ABSTRACT

American Movie Classics’ (AMC) popular television series The Walking Dead (2010–present) transports viewers into an apocalyptic zombie dystopia where the lines between safety and precarity, being governed and governing, or being alive and/or dead slip and change. Utilizing Achille Mbembe’s term “necropolitics”, the article explores The Walking Dead’s representation of governance and power in terms of individual and group security. While the zombie has been understood as the liminal figure par excellence, The Walking Dead’s non-zombie characters illustrate diasporic liminality as refugees, hovering on or near the threshold of death. The scale of suffering or prosperity is determined by who leads or governs. Frequently, those deemed “in charge” exercise power and control to discipline, to punish, and to provide security. The series offers a metaphor for the potential uses of power in biological, environmental, or natural disaster situations where survivors grapple with scarce resources and the constant presence of death.

摘要

美国电影经典（AMC）受欢迎的电视连续剧《行尸走肉》（2010年至今）将观众带入一个世界末日的僵尸反乌托邦，在此期间，安全性与危险性之间的界限受到支配和支配，或者是生命和/或死亡和/或死滑和变化。本文使用Achille Mbembe的“坏政治”一词，探讨了《行尸走肉》在个人和团体安全方面对治理和权力的表示。僵尸被认为是出色的人物，《行尸走肉》的非僵尸人物说明了流亡在难民边缘或附近的难民的流放性。苦难或繁荣的规模取决于谁领导或统治。通常，被视为“负责人”的人行使权力和控制权，以纪律处分，惩罚和提供安全保障。该系列比喻了在生物，环境或自然灾害中幸存者争夺稀缺资源和持续死亡的潜在动力。