Dawn of The Dead

The movie Dawn of The Dead was one that proved not only to be one of the earliest and best examples of a “zombie” movie but also served as a criticism of our American psyche and persona. It is hard to detect this in the beginning of the film because we just get to see the mass pandemonium following an unexplained epidemic. Here is were we see a close study of human instinct, where everyone is seemingly out for themselves. Then we also get to see how an extreme situation can heighten racist tendencies. The cop who is about to storm the building filled with zombies starts yelling unnecessary obscenities. He refers to the people inside with racist terms and says ho he wishes to kill them all. Then he continues taunting and prodding, making the other cops uncomfortable, but they really don’t do much about it. They ignore it for the most part, and only take action inside when he starts shooting down on innocent people. Perhaps if they had stood up to him earlier many lives, including his own, would be saved. Later when they encounter the priest they find that he had actually been with the zombies, and despite the danger gave them their last rites. Here there is some sign of human compassion and dignity, which is seldom encountered throughout the film. Within the core group there are many stereotypical characters. We have the nearly helpless woman, the fumbling smart guy, and the strong african-american figure. Initially Francine is seen as a burden, and the men leave her defenseless without a gun their first time out. It grows worse when they find out she’s pregnant, taking a direct stab at her natural motherly gift. She only appears stronger in the face of the zombies but would otherwise remain a relatively weak person. 

The idea of consumerism is evident, given that it is set in a shopping center. Peter mentions how it is their instinct to come to the abandoned mall, it’s from memory. So engrained in who they are, that even subconsciously they will head to the mall. The group lose their humanity and learn to treat the zombies as faceless and mindless creatures. It helps them and is a good tool to have in this new type of world. Being in the mall brings out their inherent greed. They find safety in the first room they go into, but instead of safely staying there with the supplies they had they decide to go into the mall for things they really didn’t need. This is especially apparent when Peter and Roger go into the department store and start grabbing fancy clothes and perfume. Being in that setting causes them to want more, and worse to become content with just the material goods. It is an example of on how we rely on material happiness, and in turn act like mindless creatures.