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Good Luck to people doing Shawn of the dead for Film A level

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Good Luck to people doing Shawn of the dead for Film A level

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This site is incredibly useful for revision and the comments are funny

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There are multiple binary oppositions in Shaun of the Dead for example:
Working Class vs Middle Class
Male vs Female
Mature vs Immature
Unemployed vs Working

These Binary Oppositions contribute to the film as they affect to the outcome of who survives at the end. For example if  they had stayed inside vs going outside maybe more of them would have survived if Shaun hadn't tried to play the hero...that came across more bitter than it was supposed too... 


Another binary opposite which contributes to the film is the conflict between David and Shaun. This could come under the  Binary Opposition of Mature vs Immature as David comes across a lot more put together than Shaun.? This conflict is vital for the romance part of the movie.
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Stuart 3yr
Living v Undead
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Kinetic v Sedentary
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Stuart 3yr

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What is British in SOTD? Linking to Narrative?

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What is British in SOTD? Linking to Narrative?

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In Shaun of the Dead we see the protagonist Shaun's transition from the beginning where he is working class to the end where he has become Middle Class. In Britain this is shown thnrough a range of British Props???
For example at the beginning Shaun is seen to smoke and visit the pub regularly which is a very working class past time. However at the end we’ve seen the development of Shaun as he pursues his relationship with Liz leading to him ditching smoking and instead watching Tv and drinking tea. Two very British past times but more associated with Middle class.
Miss en scene is used to show Britishness too for example props used such as the Cricket bat and shovel show a progress in the Narrative as the humour of not knowing what’s in the shed but find random British weapons as from what we know about Shaun and Ed up until that point tells us they’re not the people to play Cricket or Garden.
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Social class and zombies in Shaun of the Dead

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Social class and zombies in Shaun of the Dead

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We get the impression as the audience that most of the zombies are from a middle class background as the only middle class characters that we meet are Pete, Barbara and Phil who all get eaten by zombies. The working class characters get a longer survival time and are mostly the ones that survive. At the end of the film we see Shaun and Liz sat watching television huddled up together on a sofa, now seen as middle class and the zombies that are shown on the tele being working class for example the 'I still sleep with my husband even though he's a zombie' on what appears to be The Jeremy Kyle show and zombies working in supermarkets. The class switches for the zombies in this film.

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There are hardly any people of colour in the film, and the only speaking part held by an ethnic minority is in the role of a stereotypical Asian corner shop-keeper. This is problematic as a depiction of London, a city that is incredibly ethnically diverse, especially in working class areas. As well as this, it is definitely a patriarchal film. While the female characters are well written and decently fleshed out, they still take a backseat in the narrative, a passive role,  often only existing to add to Shaun's character, his arc and his story. 

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 The shopping mall (iconic American location) is replaced - this time in Britain it's the Pub - a Great British institution (like shopping is in USA) 

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 Nick is particularly immature not having a real job and being very selfish by not taking others messages showing a lack of consideration. Joe

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Adult vs child n that rahhh

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What is the 'new' equilibrium?

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How is the equilibrium disrupted?

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Apply Vladimir Propp's structuralist idea that characters serve functions....

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Narration - restricted or omniscient - why?
Fin de Siecle - relevant?
Epistolary - is it?
Ellipses - when and where- do what?
Linear - or not - does what (purpose / effect)
Is it a Classical Hollywood Narrative?
Formalist or Revisionist Genre?
Secure or Paranoid Horror?

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As the film progresses you could argue that the "other" shifts. At first it is clear the zombies act as the "other" since they are the minority therefore unusual/abnormal. However, as the zombies rapidly increase in number, perhaps the human characters have now sifted from being the normal to the 'other'?

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The shopping mall (iconic American location) is replaced - this time in Britain it's the Pub - a Great British institution (like shopping is in USA)

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Social class and zombies in Shaun of the Dead

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Social class and zombies in Shaun of the Dead

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We get the impression as the audience that most of the zombies are from a middle class background as the only middle class characters that we meet are Pete, Barbara and Phil who all get eaten by zombies. The working class characters get a longer survival time and are mostly the ones that survive. At the end of the film we see Shaun and Liz sat watching television huddled up together on a sofa, now seen as middle class and the zombies that are shown on the tele being working class for example the 'I still sleep with my husband even though he's a zombie' on what appears to be The Jeremy Kyle show and zombies working in supermarkets. The class switches for the zombies in this film.

