Dawn of the Dead (1978) Scene Analysis 1

This medium shot shows Peter holding a gun whilst shooting zombies to protect Roger. The low angle expressionist shot and the representation of the gun being a phallic symbol shows the audience the power Roger has and his strength that he uses to protect Peter. I chose to use this shot because I wanted to talk about Peter being a black male hero. Dawn of the Dead (DOTD) was made in 1978, when America had a lot of problems such as the Vietnam War, Watergate scandal and racism. Romero hates racism and sexism, which is why he chose to go against normal conventions and have a black male hero, and a female victim as the final girl. He uses political satire to attack American Cultural Dominant Ideologies and in this film, he attacks racism and capitalism. One way Romero challenges racism is when Peter is shown shooting a racist person which shows the audience his views in a less direct way.