Rhetorical analyses can illuminate cultural trends. In “Humankind’s Ouroboros,” J. Reagan Tankersley explores the phenomenon of zombies from a historical and cultural perspective. He argues that these disembodied creatures increasingly popular in movies and, more recently, television series, have come to represent what the public in general fears most in any given era. Hence, zombies embody our anxieties. The paper includes shots from Dracula, Night of the Living Dead, 28 Days Later, and The Walking Dead.

Reading the Genre