On November 23, Maria Sulimma will give the talk “’I don’t WANT to kill any of you’ - Gendered Discourses of Authority and Authorization” at Ohio State University. The Talk is hosted by Project Narrative.

The talk will investigate issues of authorship, paratextuality, and authorization practices in regard to The Walking Dead, specifically the comic book series and television show. Due to the genre and the multi-protagonist nature of the franchise, character deaths are an intrinsic part of its self-understanding summarized in the repeated mantra ‘No one is safe.’

By investing author figures with the power to kill or save individual characters, paratexts like DVD bonus materials, the comic book’s letter column or the after show Talking Dead circulate and establish concepts of authorship and further interest in the show’s serial continuation, as well as organize its position within the franchise.

Further, The Walking Dead sarcastically draws on the theme of survivalism to situate itself within the larger cultural phenomenon of the zombie, as well as communicate its serial survival appeal as differentiating it from other zombie narratives.

For more information: https://projectnarrative.osu.edu/events/maria-sulimma