The living dead will be taking over the University Center for the night on Tuesday, Oct. 23.
Acclaimed writer Max Brooks will be presenting a lecture entitled, “10 Lessons for Surviving a Zombie Attack.” Students might even pick up some real-life survival strategies along the way.
If Brooks’ name sounds familiar, there’s a good reason for that; he’s the son of Mel Brooks, writer and director of “Blazing Saddles,” “Young Frankenstein” and “Spaceballs.”
His mother, Anne Bancroft, is an actress best known for her roles as Annie Sullivan in “The Miracle Worker” and Mrs. Robinson in “The Graduate.”
Throughout Brooks own career, he’s worked as both an actor and a screenwriter, including writing for “Saturday Night Live,” for which he won an Emmy.
But, if you had to summarize his career in one word, that word would almost certainly be “zombies.” Two of Brooks’ most popular books, “The Zombie Survival Guide” and “World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War,” provide an interesting perspective on the archetypal monsters. A third book, “The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks,” was released in 2009.
Horror fans have been hugely enthusiastic about his books, sophomore Abby Johnsen said.
“I’m a huge zombie nut, and that sparked my interest when I first saw ‘The Zombie Survival Guide,’” Johnsen said. “So I read it, and I loved it.”
“10 Lessons for Surviving a Zombie Attack” serves as a live extension of “The Zombie Survival Guide” and “World War Z.” For more than an hour and a half, Brooks will speak about the topic of zombies, focusing on how one could deal with a real-world zombie apocalypse. This is Brooks’ second visit to NMU.
“His first visit was so popular that we decided to wait a few years and invite him back,” said Rachel Harris, associate director of the Center for Student Enrichment.
Senior marketing major Roy Owensby, who attended Brooks’ first NMU visit, said the lecture wasn’t strictly for entertainment.
“Brooks made sure to point out that whether you think this is a joke or not, it’s not. It’s serious,” Owensby said.
Another one of the interesting things about learning hypothetical survival strategies for a zombie apocalypse is that several of them can also help out in actual catastrophes, Harris said. As a result, the lecture offers you a chance to learn about more than just a pop culture phenomenon.
However, when it comes to an event like this, pop culture is inevitably going to be a factor. In the event of a zombie apocalypse, there were a variety of scenarios offered.
“I’d definitely shave off my hair,” Johnsen said. “I’d probably band together with a group of people, get as many supplies as I could, and keep moving.”
Owensby was similarly ready.
“I’d probably go to someplace remote yet fortified with someone experienced with survival,” he said.
In contrast, Harris hadn’t given the matter much thought.
“Everyone who’s into zombies already has a plan, but I still need to think about mine,” Harris said. “Be faster than the next guy, I guess.”
“10 Lessons for Surviving a Zombie Attack” begins at 7:30 p.m. and admission is free with an NMU ID, or $2 for members of the general public. For more information on the event, call Harris at (906) 227-6543.
