'Dawn of the Dead' (2004) Image Analysis

This image is from the opening sequence of Dawn of the Dead. The extra-diegetic music featured during the sequence is a song by Johnny Cash, ‘When The Man Comes Around’. The song makes numerous biblical references and is ultimately about Judgement Day, this shows that the apocalypse in the film is seen as being a punishment as such.

The title sequence features many images such as this one, with a recurring theme of the Islamic religion. The purpose of this is to play on the cultural dominant ideology using the context of terrorism in 2004. 9/11 was only three years prior to this film’s release and therefore is fresh in the minds of the audience, using Janet Staiger’s audience theory this helps us understand more about the film. The cinematography in this image is a high angle shot which makes the people praying look inferior compared to the strong and powerful America.