system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
CMV: A traditional "zombie apocalypse" as media presents it is a practical impossibility.

This is really more of a fun one. But most of the time I watch a movie or a TV show of this subject, my cynicism is always nagging me. Ofcourse it's fiction, and creative liberty can be taken, and I am obviously willing to accept some compromises in realism, proportionate to how much fantasy is involved. But in most - 28 Days Later, The Walking Dead, World War Z, and so on, it's just too much for me to swallow. 

First off, I'm fairly loose on the definition of traditional - animalistic husks of people, be it actually undead, or still alive but acting as a vector for disease, whether they can run, are limited to a slow walk, or even swim, has no impact in how I would see the outcome. My only major stipulation is that the "disease" is spread physically from infected to uninfected(via a bite or bodily fluid), but I'll also accept the means of simply turning after death as depicted in TWD. 

I do not think that primal, unthinking, unarmed creatures could overrun the human race. Almost every advantage possible goes to us. How on earth is a being, who's potentially only means of reproduction, is also their number one predator, and one of their primary sources of food, supposed to survive? Even if they don't need to feed, and we remove that from equation, it's still just a ridiculous notion. They have to seek out "prey" that is incomparably more intelligent than them, sometimes, far faster than them, and significantly more armed than them. It wouldn't be so bad, if humans didn't have access to weapons that can put zombies down from 300 meters away, or means of defence that are untouchable, be it in the form armoured vehicles and aircraft. A hallmark of the genre seems to involve characters walking amidst the ruins of military hardware, and it's like the writers just want to flaunt the sheer implausibility of it all. Even with the full surprise factor afforded to a zombie horde, the disarray it could cause shouldn't be any match for the might of modern day communications. 

It would be like engaging in WW1 over-the-top trench warfare against an enemy you have zero understanding of, with no comprehension for what kind of firepower lies in wait for you above the parapet, completely unable to communicate with your comrades, and armed only with your hands. These questions have over time generated a weird kind of hatred for the genre. I still find them fun to watch, but I have to switch my brain off and bite my tongue half the time.
gpt
>World War Z

Have you actually read the book World War Z?  Or have you just seen the ~~movie~~ unrelated cash grab?  Because the book World War Z actually addresses a lot of the points you make.

In addition, there are a lot of variations in how the story is told.  True, something like *28 Days Later* is unlikely to work, because in that movie people don't automatically become rage zombies on death, they can only become a rage zombie by being bitten or coming into contact with the fluids of another rage zombie.  But worlds like *The Walking Dead*, *WWZ*, and *Z Nation* actually have something you're missing that would make a zombie apocalypse possible (even if it still might be unlikely, depending on the specifics):  *everybody who dies becomes a zombie*.  

That means that every person who dies, of natural causes or otherwise, becomes an undead creature who only desires to harm the living.  In WWZ in particular, even the long dead and buried come back to life.  This means that even people who have no contact with zombies have the potential to add to the horde.


In addition, the zombies in WWZ are basically immune to all methods of termination aside from total destruction (burning them to a pile of ashes) or well-placed headshots (has to actually destroy substantial portions of the brain, not just touch the brain).  They also feel no fear, can't be bought, can't be reasoned with, and do not tire.  A well-placed grenade may take out a dozen or so zombies if you're extremely lucky, but not only will those who don't get hit in the head keep on walking towards you, but the rest of the swarm will just keep on swarming.  They don't have morale like humans do.  Again, WWZ goes into much greater detail.

In short, while some versions of the "Zombie plague" have basically zero chance of causing the end of civilization, other versions would be much much more difficult to deal with than you're implying.  (This is also setting aside the human element, i.e. human panic and survival instinct making things worse).