Image Analyses Dawn of the Dead (1979)

This scene from Dawn of the Dead (1979) (DotD) indicates how George A. Romero has gone against the Cultural Dominant Ideologies (CDI). Stephen is supposed to be the stereotypical “Male Hero”, he is a tall, supposedly good looking, TV star, who walks around with a gun (phallic symbol) As a result Stephan is supposed to be good at shooting and protect them all. However he doesn’t do a very good job, misses the zombie twice and therefore Roger has to step in, push him out of the way to get an accurate shot at the zombies to kill them. Romero as an auteur flips around characters, for example making the vampire in Martin sympathetic. In this case, the much shorter army guy, Roger, is more heroic than the supposed main character. In this scene it also shows the creepy, low key lit locations they have to go to, like at the airport Stephan goes into a barn that seems to have not been used for a long time, which makes it appear more creepy, before they get to the safety of the Mall.