DAWN OF THE DEAD (1979) image analysis

This scene from DAWN OF THE DEAD (1979) focuses on how strong Roger is compared to Stephen even though Stephen is seen as the good looking male hero at this point. When trying to shoot the zombies Stephen fails miserably as he doesn’t aim for the head, so each time he goes to shoot Roger moves Stephen’s gun away and kills the zombie first time. This allows the film to have a comical side to it so that it isn’t as intense as the audience would expect but also creates tension as the zombie gets closer to Stephen before Roger steps in.  It also shows how weak Stephen is compared to Roger's military experience and confidence, despite his smaller stature. Stephen also causes all the problems later on due to his greed (when he says “It's ours... we took it,” and shoots at the bikers) which leads to his death. This also shows that the biggest characters aren’t always the strongest as Roger is shorter than Stephen but smarter and stronger than him.

The use of both of them having phallic symbols as weapons also emphasises their nature as Stephen doesn’t know how to use a shotgun properly which connotes his break down in relationship with Fran whereas Roger has been taught how to use it accurately. The scene after this shows Stephen shooting a zombie in front of Peter showing that he is a danger to everyone when he has a gun which is emphasised when he starts shooting the bikers later in the film. This shows Romero’s auteur influence on the film and how it often flips stereotypes and surprises his audience as for instance the main hero in LAND OF THE DEAD (2005) is a disabled and scarred man who is excellent with a rifle.