Dawn of the Dead 1979 Image Analysis 3

The first image is a long, establishing shot of the interior of the in the film takes place. This links to Andrew Sarris’ Auteur Theory as George Romero attacks the idea of consumerism using political satire which he often uses in his films. The characters originally see the mall as a safe haven which eventually turns into their own prison (the horror convention of an enclosed location) and the material things they thought were great eventually depress them. The lighting is quite low key to make the mall seem more dangerous; especially as the shots function is to show the zombies in the foyer.

These zombies also link to the contextual theme of consumerism as they represent us. Because the zombies are returning to the mall and the material things it sells it shows that this is where they were the most happy. However, later in the film the characters get sick of the money and material things showing that consumerism does not bring us happiness after all. This idea is further backed up by Peter when he looks down on the zombies (near the beginning of the film) and says “They’re us. That’s all.”