by Jay Wilburn
I am largely apolitical. I have opinions on politics, but not strong enough to put in the effort to argue over them. Almost dying made a lot of stuff way less important to me. It made it a lot harder for me to maintain a conflict. I just don’t have the energy for it. If I care about something enough, I’ll explore it in fiction because a book or a story has more staying power than a Facebook post. Even then, I often explore the side I don’t believe because I find it more interesting from a story standpoint. I’m just not the “politics guy” from the “Go Team” standpoint anymore. This sometimes tics people off more than if I outright disagreed with them or their candidate.
I often look at the political process from a detached, historic context. I’ve been told by others that this is only possible because of my position as a white, straight male. Ironically, many of the people who told me that would find it easier to reach their goals, if more straight, white males did look on the political process with more detachment.
How does this current political issue or episode compare to past events? How will it likely impact the future in reality once the heat of the moment is not shaping our perception? The way Bush or Obama were viewed in the moment compared to how they are viewed months or years later fascinates me. With every act of a politician, I imagine what would I think if the other party said or did the exact same thing. This isn’t as difficult for me because I have developed high levels of disdain for both major parties and most minor ones I have any opinion about. It makes me wonder how Trump will be viewed from a distance. I hear the screams through the computer. See? I didn’t vote for him, but you may almost be madder at me for looking on with curious detachment. I don’t vote at all. See? Again, some of you are madder at hearing that than if you heard I voted for the wrong one.
OKAY!!! We need to get past this. I have an important point to make about zombies. Stop interrupting with all your gasping and angry emojis.
Of all the disappointments we might debate about the Trump administration, one I don’t see discussed often is the lack of a Trump Bump in horror, zombie, apocalyptic, and dystopian fiction. As election results rolled in and the world melted down before the cameras and across social media, I thought, maybe this will be a good couple years for apocalyptic stories and horror. Maybe we’ll at least get a Trump Bump in horror, dystopia, and zombies.
It, the movie, did very well. Other horror movies are finding some traction. I’m not sure they wouldn’t have done well too under a different administration though, but who knows? The broader genre industry in general is not going gangbusters though. The Walking Dead and Z Nation still have loyal fans. Interest is drifting, if not being lost in fatal amounts. One might hope that some of this drift might lead a few more to horror and apocalyptic books.
The horror boom in the 1980’s is credited by some in part to the Reagan years. Maybe? Much of the groundwork for 80’s horror was laid in the great work of the 1970’s. Maybe that was Nixon and Watergate. I imagine there have to be too many other factors to make a direct connection to politics though, even if culture obviously influences content.
Brian Keene has expressed the opinion that based on what he is seeing in comics, overall movie attendance, more people taking media from streaming, and a slowdown on book sales from multiple sources, he believes we are on the verge of another Great Recession. He believes based on past experience that the slowdown in overall entertainment consumption precedes a slowdown everywhere else. Economic indicators are holding stronger than that at the moment, but he’s predicting this theory to pan out during 2018. I respect his perspective and experience, but of course, I hope he is wrong.
I’m still holding out for a Trump Horror Bump. I think if events stay on the throttle as they have been and we all survive which I tend to have faith people will, I think it is still possible. I’m not rooting for chaos, mind you. I have kids and healthcare issues enough for a mere mortal with only two kidneys. If there is going to be fear and chaos anyway, we might as well sell a few books.
I suppose to comes down to what it always does. If we want to sell books, we need to write great books. Then, we have to be creative and smart about promoting them. I was hoping Trump was going to take care of that for us. Oh, well, I guess we need to roll up our sleeves and make the apocalypse great again ourselves.
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