I feel like a lot of zombie fiction where characters know what zombies are and the dangerous of getting bitten end up being semi-satirical comedies. Movies and shows where the idea of zombies didn’t previously exist seem to be a bit more serious from what I’ve experienced. I don’t know if it’s the aura of suspense and mystery or because it leads to more pandemonium.
Imagine what would happen in a universe where people thought they knew how to fight zombies because there were tons of stories about them and it all turned out to be completely and utterly wrong?
And look at real life. There are tons of things that we know how to combat but are scary anyway either because what needs to be done is scary, the margain of error is small and/or there are enough people that think its all a conspiracy theory and/or actively work against solving the problem. So anyone that does know how to deal with problems like that looks on in horror as a huge chunk of society just decides to throw the whole thing in the bin.