The Modern Undead - Fad or a Sign of Something More?

Recently I've become aware of the sudden fascination much of the world has developed with the shambling undead - or zombies, if you prefer.

While the classical depiction of the zombie as some unlucky person under a mind-control spell (as seen in the 1932 film White Zombie, starring Bela Lugosi) has become nearly extinct, and the mystery-origin variety seen in the George A. Romero interpretation of the shambling undead is giving way to what can only be described as plague-zombies, which are by far the most popular variation than any other before.

 We see them appearing nearly everywhere now, ranging from parodies of classic literature (eg: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies), to comedic representations we see in films like Shaun of the Dead, and video games like Plants vs. Zombies. Most prolific, however, is the horrifying spectacle of zombies attacking the living.
This last representation is the one that seems most prolific. Films, TV shows and video games alike are depicting the proverbial Armageddon via hoards of the ravenous undead. Some "plagues" are caused by strange rabies-like diseases, others are the product of radiation spills, and others are simply left unexplained.
Some run, others shamble, some self-destruct if they are unable to find a victim and others are unkillable.

The only constant seems to be that regardless of age, race, sex or religion - the human race is vulnerable to this threat... humanity is corrupted and turned literally into monsters.

Does this simply mean that Zombies, like other monsters like mummies, werewolves and vampires before them are seeing their time in the lime-light?

I would argue that this trend, unlike so many before them, is a little more profound, not just because of it's over-arching popularity, but what it might mean.
Humanity is more frightening than ever now... wars are not fought between countries or nations anymore - they're fought by special-interest groups, be they religious, corporate or other. Those that could do us harm on a very profound level look like everyone else, not soldiers with rank and uniform. Combined with the fear of global illnesses like the H1N1, Swine Flu, Mad Cow Disease, HIV/AIDS, and so-on, humanity, (especially those of us living in "1st World" countries) are becoming more and more aware of how delicate and easily-destroyed our "way of life" is.
More often than not, the protagonist in these stories often wakes up suddenly (from surgery or a peaceful sleep at home), to find themselves surrounded by the bodies of those people they could trust, torn and twisted into creatures that mean them harm.
The "fear of the Other" we saw in much of the monster movies that came out previously has been superseded by the "fear of Ourselves" - the idea of "We" as a culture, ethnic group, religion, race, sex, gender, etc. are all rendered pointless when everyone and anyone could become "the Enemy" - we become isolated by the otherness of our friends, family, neighbours, and culture.

Now, this idea of alienation isn't just a result of North America's sudden introduction to global terrorism (something the rest of the world has been dealing with for a long time), but I think perhaps it might be a combination of many factors.

One, may be due to the idea of technology as a binding factor between individuals - no matter where one is in North American society, it's expected now that you must be "plugged in", whether it be through your phone, your net-book or your computer - everyone is expected to be available for contact all the time.

This connectedness, combined with the idea that society as a whole is almost desperate to claim individuality, while sharing and exposing the most personal aspects of ourselves and of others who have their information posted on the pseudo-anonymous arena of the Internet.
One recent film with a seemingly uninteresting premise that yeilds surprising and praise-worthy results approaches this idea of "climbing inside" of others, searching for something we ourselves might want or be lacking. The Canadian-made horror Pontypool is an atypical zombie movie in which a handful of people are trapped in a small Ontario town's radio station...
That's what it appears to be at any rate.

In truth, Pontypool is actually a film about the issues mentioned above - communication becomes an overpowering force that overwhelms basic humanity, reducing them to rabid consumers of communication media. The "Infection" itself spreads in the form of a metaphorical zombie plague spread by the spoken word - a factor heightened not only by the location and occupation of our main characters, but the fact that the film may also double as a radio-play.
Mass communication, in a more basic and fundamental form than the Internet serves as the literal petri dish to spawn humanity's undoing.

Others seem to embrace the idea of "zombification"as something like a second Halloween with a specific undead-theme (no rhyme intended!).

The practice of the "Zombie Walk" is growing in popularity, seeing hundreds of "zombie fans" collecting in the streets dressed as the living dead, shuffling, moaning and generally making the street unfit for the living for a little while... though unlike their mythological counter-parts it's considered bad-form to break things or attack people in or out of buildings (moaning, demanding brains and pulling grotesque faces is encouraged, however).

Others revel in the idea of a "Zombie Apocalypse", in which most of humanity are turned into the ravening undead, and a chosen few struggle to fight and survive against an army of billions. Some choose to take this event in a comical sense, seen in films like Shaun of the Dead, Zombieland and games like Dead Rising . Others approach the fictional event in a more serious, macabre way - seen in films like Dawn of the Dead, . We also see it in games like the Resident Evil series, series and the Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2.
Especially in gamer-culture, references to the "Zombie Apocalypse" are abundant, and many have jokingly engaged in planing emergency procedures in the case of such an event.
Example here: link
Book franchises too take advantage of this jokingly studied "home defense" approach, like the authors of The Zombie Survival Guide, The Zombie Combat Manual, and World War Z.

In short, it seems that our fascination with the undead doesn't seem to be waning any time soon, and I wonder - being the vaguely paranoid sort... With 2012 coming up... a date sometimes viewed as the proverbial End of Days ... Are these zombies we see depicted in popular media metaphors for some impending doom?
O.o