In this sequence from Dawn of the Dead (1979), the characters are enjoying the perks of being alone in the mall surrounded by products. In this particular image, Peter and Fly-boy are taking money from a security office, even though the money is useless now in the apocalypse state that the world is in.
The high angle shot suggests that even though they seem to be having a good time from their code of expressions, they are actually weak and vulnerable. It could also suggest that the auteur George Romero is portraying his own negative feelings about consumerism in this scene through the high angle that creates a sub-narrative which is an example of Andrew Sarris’s auteur theory as discussed in his 1962 essay, "Notes on the Auteur Theory" because Romero's own beliefs are influencing his work.
During the 1970’s was when consumerism really peaked in America and it was when the huge shopping malls such as the one in this film were built. George Romero refers closely to the context at this time in order to create a sub-narrative that patronises the heavy consumerism. This is something that Romero did in a lot of his films; for example, in Night of the Living Dead (1968), Romero challenged the racism that was going on during this time by having a black central protagonist.
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