Watching this film multiple times, you immediately discover elements that went unnoticed during the initial viewing. Considering that it falls into the low budget bracket, the production value is reminiscent of high caliber Hollywood releases. My focus will be geared towards the acting, symbolic meaning, foreshadowing, editing and cinematography elements.

The acting performance never lacked. The main character of the film, Shaun (played by Simon Pegg), provides the audience with an effective representation of a man that must solve his personal struggles with his family, friends and girlfriend. During these troubling times, Shaun's tribulations are challenged by the walking dead. In the Jaguar car scene where his stepfather, Phillip (Bill Nighy), passes away, he shows extreme sympathy for a man that has plagued his existence. Phillip tries to explain his behavior over the years during the waning moments leading to his death. Shaun brushes him off like his problems.

Normally a rigid man, Phillip profusely sheds tears of hurt, sorrow and regret for his past actions. Shaun displays the most accurate response to the suppression of compassion that he contains for Phillip. His teary eyes, quivering mouth movement and dreary expression captivates his hurtful suffering. He realizes that Phillip has always loved him and was a proud father. Even though Phillip couldn't replace a biological father, Shaun never gave him a chance to prove himself.

The best friend, Ed (Nick Frost), depicts a sidekick that showcases the alto ego of Shaun. In the exterior Winchester Pub scene, Shaun explodes on Ed for his inconsiderate actions on using his cellular phone during the climatic presence of the flesh eating zombies. Shaun realizes that Ed has taken advantage of his kind nature since childhood. This suggests that what he has done to others is clearly surfacing in the actions of his best friend. Ed attempts to interrupt, but Shaun establishes his dominance. Their performance is similar to a real life sibling rivalry confrontation.

Even though this film is a parody directed toward zombies, it's easy to notice the valuable friendship that Shaun and Ed share. Their actions provoke more comedy than the humorous dialogue. They finish each others sentences and anticipate actions. They switch positions on killing two zombies because of their size. This event occurred without any dialogue interaction. Shaun and Ed have a strong friendship that can never be divided.

Where would Shaun's life go if the zombies didn't show up? He fails to notice the zombies during the early stages of the film. His conflicting life is the perfect example of the barrier that he places between his problems and amusing lifestyle. The zombies serve as a metaphor for his inner personal struggles. As he strolls to the local convenience store, chaos surrounds him in every direction. He neglects to survey the unfolding disaster.

Every possible clue is present, but he only focuses on his own selfish needs. People attempt to ignore societal complexities. Once Shaun learns of the zombies, he makes the attempt to eliminate them. His problems and the zombies were obviously noticeable, but he never expands the sphere outside of his own existence.

Shaun's mother, Phillip, roommate and Liz (played by Kate Ashfield) recognized his inefficient treatment of their generosity. Shaun suffers from a short attention span. He buys flowers for his mother and then tries to give them to Liz. When she declines on accepting the flowers, he throws them into a waste basket. The flowers serve as a solution to the contrasting tension that he inflicted on his mother.

Again, he tries to dispose the obvious problem of his immature nature. He pouts because he can't have things his way. He always tries to take the convenient route which travels around his problems. In the backyard scene, he mentions of taking a shortcut to David. This constitutes the common practice throughout the course of his life. He takes shortcuts to avoid problems. The revelation of his practical behavior is answered in the basement scene. The zombies solve his problems, but at the expense of his family and friends.

Only if he realized these issues early on, he could have offered amends. Phillip and his mother depart the film with closure. They eradicate any misunderstanding that arises with Shaun. The mother finds the flowers and thanks him. She discovers the problem and notices its intent. The life altering experience helps him solve the problems that previously remained dormant in his conscious. The friends for life concept is established when Shaun plays video games with his zombie best friend. He locks away the nucleolus of his past troubles.

Every major zombie character is introduced in their normal human form. The people that Shaun fail to acknowledge become the focal point of his obstacles. When they transform into zombies, he finally reaffirms his attention on their existence. The garden scene with Mary and his lack to not notice his missing mother in the backyard scene, leading up to the entrance of the Winchester Pub, are perfect examples of his forgetful characteristics. The transformation humans into zombies also coincides with his problems.

While they're minor in the beginning, the foreshadowing of their importance illuminate the early stages of the human spectatorship. They serve as the audience to his morphing struggles. The scene location of the Winchester Pub foreshadows the creation of his problems and the eventual solution to eliminating them.

The mise en scene showcases the humor of the film. Early on, everything occurs in the background and mirrors Shaun's attention span. This film makes makes you, as a spectator, want to warn the characters of the unfolding events. Shaun only becomes serious after he senses fear in lives beyond his own. When relationships are stretched thin, conflicts reunites the bond that was broken. The zombies challenged Shaun's fate, restored balance and made him aware of his damaging behavior. As an adult, Shaun was expected to be responsible. His child tactics made him a weak character.

When conflict increased, he was able to confront his fears of growing up and finally flourished as a strong character. Shaun's perception was more clear about life. He was willing to take risks. Without risks, success is limited in society. When the fate of family and friends lies in the balance of an irrational individual, decisions have to be made quickly. Decision force people to grow up. The ignorance of Shaun changed once he realized his surroundings, his attitude and the importance of maturity.

Shaun of the Dead was a film about inner personal struggles. The protagonist only changed when he is confronted with the fear of losing the loved ones that put up with his antics. Zombies contrasted the problems that Shaun ignored in the early stages of the film. When he becomes aware of the Zombies, he faces his problems. So in a sense, the zombies were a form of rehabilitation. If there were no zombies, Shaun would continue on his rampage of immaturity. The zombies were disguised as psychologists that were responsible for his treatment. Shaun rekindled his lost bond with people he loved most.

As the ending seemed unclear, the reappearance of Ed established a happy moment not utilized in classic horror films. This film fits the profile of a horror/comedy, intertwined to retain focus of the audience. So when the zombies come out, be prepare to change or they will do it for you.

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 video games 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)

Shaun of the Dead' By Mark Richarson]]> Wed, 28 Feb 2007 07:57:18 PST