America. The land of the free. The foundations of this country were built on individuality, autonomy and the ability to "pull yourself back together" and start again. Today, however, this individualistic spirit has manifested itself as selfishness and self-centeredness in many North Americans. Max Brooks' World War Z is about fighting the loss of individuality; when the American characters fight zombies, they also indirectly fight the mindless consumers that they themselves have become. To combat both real zombies and the “zombie within,” American citizens must abandon their materialistic lifestyle, adjust to the global upheaval of the social order, adapt to their new world, and accept that their lives will never be the same . the same again. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Many North Americans today can be called mindless consumers. Every obscure definition of self falls into a category that can be easily marketed. Whether you're a punk, a nerd or a princess, that label can be bought and sold. Our identity is defined by purchases: whether one has a Macintosh computer or a PC, a Blackberry or an iPhone. In this culture, opportunities for distinction are rare. It is not difficult to notice the similarity of this definition to a zombie. The lives of many Americans can be compared to that of Mary Jo Miller's prewar experience (63-66). Married with two children and living in the suburbs, her main concerns included car payments, celebrity gossip, her retirement portfolio, and the general stress of family life (64). This type of materialistic existence is an example of how America's championed individuality can turn into self-centeredness. That is, until America collapses with the zombie war. Civilians quickly learn that they must work together to survive. This means that across America people must abandon their “convenient, disposable consumer lifestyle” (140) and learn new trades, grow their own food, and forage for their own supplies. “No one needs to review a contract or broker a deal anymore. What it needs is for the toilets to be repaired…For some, this was more frightening than the living dead” (140). Once they accepted this new way of life, many civilians found that they were more satisfied than they had been previously, and perhaps with how superficial their lifestyle had been before (141). “You see those shoes, I made them,” “That sweater, that's my sheep's wool,” “Like corn?” My own garden." This was the result of a more localized system. It gave people the opportunity to see the fruits of their labor, it gave them a sense of individual pride in knowing that they were making a clear and concrete contribution to the victory (141). Brooks makes a statement about Western culture: perhaps we all need to reduce the amount of consumption and give something back to our countries. As zombies begin to control most of the globe, a reversal of the order occurs social around the world. Refugees from America try to reach Cuba on whatever improvised raft they can find (229). While living in Cuba, the refugees “did the jobs that the Cubans no longer wanted: day laborers, dishwashers and scavengers” (231). Eventually Cuba becomes a “thriving capitalist economy” (232). Tibet is not only liberated, but is the most populous city in the world and celebrates free elections (12). As the situation in many other countries is reversed, Brooks impliesthat perhaps zombies produce a kind of geopolitical justice. One UN delegate went so far as to suggest that “by keeping white hegemony distracted from its own problems, the invasion of the undead could allow the rest of the world to develop 'without imperialist intervention'” (266). A similar class inversion occurs in America, on a smaller scale, regarding the job market. In the old world, the highest-paying jobs included casting directors, stock traders, and advertising agencies (140-1). During the war, however, the most needed services were manual labor, including plumbing, farming, clothing manufacturing, and construction tools (141). This situation induces a reversal of the social order. Former corporate billionaires are now being tutored by their former maids, mechanics, and plumbers, which many have found difficult to adjust to (140-1). A similar reversal occurs in the reality TV complex described by bodyguard T. Sean Collins. Celebrities who broadcast their experiences in their war shelters are no longer revered and respected but trampled upon and beaten by others, desperate for the protection of their bunkers (86-8). Zombies could bring more than devastation. They could also lead to a leveling, or even a reversal, of our accepted class structure. The main reason humans win World War II is their ability to adapt to a new life, however reluctant they may be to embrace it. As previously mentioned, supplies and food must be produced within a country's borders, forcing many North Americans to reshape their consumerist lives; however, the need for adaptation goes beyond that. For example, the suburbs occupied by Mary Jo Miller and others like her are very different after the war than before it began. Brooks describes a fortress; the neighborhood is surrounded by a “reinforced concrete wall” and each house is built on stilts with a “retractable ladder” and “solar cell roofs” (64). This is the new suburbia, where the main focus is safety, not luxury or comfort. Similar changes are evident in the military sector. Watch The Battle of Yonkers, one of the first battles of the war (92). The infantrymen wear heavy, heavy radioactive protective suits that only hindered their fighting. The military relies heavily on technology, such as bombs, machine guns, air missiles, tanks, and radar, all of which are useless against the living dead (94-5). It largely appears to be a show for the press. “…There must have been at least one reporter for every two or three uniforms….I don’t know how many new helicopters had to be circling…you would think that with that many they would have saved a few to try to save people from Manhattan” (95). The leaders who thought they would win this battle were incompetent to say the least. Yonkers is a catastrophic failure of everything the U.S. military knows to be effective in war for a reason: They face a new enemy, one that isn't slowed by wounds or scared of death. The army must reconsider all its strategies before attempting another attack. Their adaptation to the new type of battlefield is evident in the Battle of Hope. Elaborate technology is dispensed with. Replacing them are the "lobotomizers," a "double-bladed battle axe" (146), and the standard infantry rifles, a simple wood-furnished gun that never jams (274). Lightweight, comfortable, bite-proof coveralls replace Yonkers' heavy rubber uniforms (274). The soldiers form a square formation, firing on "Zack" from all sides. One of the biggest differences is in how the military chooses its soldiers. There.