Dawn of the Dead Image Analysis (2004)

This shot is from the opening title sequence of Dawn of the Dead (2004). Here we have a picture of a religious community who all obey to the same rules. This scene represents the zombies as if the zombies are all in their own community. This scene is made up of a lot of shots all put together (a montage). The context of this film is institutional. It sends out the message that we are all turning into one big group of people, brainwashed by people who tell us what we need and don’t need. One of the realisms of the movie is how the characters become too attached to their loved ones to shoot them, even when they become zombies. When something is more real in a film it keeps the audience more interested and is more relatable to the audience. The critic Thomas Schatz believed that the genre of the film is more important than the context or auteur, and that keeping the audience interested is vital.