One show I watch that contains a lot of violence in a chaotic, unregulated society is The Walking Dead. In a world without government and cops to enforce laws against violence, the show holds an “every man for himself” and “eye for an eye” way of living.
In the clip above, the scene depicts the type of Jacobean style violence similar to that in literature such as The Duchess of Malfi. In this scene, the main groups’ enemies find them at an abandoned church, ready to get revenge for causing chaos and escaping their established (and very flawed and immoral) community. At first (before this scene), the two groups acted like they could be civil friends, even though there was still skepticism about intentions. The main character group of the show was taken away their right to bear arms, and after more chaos and killing, the main group escaped their cannibalistic society only to be hunted by them again in the clip shown above.
At the 2:55 mark, the brutal violence, beating, shooting and killing commences, in a sort of vengeful “we win” attitude. However, in this particular scene, there is no two-way fighting. The main group has full control over their enemies, holding them hostage and able to do whatever they please. This relates to the some types of Jacobean style of revenge and power, with the strongest taking full control. In the Duchess of Malfi Act 5 Scene5, for instance, Bosola murders the Cardinal easily, violently stabbing him. All the Cardinal does is scream for help instead of fighting back. It is Bosola’s way of seeking revenge for all the wrongdoings.
Similar to Jacobean drama, The Walking Dead kills off main characters, acting as a “nobody is safe” television drama. While watching this scene when it aired, I was truly unsure which side would lose and who would end up dying. Main character deaths in this show cannot come as a surprise to anyone. By whenever time the series ends, it makes me wonder if any main character will still be living, just like Jacobean drama or more specifically The Duchess of Malfi. Jacobean drama contains so much tragedy, just like The Walking Dead.