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Unfortunately, I think Shaun of the Dead suffers as a text written solely by two white men. There are hardly any people of colour in the film, and the only speaking part held by an ethnic minority is in the role of a stereotypical Asian corner shop-keeper. This is problematic as a depiction of London, a city that is incredibly ethnically diverse, especially in working class areas. As well as this, it is definitely a patriarchal film. While the female characters are well written and decently fleshed out, they still take a backseat in the narrative, a passive role,  often only existing to add to Shaun's character, his arc and his story. Even though the males in the film are often presented as incompetent and immature, it is of course the army, an incredibly masculine and patriarchal institution, that saves the day. It is worth noting that the film, arguably, only just passes the Bechdel test. There is a brief moment where Barbara and Liz talk about her being bitten, but it loops back to talking about Shaun. In the end, the relationship between Shaun and Ed is much more impactful and significant than his relationship with Liz. The film ends not with those two, but instead with Shaun and Ed. The film also contains no LGBT characters, but this is to be expected for a mainstream movie that came out in 2004.

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Is Shaun (and Ed) representative of Gen x?

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The theory of Binary Opposites was thought up by a man named Claude Levi- Strauss as he believed narratives are provided to move from one point to another part of the narrative by being encouraged by conflict which comes from Binary Opposites.

There are multiple binary oppositions in Shaun of the Dead for example:
Working Class vs Middle Class
Male vs Female
Mature vs Immature
Unemployed vs Working

These Binary Oppositions contribute to the film as they affect to the outcome of who survives at the end. For example if  they had stayed inside vs going outside maybe more of them would have survived if Shaun hadn't tried to play the hero...that came across more bitter than it was supposed too...

Another binary opposite which contributes to the film is the conflict between David and Shaun. This could come under the  Binary Opposition of Mature vs Immature as David comes across a lot more put together than Shaun.? This conflict is vital for the romance part of the movie.

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The zombies replaced the working class as ''the butt of the joke'', the resolution of the film shows the 'Othered' being berated in TV programs and replacing the working class people in supermarkets and low earning jobs.Was the equilibrium really restored or did the zombies cause a shift in the British economy successfully replacing the working class and bumping them up the social economical ladder creating a whole new ideology.

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Shaun of the Dead is very much a British film. The fact that the characters' aim is to fight and kill off zombies to get to the pub is making fun of a British lifestyle, the pub being called 'The Winchester' which is a link to George A Romaro. The characters also use very British props for weapons like the cricket bat and the spade again creating humour and exaggerating a typical British film.

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I find that within Shaun of the Dead there is a strong theme/mood that has a "keep calm and carry on" feel to it. through out the film we see the main characters, especially Shaun adopt this mindset. Not once do we see him break down in worry or fright. instead we see Shaun make strong plans with a calm, logical approach and stick to them up to the end. This extended theme makes the film feel very British, therefore easy for a British audience to watch and relate to. furthermore, this phrase was widely used during WW2 in Britain. This may mean two things- firstly the film may be relating the zombie apocalypse to the World war but secondly it may also be a way of paying a respectful homage to this time; perhaps reinforced at the end when the army arrive to save the day.

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Over the course of the film we see a change in Shaun. At the start of the film hes a man child who refuses to grow up and has few responsibilities.However as zombies attack he finally grows up and by the end of the movie his transformation has taken place and he has become a proper adult and finally has his life together and it only took the world nearly ending! Joe

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Shaun of the Dead contains characters that on the surface are very shallow, recognizable British archetypes. Barbara is the older mother who isn't quite with it; Ed is a freeloading, unemployed slob; Dianne, a pseudo-intellectual and unsuccessful actress. These are all people that are borderline caricatures on the surface, but as the film progresses they are afforded atypical amounts of depth, everyone given at least one scene to steal. This is capitalized on by the universally great performances. Lucy Davis (Dianne) is especially brilliant towards the end of the film, in both the scene where Shaun is absent from the group and the scene where Barbara dies. You can really feel the repressed frustration of that character and I think she really adds to the sense that things are breaking down and everyone is losing control in the third act.

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in shaun of the dead, it is clear that there is an "other" which is the zombies. As an audience you know they are the "other" because of their kinetics (the way they move). However, as an audience we also know that it is possible that the zombies represent the working class therefore perhaps the director is trying to say something about how society views the poorer, lower class.

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Shaun of the dead is very British. This can be seen through the local settings and use of British weapons like cricket bats and golf clubs. They also do not embrace guns which are often common in american zombie films. This is in opposition in the film trainspotting which has a clear anti-Britain message from the ironic London montage to Rentons anti Scotland speech when he says Scotland were "colonized by wankers".Joe

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Three of the four Male recurring characters lack any sense of control of themselves and there future through the film. Firstly, Shaun demonstrates the lousy, "don't care" attitude from the second we see him, Shaun strolls through important decisions as if they were outside of him,  remembering to book a table for dinner with Liz is forgotten. Shaun is a result of another Male character, Ed, his impulsive laziness seeps onto Shaun, holding him back from moving on or taking care of himself, and in result they both share a lack of care for, anything. And on top of this, David , although not as careless as Shaun and Ed, consistently throws his impulsive need to act (almost like an opposite to Shaun not acting) even if it compromises the group (when David smashes the pub window to get in, for example).

