pureureun

the criticism in alien stage extends itself into analysis of people's intimate relationships under hostile environments - each person is alienated from each other because they are taught to treat each other as images rather than people. children are taught specially in anakt garden to be idols: their self is immutable for marketability, their sponsor is god, and others are competition. their relation with their selves and others are warped by this structure, naturally warping their idea of love by extension. this is the most identifiable theme of alien stage since it is spoken aloud to us via mizi's monologue. but it is of importance that this theme is built on a foundation of criticism of industry, the nuclear family, and religion.

zombie stage's criticism leans more physical and literal, as is the nature of the more realistic setting and therefore more direct commentary of the current pop idol industry. topics such as sexual exploitation are explored in more detail instead of being mostly implied in alnst. similarly, the dehumanisation in alnst is presupposed within its setting - humans are aliens, animals, pets - but in zomst, the process of being dehumanised is shown to us. zombification as a metaphor focuses on the body and manifests the trauma of being turned into a product physically. for this purpose, zomst diverts from classic zombie tropes of rot to gemstone, so the zombies may be commercialised based on appearance to be used as criticism of the idol industry. the main idea behind zombies is mostly preserved in translation, ie the consequences of eternity on human nature, but the idea of living beyond death takes on different meanings within the context of the idol industry and capital. the apocalypse in zomst is not the destruction of society, but a reaffirmation of it.

these metaphors do not work without considering the constructed context around them. we must understand alien/zombie as idol, and the stage as the world in which they inhabit. title drop spinning gif go

the "zombie" in zombie stage is easy to comprehend when you cast off preconceptions about what zombies are typically like in other media. it is said explicitly in the trailer: they are essentially a new group of people for the upper class to exploit, placed even lower than the lowest existing class in society. undead and inhuman, they are the ideal worker.

there is also specific emphasis put on the upper class being physically "upstairs", and the underworld that is literally "underground" with the lower class, as seen by one of the shots in zomst r1. we also see the zombie being sold from the top down, juxtaposed with a rat mizi kills - just like in alien stage, the aliens (humans), and now zombies, form the lowest rung, and are treated as animals.

another aspect is how infection works and does. infection consists of the body turning into gemstone. these parts are subsequently cut off, framed or sold as regular practice within the idol industry. the idols are literally objectified - they turn into the physical product that is sold, which in turn chips away at their humanity.

infection seems to spread via a single bite, as literally written in the screenshot above. additionally, the infection pattern shares a similar shape to the 'roots/veins' mizi conceptualises relationships as in karma. it is then no surprise that zombification is shown as a result of sexual violence, that which strips away autonomy and leaves you unmoored from yourself. infection is inherently the crossing of boundaries, the undermining of interiority, and the corruption of intimacy. the trauma inflicted and then exploited by the industry is the centrepiece of zombie stage. in this universe, there are no zombies without the discussion of sexual abuse, and of class.