- Usually show what life was like before the apocalypse
- How did the outbreak originate
- Introduces the survivors
- Has the survivors dying off
- Zombies getting killed in action sequences
- Usually a bite victim and a chapter about what to do with them
- Deserted locations
- Trashed locations
- Zombies have to have head smashed in to permanently die
- Focus on survival rather than killing
- Groups of survivors fighting each other over supplies
- Humans losing their "humanity"
- Desperation due to hunger
- Different types of zombies: Walkers, Runners, Crawlers
- The idea of a "horde"
- Survivors seeing their friends and families die
RESISTS
Recurring situations - Bite victim in the group, Zombie first encounter, cinematic battle, meeting of survivors, difficult decisions, whittling down of group
Elements of narrative - Quest based narrative, Hero on a quest, Binary opposition of Living v Dead, Faust storylines: making the wrong moral choice because of emotional attachment, Orpheus narrative archetype: deals with loss
Stock characters - Protagonist being a capable survivor, screaming victims, arrogant gun hoe type, disposable sidekick, the character who can't let go
Iconography - Blood on clothing and gore, ripped clothing, blank stares, decaying flesh, weaponry, mist and darkness, pallor, weaponry, police warnings
Settings - The mall, abandoned buildings, community setting, Enclosed spaces and closed frames, Isolated settings close to nature
Themes - Existential themes, Survival of the fittest, Sacrifice, Mortality, Man over reaching: playing God
Style - Music Soundtrack, Low key lighting, Hard focus, Gritty, Desaturated colour palette, red accents connoting danger and bloodshed
"In the 21st century, it is essential for TV shows to offer their audiences multiple meanings” – evaluate this claim with reference to Les Revenants
