'Dawn Of The Dead' (1979) Film Still Analysis 1

Just before this scene takes place Fran and Stephen have been sent on a romantic dinner date by Peter.  In this following scene we see a naked Fran and Stephen, presumably having just engaged in some kind of sexual act. The music here is parallel with the feel of the scene: a sad, slow piano piece. Even through the excitement of the night, neither of them looks particularly happy, possibly because of how far removed they are from the normal CDI. They have tried to make parts of the mall feel like ‘home’, but with just a mattress and a lamp (motivated lighting for the shot), there is still a sense of unease. The point of this scene is to show the characters’ boredom within the mall, despite being surrounded by materialistic objects. In order to have a further sense of progression and freedom, Fran later demands Stephen teaches her how to fly the helicopter. This gives them all a sense of ease to know that there are now two people capable of flying them to safety.

The theme focused on here is that of sex and the taboo, especially emphasised by the phallic symbol of the gun leaning against the wall on the right, unneeded at this time. The films being made at this time were the results of the institutional context and a detachment from the ‘Hays Code’. This meant that scenes like this would never have been allowed to be viewed a few years earlier.