Houston Rockets Tragic Playoff End

     The Houston Rockets have been renowned as one of the best teams in the West. At the end of the season, it was measured that the Rockets were number 4 in the West behind the Spurs, Thunder, and the Clippers, with a guaranteed spot in the playoff with home court advantage. Although, judging by all of this, it seems as though the Houston Rockets were sitting pretty and hoping to advance fairly deep into the playoffs behind James Harden, Dwight Howard, Chandler Parsons, and the other individuals who all helped greatly support the successful 2013-2014 season. However this was not exactly the case as time went on.

http://cdn.fansided.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/229/files/2014/04/lamarcus-aldridge-troy-daniels-nba-playoffs-houston-rockets-portland-trail-blazers1.jpg

     The Rockets went head to head with the Portland Trailblazers in the first round of the playoffs. Things were looking relatively bleak for the Rockets when they were down 2-0 when the rookie Troy Daniels, top 3-point shooter from the D-league, hit the game winning shot in game 3 to help tip the scales back into their favor, giving them a ray of hope. The series was now 2-1 and the Rockets fought hard and lost game 4 as well making the series 3-1. The Rockets took the next game with relative ease and made the series 3-2 in the Blazer's favor. Game 6 was the most intense, action packed game of them all because the Rockets were once again facing elimination. However, it was not enough because the Rockets fell to the Blazers by one point when Blazer's shooting guard Damian Lillard, shot and hit the game winning 3-pointer, with 0.9 seconds left on the clock in regulation, knocking the Rockets out of the playoffs. Although this is unfortunate for the Rockets, it was a positive learning experience for them and they will go into the next season and playoffs with a chip on their shoulder, and a purpose in their mind to be more successful keeping their tragic loss in mind.

http://s7d2.scene7.com/is/image/TWCRoadRunner/_2014-05-03T02-04-43_16b6953b53471511530f6a70670015de?wid=642&hei=482&bgc=000000&

Humorous Entertainment in Zombie Culture

     Although when people think of Zombie Culture such as in movies, television shows, video games, comic books, etc. it is commonly associated with a serious, thrilling connotation, more and more often in today’s society, that is beginning to change. As a result, zombie culture is beginning to undergo a transformation of a comedic association, as obviously observed in Zombie Land, among other films or mediums of entertainment such as Shaun of the Dead,  Dead Rising, Dawn of the Dead, and other various forms of entertainment that focus on Zombie Culture with a humorous or comedic standpoint. Within this film, there are many aspects of Zombie Culture that are prime examples of the rapidly changing way that society focuses on zombies and entertainment as a whole.

http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMTU5MDg0NTQ1N15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMjA4Mjg3Mg@@._V1_SY317_CR6,0,214,317_AL_.jpg

     Among these aspects that are ever changing other than the perception of zombie culture is the search for a cure. In movies such as World War Z, the group is constantly looking for a cure or vaccine with a sense of urgency to reverse the effects of the apocalypse, whereas movies with a comedic association such as Zombie Land don’t really take a cure into consideration, and are more occupied with how many zombies they can kill in very unrealistic ways, and spend their time looking for things that are somewhat unnecessary in the post-apocalyptic world such as Twinkies being a reoccurring high priority without even the simple mention of a cure. 

http://images.moviepilot-cdn.com/shaun-of-the-dead-is-the-ultimate-zombie-comedy.jpeg?width=1280&height=1024

Serious Zombie Culture Entertainment

     The primary portrayal of a zombie movie is one that is associated with a horror or thrilling connotation. World War Z is a perfect example of this because of its action packed scenes that are filled with suspense and the audience being completely oblivious to what lies beyond the corner. This is a style of Zombie Culture that has been adopted most of all and happens to be the most common. There are numerous similar zombie culture movies and games that follow this example, such as The Walking Dead, and many popular video games such as Call of Duty, Left 4 Dead, Last of Us, and many more that portray a sense of seriousness or urgency. These are some of many examples that illustrate the significance that a realistic sense of thrill or horror has had on Zombie Culture in society and the industry of film as well because of their rising popularity.

http://a4.mzstatic.com/us/r30/Music2/v4/2f/09/d0/2f09d0bd-1fc3-08ee-b63e-cf937ea814fd/cover326x326.jpeg

     This concept of the zombie was first adopted in the movie Night of the Living Dead by the director George Romero, who depicted zombies as being unintelligent, slow, and mindlessly hungry, but yet still extremely intimidating at the same time, especially in large groups. This concept has endured from the Night of the Living Dead, when Zombie movies were in their infancy to today as well, and although in World War Z, the zombies can move at a more fast pace, they are still dormant and mindless at the same time, except increasingly more intimidating in large groups due to their heightened speed, which is a twist on the typical zombie movie stereotype. When taking all of this into consideration, it is easy to see the effect that suspenseful zombie movies such as World War Z have had on the world of Zombie Culture illustrating that it has endured, and for the most part, has stayed intact all the way into today’s society, after being introduced several generations ago, and will continue to endure for even more if not infinite generations to come.

http://collider.com/walking-dead-season-3-episode-8-recap/