That Gnawing Thought: Zombies in Popular Culture

Looking at bestselling books and popular movies, a person might conclude that vampires are in style. But amongst the ranks of the undead, vampires are miles behind another group of ghouls when it comes to overall cultural significance. From video games like Left 4 Dead to the television series The Walking Dead, zombies are on the rise out of the grave and into public consciousness. Interest in these shambling horrors has spiked in recent years and only continues to grow. As I write this, I can glance and spy a book I plan on reading over winter break on my shelf: Theories of International Politics and Zombies, written by Professor Daniel W. Drezner. Disbelief at my own dorkiness aside, the truth of the matter should shock you. Zombies have even penetrated academia.

"Braiinnnnsssss...."

Why such a fascination with zombies? What sets them apart from the witches, vampires, ghosts, and demons? I have a few suggestions. Scientists argue that there is at least the possibility of zombies existing. Similar occurrences are no stranger to biologists; take the fungus Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, for example. That is the main difference between zombies and the rest: they are plausible. There is nothing magical about them. They could exist. Remember the story on the news this of the cannibal who devoured the face of a homeless man? More than a few people grew nervous about the possibility that this was some type of zombie. Even when the police announced it was bath salts that caused the man to act in such a way, it does not erase that fact that our minds jumped to the possibility of a zombies.

Zombies are also unlike other creatures in the effects that produce on a society. Recent depictions of vampires, for example, show them coexisting in the world with regular people. They merge with our own institutions or create new ones, sometimes threatening that of humans, but the world continues onward. Zombies change everything. There is little chance of coexistence; humanity either survives or dies. Typical social structures disappear completely in an outbreak. It is a crisis that alters the world in a horrifying and irreversible way.

I believe this is the crux of the matter. Zombies are considered fictional, but the disaster they could create is very real. In entertaining the idea of a zombie apocalypse, it raises questions about how prepared the world is for other catastrophes. A pandemic infection, for example, is a very realistic threat to our entire species, especially in this age of globalization. Zombies allow us to tackle difficult questions about public policy that need solutions now, before the crisis emerges. Thinking about dangers to the entire human race makes even the best uncomfortable and leaves rest either in a panic or unable to comprehend its magnitude. Zombies help bridge that gap; by using zombies as a substitute, we can start discussion topics that would normally remain best left unsaid.

Stepping back from the grand scale and peering into the more personal interest in zombies, they also present individuals with the chance to think about circumstances they never had a chance to before. Could I survive if society collapsed? Could I find food and water? Could I use a weapon? Would I kill someone, even to save myself? What would happen to my family and friends? What skills or knowledge do I have that give me an advantage? Larger moral dilemmas emerge: would you kill an infected loved one to spare them turning into a zombie? Would you kill yourself? Does individual need or the common good matter more? What about liberty and security?  If you even manage to survive, do you bring children into such a world? If you could, do you rebuild society? How do you shape it? During a zombie apocalypse, you and the world are one giant tabula rasa. Zombies allow people to ask challenging questions about themselves in a fictional setting. Placed outside of reality, a person can explore questions that they would otherwise never have a reason to entertain.

Zombies will outlast vampires in terms of culture significance. Vampires are like shiny baubles (after all, they do sparkle now) that are more show than substance. Zombies let us discuss both larger problems and personal dilemmas by creating circumstances that are fictional but nonetheless applicable to other disasters. It is a thought exercise in which all can participate, a philosophical experiment that all can understand and contemplate. Vampires, demons, and ghosts are simply too supernatural. When the credits roll, they and the horror they bring slowly dissipate away. Zombies, and the big questions they force us to consider, linger much longer.

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Joey Gale '13

Behind the Scenes At Dancing with the Stonehill Stars

The RS sits down with Meghan Tinkham, a dance partner on Dancing with the Stonehill stars, to talk about her experience in dance and with the event.
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I have been dancing for about 17 years now, and two of those years are here at Stonehill. I started dancing at the New Hampshire Academy of Performing Arts back at home and graduated from their company in 2011. I have tried several different styles, but I have always found my favorite to be tap and jazz. One of the only styles that I have not tried is ballroom, and that is something that I would love to learn in the future. I got involved in Dancing with the Stonehill Stars through the Stonehill College Dance Team. This is the second year that this event has taken place as a fundraiser for our competition to Daytona. As a first year member of the dance team I was unsure of what to expect going into this, but absolutely loved work with a staff and fellow dance member to create a crowd pleasing dance. I have the pleasure of working with Kristen Pierce, the director of Res Life, and she was incredible. It was very easy to teach her, and she stepped right up to help Rose McClimans and I think of ideas. She was dedicated to this competition and went beyond our expectations. I definitely plan on continuing dance in the future. As a dance minor I hope to be able to teach and work with other dancers after graduating.
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Meghan Tinkham '15
Interviewed by Nicole Colantonio '14

