From Freud to Film: The Uncanny Psychology of Zombies in Popular Culture

This paper employs a multidisciplinary framework, integrating psychodynamic theory, film studies, and cultural analysis to explore the unsettling nature of zombies and the transitional space between life and death they occupy. It connects this unease to the uncanny valley theory, where entities that resemble humans but lack intrinsic features can provoke feelings of unease. Furthermore, the paper examines cognitive dissonance, particularly in the context of the familiar and unfamiliar, the living and the dead, and the human and the monster within the zombie narrative. It also explores how many characters within zombie stories grapple with cognitive dissonance through identification and disidentification with the zombie; to cling to the human version of the zombified creature, or to dissociate the then-human from the now-monster. Ultimately, this paper unveils the intricate psychology behind the fear of zombies, highlighting the creatures as reflections of our anxieties about «the other» and as unsettling mirrors of ourselves.