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Like in other zombie films Shaun of the dead others zombies. This is to differentiate the heroes from the monsters de-humanizing them by making the walk slower and moan loudly. Othering is very common in traditional zombie films and could be seen as a way they are paying homage to the genre. Joe

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Post modernism is when a text is self aware that its making intertexutual references to other texts. Post modernity started after WW2 its the idea that no texts are completely original anymore.
There are a few inter textual references within Shaun of the Dead. A persons cultural capital is linked with this theory. The audience will be rewarded almost with these "in" jokes if they've watched other zombie movies, parts of the film reference.
The film could be seen as a homage/patchie to George A Romero's zombie films. The title "Shaun of the Dead" is taken directly from "Dawn of the Dead" from Romero's Living dead series.
Another clear reference is to Romero's film Night of the Living dead. Eds line "we're coming to get you Barbra" clearly links to the the famous line "They're coming to get you Barbra"

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In SOTD women both subvert from expectations with the characters Liz and Yvonne as they are not waiting for men to save them and they are not passive, which is the opposite to their stereotype as women. However Barbara does conform to traditional stereotypes of women as she is passive and is always waiting for a man to tell her what to do, she also represents the 'baby boomer' generation.

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In Shaun of the Dead it is clear from the beginning that it is a society where the middle class is dominant and that the working class is "Other-ed", not through appearance, but in mannerisms. For example Noel (the 17 year old that Shaun works with) is other-ed by his stereotypical teenager attitude of not caring and intentionally trying to annoy and belittle his boss (Shaun).
Despite this "Other-ing" of the working class, Shaun still manages to appear as an every man where as Ed appears to be a slob and Pete seems to be hard working and in control of his own life. Shaun on the other hand appears as a middle ground, he has job, has a relationship and doesn't spend his whole day at home but, he does also want to live Ed's life (at least when Ed is around). Shaun

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What is British in SOTD? Linking to Narrative?

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What is British in SOTD? Linking to Narrative?

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In Shaun of the Dead we see the protagonist Shaun's transition from the beginning where he is working class to the end where he has become Middle Class. In Britain this is shown thnrough a range of British Props???
For example at the beginning Shaun is seen to smoke and visit the pub regularly which is a very working class past time. However at the end we’ve seen the development of Shaun as he pursues his relationship with Liz leading to him ditching smoking and instead watching Tv and drinking tea. Two very British past times but more associated with Middle class.
Miss en scene is used to show Britishness too for example props used such as the Cricket bat and shovel show a progress in the Narrative as the humour of not knowing what’s in the shed but find random British weapons as from what we know about Shaun and Ed up until that point tells us they’re not the people to play Cricket or Garden.
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Shaun of the Dead reinforces mainstream beliefs about family, gender roles and relationships. It presents a very hetero-normative viewpoint, one that promotes straight relationships and conventional middle class living. Shaun's character arc takes him from an immature, dead end life living with his mate Ed to a typical middle class lifestyle, in a heterosexual relationship in a nice house, with a secure job and a comfortable existence. This way of living is presented as the ideal way to be, as he is finally content and happy once he achieves this.

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In Shaun of the Dead the men can be seen as the dominant characters whilst the females are seen as stronger and more active, for example the character Liz, uses a weapon; this is typical in horror films. Liz, Yvonne and Dianne, the younger characters are seen as very independent and tough characters whilst Barbara, Shaun's mother, is stereotypically the weak female that has to rely on the male characters; this showing the age difference. With the male characters, Shaun and Ed begin being extremely passive, lazy and indecisive however Shaun changes throughout the film into more of an active character in order to get Liz back and impress her. Pete however has a steady job and is seen as the most independent male character, David tries to be this throughout the film in order to impress Liz, coincidently both Pete and David get killed. Overall the women are strong and responsible however the men are silly and weak yet in the end save the day (Shaun).

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This is the beliefs and values help by groups in society - the main ideology (dominant ideology) are the beliefs and values held by the dominant group in society. (that of white, middle-class, middle-aged, men - also heterosexual/straight, able-bodied and Christian)

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In the film men are seen as immature. This can be seen in Shaun and Nick's apartment which is very messy and looks like student accommodation which could suggest even though they are in their late 20s they have not grown up. Nick is particularly immature not having a real job and being very selfish by not taking others messages showing a lack of consideration. Joe