Zombie Paranoia

I'm not really a huge fan of zombie movies, but in the ones I've seen it seems like the cause of the zombies always reflects a fear that is present in society. For example, one of the most universal fears is the fear of death. Zombies (of the undead variety) can be seen as a manifestation of death, coming to take the living to join them. People seem to have a fear of the dead returning, mainly because of the fear that surrounds dying. Many zombies movies feature cannibalistic zombies as well. All (sane) people probably do not worry about being the victim of cannibalism every day, however it is such a gruesome thought that it just seems natural for zombies to be cannibals. Society is constantly fighting against disease by always developing new vaccines and treatments. Diseased zombies reflect the fear of what would happen if a disease were to overwhelm society. The zombies in Night of the Living Dead also presented an interesting potential fear. The movie came out in 1968 near the climax of the "space race". The fact that solar radiation was the cause of the zombie could suggest that people feared our exploration of space. Maybe they felt we were pushing our limits too far and it would be the downfall of society through zombies? It's an interesting thought, even if it's a stretch.