Page 29 - Aruba Today
P. 29
PEOPLE & ARTS A29
Thursday 31 March 2016
Who knew? ‘The
Walking Dead’
is helping families
connect
ALICIA RANCILIO forward to watching the This March 29, 2016 photo released by Ericka Calcagno, center, shows her with her daughter Gina
Associated Press show with her 12-year-old Binder, 12, left, and son Jean-Luc Binder, 9, wearing T-shirts from, “The Walking Dead,” at their
NEW YORK (AP) — Michelle daughter, Gina, and son home in Farmington Hills, Mich. Calcagno says her husband first introduced her to the series and
Fiala says her 14-year-old Jean-Luc, who is 9. her kids were intrigued by their conversations about it. And now they all watch the popular zombie
daughter, Laura, is fine She says her husband first show as a family.
watching humans run introduced her to the series
for their lives from snarl- and her kids were intrigued Associated Press
ing, flesh-eating zombies by their conversations
on AMC’s “The Walking about it.
Dead,” but if one of the “I was a little skeptical at
characters on the show first if it was too much but
vomits, the teen has to look we watched the first season
away. during the day. Since then
“My youngest has a real we always watch together
thing about seeing people and discuss it constantly.”
vomit,” she said in a recent They’re spirited in their
interview from St Louis. devotion and have even
“She’s got a real phobia have mastered makeup
about that. She’s totally tricks to look like zombies
fine when they’re stab- (or “walkers” as they’re
bing zombies in the head called on the show).
or there’s fake blood flying “’The Walking Dead’ is like
or the zombies are eating the new ‘Family Ties,’ OK?
people, but when (a char- It’s tying families together,”
acter) Denise leaned over said actress and playwright
and threw up. ...she had Danai Gurira recently,
to turn away. She couldn’t who plays Michonne on
handle that.” the show. “The thing that’s
Fiala also watches the hit touched me the most is
AMC show, airing its sea- when I’ve met mothers of
son six finale Sunday, with adolescent sons who say,
her 16-year-old daughter ‘This is how me and my
Emma. son bond. It’s because we
The three discovered it on both watch the show.’ And
Netflix about a month ago you know those adoles-
and have binged to catch cent years are tricky years
up to real time. for parents and I was just so
“It’s so outside of what touched by that. I thought
would be my usual genre it was so beautiful that this
for television,” said Fiala. show is functioning in that
“I came home from work way.”
one day and my kids were At what age kids can han-
sitting on the couch watch- dle the gore varies by fam-
ing like, ‘You have to come ily.
watch this!” I was sucked The violence doesn’t both-
in pretty immediately. You er Calcagno’s kids. Instead
get sucked in by the char- she says they hypothesize
acters. We have our favor- what they would do to sur-
ites. It surprises me still that vive if zombies were hot on
I’m that into it.” their trail.
Since TV’s invention, fami- Sue Thomas, a mother of
lies have gathered around three from Waukesha, Wis-
to watch shows like “The Ed consin, watches weekly
Sullivan Show,” ‘’The Carol with her two teens, who are
Burnett Show,” ‘’American 19 and 17. She’s decided
Idol” and now relatives are her youngest can join in a
coming together to watch few months when he turns
humans battle a zombie 15, although he’s not hap-
apocalypse on the hit AMC py about the wait.
series. “He makes sure we know
Ericka Calcagno of Farm- how annoyed he is that we
ington Hills, Michigan, looks watch and he can’t yet.”q
