him. Obviously this type of establishment has many downfalls. For example, each person has their own train of thought and curiosity for the truth. When the people start asking questions, he just kills a bunch of them off and runs away. Furthermore, can I just quickly address the inhumane treatment of… well, humans? The fact that the people are tortured or killed for their individual thought, simply for the government’s own desires, is just sickening.

                The most recent form of government displayed in the walking dead seems to have more of a socialist theory behind it. Everyone has been taking refuge in the prison. It seems work, food, and properties are distributed evenly throughout the community. This way old people, like one of the main characters, Herschel, can receive food and sustenance too. Although none of this is explicitly stated, this seems to be the general idea of the new community. Meanwhile Rick definitely has some control over the group as a whole. He establishes himself as the leader of their group and kicks people out if they horribly step out of line. Now I’m not saying this is the perfect government, but it seems to have the least amount of problems thus far.