Preview

Shaun of the Dead: in-Depth Code Analysis

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
3831 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Shaun of the Dead: in-Depth Code Analysis
Shaun of Dead

An In-Depth Code Analysis

With the large variety of interests that flourish within the society, it is no shock that genres exist, especially in film, as the definition of entertainment differs from person to person. A genre is a category of films that are characterised by similarities in the narrative elements and conventions found within the films. Genres are extremely useful to both film producers and audiences as it helps them narrow down the target audience and search for films that are in their range of interests. No one wants to watch a political drama overrun with teenagers or go into a cinema with the intentions of watching a romantic comedy, only to receive blood and gore instead.

However, because of the originality and innovativeness found in the film industry, films tend to belong to more than one genre, spawning hybrids such as ‘romantic comedy’ or ‘science fantasy’. One particular film that represents multiple genres flawlessly is Shaun of the Dead, which is directed by Edgar Wright and stars actors like Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. The film is about a man named Shaun who has to juggle personal, relationship and family issues – all the while coping with an apocalyptic zombie uprising. Shaun of the Dead interweaves the conventions of three distinct genres – horror, comedy and romance – through its use of narrative, character and SWAT codes.

The fact that Shaun of the Dead is a hybrid film is quite obvious, seen through the multiple genre conventions that are found in the movie. Under horror, the film uses one of the many monsters of horror: zombies. Because of the level of violence these zombie exert, the film contains lots of blood and gore, which can generally either scare or disgust some people. For comedy, the producers followed the act of repetition and made repeating jokes. In some ways, they serve as a foreshadowing for an event that would use the same joke again, but in a different context. As for romance, the major

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    To start off, the most obvious aspect of the horror genre that is in this film is vampires as they are a supernatural creature. The Vampires in the film are what you would expect; blood-sucking beasts with their sharp teeth, which sleep upside down, cast no reflection and who are afraid of sunlight. But that’s not all of it.…

    • 690 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    ‘Warm bodies’ is a zombie movie based on Isaac Marion’s novel. This particular zombie movie that was themed ‘black romance’ is really unique. In the post-apocalyptic universe, the surviving humans have isolated themselves in a safe place in the city, but outside there are many mumbling and shuffling zombies that are still in the human phase just before they turn into skeletal, hideous attackers. Among these undead folks is a handsome man who falls in love with a beautiful daughter of a zombiephobe survivor. The movie tends to allude to star-crossed lovers by Shakespeare but with recent shades. Warm Bodies is entertaining, smart and has some interesting writings despite the fact that it fudges the issue of zombies – whether it is acceptable for them to run.…

    • 829 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Adam Wingard’s The Guest (2014) is a fascinating example for genre breaking. The film is full of violations of the expected conventions of horror thrillers. The protagonist, David, who was programmed as a thriller in the military entered the school gymnasium to assassinate Luke as the finale. David signaled his arrival by turning off the lights and playing Anna’s music CD. It would shock to listen to music for the viewers on such dreadful occasion. The gymnasium was fully decorated as a haunted house. Major Carver, the head of the mission, had to careen to reach imperiled Luke stating what the hell this is. Carver’s amazement after the confrontation with the horror portray creates the humor towards the audience. Further, listening to inter-textual…

    • 240 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Wp1110 Unit 9 Final Paper

    • 458 Words
    • 2 Pages

    What makes us feel horror in contemporary culture? What are the modern traits of monstrosity? How does aesthetic horror re-define itself in political and social terrors? We shall base our seminars on the reading of academic texts from various disciplines and of two films that re-defined the horror genre: the ultimate zombie-film The Night of the Living Dead by George Romero (1968) and Funny Games US by Michael Haneke (2007) which offers a radical critique on mediated representations of horror. Through the close reading of articles and the two films, we shall explore the many facets of horror and discover the common ‘ingredients’ of the horrifying experience in art, politics, sociology and…

    • 458 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    This can be concluded through the way that you do not see a corpse and a married man walking down the street on a day to day basis, therefore making it a fantasy film. Tim Burton, the director, adds in another aspect to the fantasy in the way he adds his gothic/punk style into the films that he directs. This makes it easier to distinguish his films from other films at a quick glance of the posters and trailers. Johnny Depp is also known to be the signature star in most of Tim Burton's movies, so he is used as a unique selling point due to the way that Burton brings both Depp's fans and his fans together to create a larger audience. Tim Burton film posters also never have any use of critic reviews on them. Since Burton already has a big name for himself, he doesn't really need the help of critics to help advertise his work. Futhermoree, the poster catches the attention of the due to the way that there is a walking corpse that isn't so frigthening to look at. The general public is used to seeing the sterotypcial zombie on posters. The sterotypical zombie is known for having blood running through their open wounds, walking with a limp, having the need to eat human flesh, and is always moaing and groaning. Tim Burton decided to go against the typical stereotypes that zombies that originally portray as 'the living dead', due to the fact that an individual never normally sees a nice 'zombie'. This will most likely come off as shocking to the audience and make them skeptical about the film, but will help the audience understand that the film is a fantasy. The techniques that are being used within the posters are quite clear, due to the way in which the names of the actors are located above the heads of characters for who they voice in the film. The names of the actors are being used to persuade people to watch the film, and also help it gain more publicity from different fan…