Spotify Has Forced me to Admit it

Spotify has Forced Me to Admit It: I Have a slight Appreciation for Modern Technology

I have often made it clear in prior pieces published, and even in general conversation amongst those who can bear to hear me speak for an extended period of time: I have an absolute and utter disdain for modern technology. By my view, modern technology has slowly robbed all of us of our ability to appreciate the wonderful sound of silence, or even to focus for an extended period of time. Rather than e-mails I wish to write letters, rather than text messages and phone calls, I prefer face to face conversation and interaction with the rest of the human race. I seem to hold the opposite opinion of many, in that I do not want to be in constant contact with the world around me. I would like to be able to lie down on the beach or in a grassy knoll and stare at the sky, without having to hear the incessant buzzing, beeping, and ringing of a cellular device. I would have lived better in an age where the most advanced technology available was the telegraph. Nonetheless, every once in a while something will come along that will force you to question, and perhaps even violate your most basic principles: for me that was Spotify.

I can still remember the day I first met Spotify: it was a cold, rainy day in January. The Sem was ever so quiet on a Thursday afternoon, and my friend Kraig and I were relaxing  in his room listening to music and doing homework. After a solid round of Frank Sinatra’s Live at the Sands, an advertisement began playing with a catchy acoustic melody and a cheery sounding fellah speaking about something called “Spotify”. Now you can imagine my confusion, I had experienced Itunes before, which obviously entailed no advertisements. I had even tried Pandora Radio for a short spell, but after hearing Israel Kamakawiwo'ole’s Somewhere Over the Rainbow nearly 20 times on Jack Johnson radio in one sitting, I quit on that too.  I had come to despise these services due to their costliness or inefficiency, but Spotify seemed different. At first glance, it appeared simple, straight forward, and perhaps most importantly, free! Once Kraig gave me a little background on the service, I sprinted out of his room to my own (Upper A35 to be precise), and downloaded the program onto my own laptop. And so began my love affair with Spotify.

For me, Spotify has come to represent all that is good in modern technology. It still seems baffling to me that a music program could be available to the public that allowed them unlimited access to an astoundingly large catalog of artists and material, ranging from Ella Fitzgerald to Wale, and it isn’t illegal. I consider the interface of the system even more user friendly than Itunes, and it even has a radio feature that kicks Pandora’s tail. An on top of all that, must I mention it again? IT IS FREE!!! Spotify has helped me to discover artists I had never heard of before and delve deeper into the catalogs of artists I have loved since I was a child. I have come to appreciate the program so much, that I pay the 10 dollars a month so I can access Spotify premium. This subscription allows me to listen without advertisements, access the program on my phone, and even download entire playlists to my mobile devices so that I can listen to my music anytime, anywhere, Wi-Fi or no Wi-Fi. Spotify blended the positive aspects of services like Grooveshark, Pandora, and Itunes to create the greatest music providing program known to man.

So congratulations Spotify, you have forced me to sacrifice my core principles and beliefs for the musical convenience you provide. But, I can’t even lie, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

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Brendan Monahan '15

Living the HighLife

The Rolling Stonehill recently got the chance to sit down with Nick Capezzuto of 2015, member of the multi-inspirational group HighLife in Suburbia.  This group is influenced by a wide variety of different styles, ranging from the Red Hot Chili Peppers to ska mixed with "intricate chords" and deep drum emphasis.  We knew we needed to track down Nick and find out more about their up and coming EP.

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RS: Highlife in Suburbia goes back about four years where I (Nick) had been playing in a band with Vernon West for a little over a year. We started out as a group called Summer Track, but after our first drummer left we were faced with the decision to find another. I went to high school with Liam Cregan, where we both ran track together, and one day I asked if he’d be interested in jamming on the drums with us. A few days later he tried out, and after a fateful night of fun hijinks we christened our new band.

NC: “High Life” was conceived by our old lead guitar player, and the “In Suburbia” added by both Liam and Vernon. Initially the name was to be written as “High Life In Suburbia,” but I thought Highlife should be one word. The band agreed, and thus Highlife in Suburbia was born.

RC: The three of us have varying influences on our music. Liam, the drummer, is heavily influenced by a unique combination of punk music, jazz music, and his time in the high school marching band. Vernon, on the other hand, draws his style of playing from the Beatles (namely George Harrison), Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, and most notably John Mayer. His roots lie in the blues and his music is filled the same emotion. I find that I tend to be guided by the musical talents of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sublime, and Enter Shikari, in which I don’t identify as a “bass player” but as a “bass guitarist.”

