Analysis of Shaun of the Dead

Shaun of the Dead (2004, Edgar Wright) is a more of a spoof of Dawn of the Dead, tinted with humor, with zombies eating people and a small group trying to survive while being picked of by the zombies one by one. The film centers on the main character Shaun (Simon Pegg) who lived a rather monotonous zombie like existence where everything was basically the same thing, day in and day out and has to make decisions that would never cross his mind to make. It tries to bring in elements of stereotypical characters that people may find among their own friends such as; the regular guy, the hardworking overbearing friend and the friend that does nothing but has a good time who you still keep around. There is play on the issue of ethnicity in the use of stereotypes which shows itself when Shaun meets the storeowner who happens to be Indian. This draws on the belief that Indians are either storeowners or doctors as typically depicted in film.

Shaun's character is your every day guy. He works in a local electrical store and lodges with his friends; Pete and Ed, in a messy little house. Ed is a completely lazy and whose idea of a hard days work is having a bath and going to the toilet, all in the same day. Shaun and Ed spend most of their evenings down the Wichester public house and, although Shaun feels deep down that this is a waste of his life, he just enjoys his pointless routine too much to change. Even his girlfriend Liz has had enough of his bleak and pointless existence and throws down the gauntlet in an effort to bring Shaun too his senses. Unfortunately, just as Shaun and Liz's relationship breaks down, London is grasped by a rather inconvenient outbreak of the dead rising from their resting places and eating other people.

During the 1970s, zombie films became the model of choice for people choosing to make a statement about things going on in the society. In, this framework the general analysis came to assume that most of the zombie movies being made around that time were expressing an ideological fear of communism. The Cold War was at its coldest and the zombie was symbolic of the oppressed communist subject, entirely lacking in individuality, just another quiet follower of the bandwagon. Shaun of the Dead uses this type of analysis to bring these zombies into the present day by playing with the idea that a capitalist subject today is lacking in individuality. The goods may have different labels and brands, but the products are all the same; you may be the only slob slouching back on your particular couch playing videogames just like Ed, people are doing exactly the same thing, their eyes dazed and focused on the same formulaic television games.

The zombie-smashing antics serve as more of a backdrop for the maturation of Shaun, who learns responsibility during his journey to save Liz and his dear mum (Penelope Wilton) from the hordes of walking corpses infesting metropolitan London. With a cricket bat in hand Ed at his side, Shaun embarks on his daring rescue mission with annoyed nonchalance and a lack of fear that is astonishing and puzzling. Both himself and Ed show a kind of disgust at having to do something, anything, besides sitting slack-jawed in front of the television.

During the process of the film Shaun tries to save everyone who is close to him and a couple who just aren't. All of them die during the progression of the film save for Shaun and his girlfriend Liz. His leadership qualities emerge but quite sketchy and he makes some questionable decisions such as their location for a hideout; a pub. They entered the pub, a masculine choice of location and had to dethrone the other kind of the house; the bartender whether dead or undead. This was a war on territory that was fought and in order to show victory they took the rifle that has hanging in the pub; a symbol of the phallus. It was a scene of man conquering, claiming and keeping territory; just like what the British did when they colonized many countries in the days of the British Empire.

The highest emotional moment of the film came when Shaun's own mother was transformed into a zombie. This was a serious part of the film when his mother had to be put to death. The paternal link was already severed and now the maternal link had to be cut. This showed someone who was getting rid of a link from childhood and emerging as a man of the world capable of making his own decisions and able to live with the consequences.

The end of the film was even more interesting. The most macho of masculine figures came to their rescue; the British military and ironically they were led by a woman. The zombies were eradicated and placed in situation to do menial work in controlled situations to do menial work in a heavily controlled environment. There were zombie cart pushers outside stores and they were all doing menial but necessary tasks. The same tasks that were once performed by living people in a zombie like manner were now done by true zombies.

The end of the film showed that the couch where Shaun and Ed played videogames was now occupied by Shaun and Liz; now his girlfriend again. The games were now played in the tool shed with Shaun and Ed; now a zombie. It just showed that not everything can be changed; we depend on our routine and zombie like existence to an extent. In other words; the more things change, the more they remain the same. The beginning and end of the film were quite similar. Everyone was doing the same thing and going through the same monotonous experiences. The only difference was that in the beginning the living people were in a zombie like existence and by the end they were replaced by real zombies.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Film 'Shaun of the Dead', (2004, Edgar Wright)
http://www.thefilmjournal.com/issue10/shaunofthedead.html

'Shaun of the Dead' By Mark Richarson.
http://movies.about.com/library/weekly/aashaun072804a.htm

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