shaun of the dead

Question 1

Narrative device question

Answer 1

Women vs Men

Question 2

context/ political context

Answer 2

•written during aftermath of 9/11-shaun regularly suggests we should wait for the whole thing to blow over- typical of western world to want to go back to normal- end sequence- restoration of patriarchal values
•new labour excitement- capitalism here to stay- deception
•lads culture- rejection to second wave feminism
•rise in technology
•post-modern

Question 3

Mise- en- scene

Answer 3

•blue filter- society like a horror film
•messy front room- teenage bedroom- unkempt- childish
•gaming- technology numbing our brains- ed- poor communication- slacker generation
•red- crisis in masculinity, doesn’t fit in with rest of male society

Question 4

performance

Answer 4

•everyone on bus in unison. lack of identity. all like zombies- narrative foreshadowing
•dead end jobs- brain dead- highly mediated culture
•yawning shuffling- also like a zombie
•hive mind

Question 5

cinematography

Answer 5

•kitchen with pete- pushed out of frame into background- looks smaller while pete towers over- crisis in masculinity- not dominant
•crab shot montage- people doing mundane activities and jobs- examples- waiting for bus, going on phone..
•camera tilt of shaun

Question 6

editing

Answer 6

•montage sequence- mundane life- dead end jobs
-also represents time moving fast- media swiping
• crash zooms- most exiting part of his life, cup of tea - mundanity

Question 7

Aesthetics

Answer 7

Gore- common aesthetic of zombie films
girl in the garden sequence where characters learn how to stop zombies.

Question 8

representations of masculinity

Answer 8

•shaun is initially represented as weak, submissive and oblivious to the crisis unfolding
•shaun is emasculated in multiple ways and fails to adhere to traditional notions of masculinity that are frequently associated with horror -
i am legend, health physically fit man going out and killing the target
•low paid job as a sales assistant and spends the majority of his time in the pub
•his girlfriend leaves him
•non heroic British everyman
•average man with no skills or capability that’s i’ll help
TRANSITION
•part way through he embraces more traditional role- becomes the leader, protector- sacrifices self to find a way in to winchester

Question 9

representations of femininity

Answer 9

•Barbara- traditionally feminine, traditional british mother- uneducated, vulnerable yet caring and loving
•weight frames her to the left- maternal empowerment over shaun- framed in kitchen- outdated traditional roles