IN PHOTO: Cast members and producers of "The Walking Dead" take part in a panel discussion at AMC's TCA Winter Press Tour in Pasadena, California, January 14 2012.
IN PHOTO: Cast members and producers of "The Walking Dead" take part in a panel discussion at AMC's TCA Winter Press Tour in Pasadena, California, January 14 2012. REUTERS/Jonathan Alcorn

The concept of family is the main reason why The Walking Dead was able to establish a fan base of approximately 14 million per episode, researchers commented. A pair of researchers gave their analyses after watching the first three seasons of the AMC hit show and said that the concept and its characters mainly present the family as one’s greatest hope amidst all the challenges they constantly hurdle.

Other social factors such as government, science and religion cannot save us because it is our family that matters most in the end, said study authors Joshua Ambrosius, assistant political science professor, and Joseph Valenzano III, communication professor. In their article, "People in Hell Want Slurpees: The Redefinition of the Zombie Genre through the Salvific Portrayal of Family on AMC's The Walking Dead," published in Communication Monographs, they explained that after watching all 35 episodes of the show, four main social organisations were given emphasis, namely, government, science, religion and family.

The researchers said that the show represents the lack of trust that most Americans have for institutions in the fields of science, religion and politics nowadays. They said that although these organisations were given exposure in the show, these societal elements were disesteemed. Furthermore, the show abandoned the attitudes of rebellion towards commercialism and singularity, and the apocalyptic natured show instead now refers to the family as the primary essential unit of the community.

Additionally, Ambrosius and Valenzano comment that the show depicts the family in a different light - one that is outside the conventional social context of the traditional family. "Despite some Americans today trying to live as a 'family of one,' this option becomes increasingly difficult after the apocalypse,” the researchers said. “Characters who lose loved ones quickly learn they must find a new family or risk the fate of the walkers.”

The Walking Dead revolves around the story of survivors in the face of a zombie apocalypse in South America. The show is one of the most-watched television series today, and had recently finished its fifth season.

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