    • 934 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    You place the film in a social context well. As you know, the film has been very influential. Some even credit it with creating the modern notion of the zombie. As you expand this paper into your final projects, I suggest you focus on the metaphor of the zombie and how it draws attention to the fact that “we” are the monsters, whether alive or dead. You could expand on your reading of the way this plays out in terms of racism and self-interest. Romero and others have explored the ways in zombies serve as a fitting metaphor for our lives, notably as consumers in Dawn of the Dead and in general in Shaun of the Dead. A good start.…

    • 1007 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Most often, it is the genre of a film that initially attracts the audience. Genre classifies all types of media into identifiable categories, according to their shared elements and with the categorisation of its genre, comes certain expectations. Casino Royale presents the audience with an action, adventure and thriller and therefore crosses the boundaries of several genres. By knowing the genre of Casino Royale, the public can assume to what extent they may enjoy the film. Casino Royale appears to be aimed at both males and females as it includes various elements of action and romance. It is also clear that the film would be specifically for teenagers upwards as there are phases in the film which would be difficult for anyone younger to appreciate.…

    • 3110 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In “Navigating Genres”, Kerry Dirk states that genres are “tools to help people to get things done” (252). Genres can be anything from a flyer that helps people to join a club or a syllabus that presents the assignments and due dates for a course. Dirk emphasizes this when she states that “knowing what a genre is used for can help people to accomplish goals, whether that goal be getting a job by knowing how to write a stellar resume, winning a person’s heart by writing a romantic love letter, or getting into college by writing an effective personal statement” (253). Essentially, genres can bring an individual or a group to participate in something or be effective in persuading others. Genres are also distinct and easily recognized by individuals of a community because of their specific formatting, such as a flyer or an email.…

    • 784 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    There are different games for different people, and for each person different genres will appeal to them. From Action to strategy no two games are alike and are all special in their own way. There are thousands of different combinations and sub divisions that go along with the main genre, for example Action is never just action, is can be action strategy, or an action RPG and so on.…

    • 726 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Zombieland Analysis

    • 543 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Zombieland was written in a way where as we move along in the movie, new information is revealed to the audience. The main protagonist of the story was also the narrator who was introduced at the beginning. He starts of telling us what had happened to everyone that lived in the United states. In the diagesis of the movie the entire country has been affected by a virus that turns into humans into zombies and there's no known cure for it. The narrator teaches the audience several ways to survive the zombie attack. He uses this same tactics as he tries to find a safe place.…

    • 543 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Dawn Of The Dead Analysis

    • 579 Words
    • 3 Pages

    People enjoy watching movies related to our own destruction or the end of the world. It seems that having the sensation that our destiny is to try to survive from an apocalypses, zombies or monsters is very interesting to people. This sensation is because “monsters can stand as symbols of human vulnerability and crisis, and such they play imaginative foils for thinking about our own responses to menace” (Asma, 2016). The movie “ Dawn of the Dead” is a good example of how a group of people coexisting within a mall tries to deal with each other’s personalities and behaviors, and how they fight against the zombies in order to survive. Also, this movie is a reflection of how people would react towards an event that paralyzes the world. Finally, movies about the destruction of the humanity transmit that most of these events start all of the sudden; In other words, humans are not prepare to deal with it because they did not expect it.…

    • 579 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Shaun of the Dead

    • 286 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Through making the transition from " balding, weak-chinned loser to wide awake zombie slayer" Simon Pegg 's character of Shaun in British comedy Shaun of the Dead displays the use of mise en scene by shifting his environment from ‘normal ' and laid back to stressful and highly charged.…

    • 286 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Compare and Contrast

    • 1242 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Ever since I have been a little kid, I have always loved horror movies. This genre of movies interests me, because you are constantly kept on the edge of your seat. I think when you take a look at various horror films and compare them; you will notice an array of different scare tactics/methods. You will also notice many cliché ideas that a lot horror flicks have in common. I will point these ideas out in detail, when I compare The Dawn of The Dead horror flick released in 1978, with the one released in 2004; Two and a half decades later.…

    • 1242 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Zombieland Overview

    • 1029 Words
    • 5 Pages

    “Rule number one, zombies lead a very active life, so should you.” -Columbus. Zombieland is directed by Ruben Fleischer and is about a few people trying to get by after the zombie apocalypse. The main characters are named after the places they're ether from or going to. Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) is a sheltered, introverted geek with a fear of clowns. Each character has made it this far for certain reasons, he is paranoid of everyone, had no previous attachments and lives by a set of rules. Talahassee is a twinkey loving, nothing-to-lose, redneck who’s finally discovered what he's good at in life, Zombie killing. He's made it this far by simply put, kicking ass. Wichita and Little Rock (Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin), are characters that Columbus and Talahassee meet later. They've have also found unique ways to survive the zombie mayhem. However part of their survival has included not trusting anyone, so things are sketchy between both pairs for quite a while. The movie was well written and turned out very well because of the fact it focused on the living instead of the undead. What the plot line was centralized upon was human interactions in a crazy and unique world. It also pokes fun at the standard zombie movie with well timed humor. In general what set it apart was the fact that it didn't take itself to seriously.…

    • 1029 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    evil dead

    • 1339 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The genre of ‘horror’ has been given to far too many films. What is it that truly makes a horror film? Of course a horror film needs to be unsettling, make you jump from anticipation, and be violent. However; there is much more to a true horror film. A real horror film needs to make you think. A real horror film needs to play with common fears. A real horror film needs to be impossibly possible. A real horror film needs to have a defendable…

    • 1339 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays