Tuesday, 9 December 2014

'Dawn of the Dead' (2004) Opening Credits Mosque Analysis

This is the Opening Title Sequence from ‘Dawn of the Dead’ (2004). It begins to introduce the different credits such as Directors etc. This is along with all with different shots, ranging from this mosque shots to images of zombies. It is very quick editing to begin the film, changing from one shot to the other very rapidly; this gives you this real sense of panic. There is also some non-diegetic sound of a speech which almost sounds presidential. This implies that the different shots of mosques, American flags and wars are not just a coincidental occurrence with each other.

This opening scene is very much tapping into 2004's Cultural Dominant Ideology of terrorism. It is using the context of events such as 9/11 which was only 3 years prior to this film. This means that this was still very fresh in people’s mind so this is tapping into a lot of the public’s fears. The non-diegetic sound of Jonny Cash’s song called ‘Man Comes Around’, this song addresses a lot of issues, it talks about how humans have made this mess for themselves and how it will result in an Armageddon or a Biblical ‘End of the World’, this links very closely with religion such as Christianity. In the bible it indicates that humans will be the end of the world, his creation will be the devastation, which also links strongly with other religions. This shot further backs up the feeling of terrorism from an America’s point of view because it shows a high angle looking down upon thousands of Muslims praying. It signifies that no matter how many there are that they are inferior to America.



This scene gives you a deep insight into the sub-narrative of the film. The quick editing doesn’t allow you to think too much about it on the first viewing, but all the different components in this scene clearly point to the effect terrorism has affected America’s context. On repeated viewings, the clear suggestion is that the zombie virus has spread from the Middle East.

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