Prepare for Fear the Walking Dead by drawing your own Mexican skulls
By Susie Graham
Celebrate the return to Mexico for more of Fear the Walking Dead on AMC in August, try your hand at drawing some Mexican influenced art.
"“To the people of New York, Paris, or London, “death” is a word that is never pronounced because it burns the lips. The Mexican, however, frequents it, jokes about it, caresses it, sleeps with it, celebrates it; it is one of his favorite toys and most steadfast love.” ~Octavio Paz"
As the dead come back in Mexico for Fear the Walking Dead, the show is using this opportunity to investigate the cultural differences and views on death to explore and consider how culture might affect the response of different people to the zombie outbreak.
If the Mexican people look at death as a part of life and a stage toward the afterlife and heaven, might they see the zombie return as just another stage. Celia certainly did. Or might they see killing the zombies as necessary to help their loved ones on to the final stage? Those are interesting considerations.
Day of the Dead is a Mexican holiday that illustrates clearly the difference in cultural attitude toward death for Mexicans as opposed to many other cultures. The art and literature dealing with death is prevalent and joyful.
Related Story: Day of the Dead Art and Zombies
The joy is not to be confused with a lack of emotion or sadness about the death of loved ones. There is great sadness and reverence. However, there is a desire to strip away the fear by creating a joy in the picture of the afterlife. There is no suffering there. Everyone is equal in joy.
There is a mocking aspect of death in the art and the talk of death-the great leveler. Those rich skeletons may be wearing their fancy hats, but they are still dead.
At San Diego Comic-Con, Robert Kirkman and Dave Erickson confirmed that Day of the Dead imagery would likely be found in season 2 of Fear the Walking Dead. The poster for season 2 has a beautiful skull with zombie fingers all around it.
Next: Expect more Day of the Dead Imagery in Fear
A great idea for Fear the Walking Dead parties or just on your own, would be to give some Mexican skull drawing a try. The YouTube video here makes it easier than you’d think. There are also many printable skull images and coloring books available on Google, if you would like to go that route!
Enjoy!