NC: It’s always been a challenge to achieve this with only one guitar player, but we’ve surmounted that problem by developing a unique chemistry between the three of us. What makes the three of us so unique is that we are able to create a massive sound. When we play our songs we structure them in ways with intricate chords, over driving drums, supplemented by a melodic bass riff that brings the rhythm and melody together. The three instruments are then held together by Vernon’s insightful and profound lyrics, which ultimately result in the unique sound we generate.

RS: Unfortunately we haven’t played many lives shows in the past year or so. Back in 2009, however, we played shows around our local scene. Most of these were in VFW halls or places of similar nature, many of the bands we played with tended to be much heavier and aggressive. Still, we played on, and culminated in a series of basement shows with a few other bands our friends were in. There was always so much energy going on. It was incredible.

A photo from Capezzuto's Instagram account,
 which is captioned, "Living the dream"

NC: Our last live show was this summer with a few local punk and ska bands, but that was back in June. However, we do plan on performing more once we can record some of our material and begin letting people listen to it. We’ve spent countless hours perfecting our music and know we feel it’s time to start getting our name out there again.

RS: As of right now Vernon and I are in the process of attempting to put together a rough EP of a few of our favorite songs. We’re currently in the process of setting up a Soundcloud where people will be able to listen to them. They’re not of the superior quality that we hope to have recorded during Thanksgiving Break, but we feel as if they’ll give a much more accurate representation of the things to come. Once we get back together as a band we hope to put together an actual EP and release on our own. Ideally we want to put down anywhere from 6-8 tracks, all of which we’ve worked so arduously to perfect.

NC: Sadly we’re still in the process of setting everything up online, but in the meantime each of us have various other social networking accounts.

Instagram: @vernonwest @captainzzuto
Twitter: @captainzzuto

Check us out, follow us, and don’t forget to #highlife or #highlifeinsuburbia

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Rex Macipinlac '13
Image credit to Nick Capezzuto

The Tallest Man in Scotland

Anyone who knows Nick Howard is already familiar with his passion for music, poetry and the arts.  Although campus is not quite as merry without him this semester, we were eager to hear all about his cultural adventures while abroad in Scotland, and even heard he got to meet one of his musical heroes in the process- nearly by accident!

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RS: What influenced you to go to Scotland?

NH: I was influenced to go to Scotland because of the academic reputation of St. Andrews. I did not really process it as being part of Scotland or the UK. I figured that I knew enough about "British" (what I really meant was English) culture that it would not be an issue. It was one of those I will figure it out when I get there things.  

RS:  So we heard you're doing a radio show over there. Tell us a little bit about what you play and discuss on the air.

NH: Yes, I have brought my radio program "The Beach" across the pond with me. It is basically the same show I have at Stonehill, a mix of modern alternative and folk, classic rock, classic indie (The Smiths), a little punk, and everything in between. Basically the mantra for the show is, to quote Mick Jagger, "It's only Rock n Roll, but I like it"

RS:  What's been the biggest culture shock from being in a new country?

NH: In my opinion, culture shock can kind of be like an earthquake, sometimes there are large tremors and sometimes there are just small aftershocks. At the beginning there was a huge quake of "Oh my God, what is this country? Everything is different?" Now I simply enjoy taking notice in the different phrases, expressions, foods, customs, spelling, and culture overall. To summarize, I have continued to learn about the culture, the only difference is now it does not overwhelm me, I embrace it. 

We see you recently got to meet the Tallest Man on Earth. Can you tell us a little about that?

NH: Yes, I did meet The Tallest Man On Earth. Probably one of the greatest moments of my life. To make a long story short, my friend and I ended up in the same cafe as him, so when he stood up from where he was sitting, we went over, introduced ourselves, chatted a wee bit, and got a photo. He was just such a relaxed, yet still so focused guy. He had it in his eye and it all came out in the show.

The "Tallest Man on Earth", Kristian Matsson

RS:  Have you discovered any new music or art in Europe that you wouldn't have picked up in America?

NH: I wish I could say, but unfortunately no. You could maybe count my re-interest in The Who, but that is just because I love 60's rock, before it became big and bloated in the 70's. What has really happened is I go through periods where I listen to marathons of American music. I will devour the catalogs of Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, Neil Young (technically he is Canadian), Bon Iver, Iron & Wine, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, and Passion Pit. You get the picture. I like to hear my country in my music choice, both classic rock and modern alternative. My goal is to get into one Scottish band that captures what I feel that the sound of St. Andrews is.
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Nicole Colantonio '14
Image credit: Nick Howard and yetimusic.net