Close textual analysis - Shaun’s Plan
"Yeaa boi!!!"
The scene begins with a quick close-up showing a white board with the sentences “Go round mums, Get Liz back, SORT LIFE OUT” this foreshadows the rest of the scene and the film. The scene also begins with a sense of comedy even though the matter is serious; Ed acts as the stock joker character and is the one who supplies most of the funny moments in the film through clumsiness or by making jokes/funny comments; this often irritates Shaun but amuses the audience.
The relationship between Shaun and Ed various throughout the film, Shaun is the dominant figure in their friendship and in this scene the body language of the two conveys this. Ed is sitting on a chair while Shaun is standing up and explaining the plan to him, Shaun is above Ed showing him to be bigger connoting that Shaun has more authority over Ed. The mise-en-scene shows Ed sitting in a messy living room, with a dead zombie on the floor connoting his lifestyle and also showing the ‘zombie’ aspect of the film.
There is much male dominance in the scene and there are connotations of patriarchy especially as Shaun comes up with several failed plans. The plans mainly consist of Ed and Shaun saving the two damsels in distress, Barbara (Shaun’s mum) and Liz (Shaun’s girlfriend). Shaun is conveyed as the hero, Ed acts as the donor and the helper, helping with the development of the plan and Liz is the princess (Propp). However, Shaun can also be seen as the anti-hero reluctant to save everyone and get rid of the zombies; his plan is to save Liz and his mum, get to a safe place and “wait till the whole thing blows over”. This also shows some political/social context; Shaun of the Dead was being written during the 9/11 attack and it affected the script slightly as they realised even in a social disturbance the little problems don’t go away. The fact that Shaun wants to “wait for the whole tinge to blow over” shows him wanting to avoid the social problem and wait for the status quo to return.
As they formulate the plan the editing technique convey the scene with clarity, Wright shows the development of the plan to the audience, along with the failed ideas, with imaginative flash-forwards, wipe-like editing and whooshing camerawork; such as zooming in/out. The montage of the plan is also the part of the whole scene where there is non-diegetic music; this gives the montage a sense of action and engages the audience. The fast paced editing is another technique used by Wright to engage the audience, as well as the realistic hand-held camerawork, flash-forwards and the montage. The flash-forwards create a break in the linear narrative, but it also foreshadows the rest of the film; also the hand-held camerawork reinforced the fact that the film was produced on a low budget. The formulating of the plan itself engages the audience, but also leaves no enigmas (Barthes); it involves the audience and allows them to see trial and error which adds to the comedy aspect. The audience are further involved as Shaun looks directly into the camera at the end of each flash-forward and winks at the audience, this allows the male audience to identify with Shaun as he acts as a hero and can also appeal to the female audience who find Simon Pegg attractive.
The conventional idea of isolation is also shown in the scene. Part of the plan is to hide out in the local pub, Winchester. Most horror/zombie films are set in an isolated place which has the essentials for survival, is big and empty and has a basement; the Winchester pub has all these conventions. However, Ed and Shaun see the pub as a safe place where they are familiar with and have knowledge of the exits and are able to stay with Liz and Barbara until the whole thing blows over.
The Scene (someone put Kaiser Chiefs over it): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEUwYtabecQ
"Yeaa boi!!!"
The scene begins with a quick close-up showing a white board with the sentences “Go round mums, Get Liz back, SORT LIFE OUT” this foreshadows the rest of the scene and the film. The scene also begins with a sense of comedy even though the matter is serious; Ed acts as the stock joker character and is the one who supplies most of the funny moments in the film through clumsiness or by making jokes/funny comments; this often irritates Shaun but amuses the audience.
The relationship between Shaun and Ed various throughout the film, Shaun is the dominant figure in their friendship and in this scene the body language of the two conveys this. Ed is sitting on a chair while Shaun is standing up and explaining the plan to him, Shaun is above Ed showing him to be bigger connoting that Shaun has more authority over Ed. The mise-en-scene shows Ed sitting in a messy living room, with a dead zombie on the floor connoting his lifestyle and also showing the ‘zombie’ aspect of the film.
There is much male dominance in the scene and there are connotations of patriarchy especially as Shaun comes up with several failed plans. The plans mainly consist of Ed and Shaun saving the two damsels in distress, Barbara (Shaun’s mum) and Liz (Shaun’s girlfriend). Shaun is conveyed as the hero, Ed acts as the donor and the helper, helping with the development of the plan and Liz is the princess (Propp). However, Shaun can also be seen as the anti-hero reluctant to save everyone and get rid of the zombies; his plan is to save Liz and his mum, get to a safe place and “wait till the whole thing blows over”. This also shows some political/social context; Shaun of the Dead was being written during the 9/11 attack and it affected the script slightly as they realised even in a social disturbance the little problems don’t go away. The fact that Shaun wants to “wait for the whole tinge to blow over” shows him wanting to avoid the social problem and wait for the status quo to return.
As they formulate the plan the editing technique convey the scene with clarity, Wright shows the development of the plan to the audience, along with the failed ideas, with imaginative flash-forwards, wipe-like editing and whooshing camerawork; such as zooming in/out. The montage of the plan is also the part of the whole scene where there is non-diegetic music; this gives the montage a sense of action and engages the audience. The fast paced editing is another technique used by Wright to engage the audience, as well as the realistic hand-held camerawork, flash-forwards and the montage. The flash-forwards create a break in the linear narrative, but it also foreshadows the rest of the film; also the hand-held camerawork reinforced the fact that the film was produced on a low budget. The formulating of the plan itself engages the audience, but also leaves no enigmas (Barthes); it involves the audience and allows them to see trial and error which adds to the comedy aspect. The audience are further involved as Shaun looks directly into the camera at the end of each flash-forward and winks at the audience, this allows the male audience to identify with Shaun as he acts as a hero and can also appeal to the female audience who find Simon Pegg attractive.
The conventional idea of isolation is also shown in the scene. Part of the plan is to hide out in the local pub, Winchester. Most horror/zombie films are set in an isolated place which has the essentials for survival, is big and empty and has a basement; the Winchester pub has all these conventions. However, Ed and Shaun see the pub as a safe place where they are familiar with and have knowledge of the exits and are able to stay with Liz and Barbara until the whole thing blows over.
The Scene (someone put Kaiser Chiefs over it): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEUwYtabecQ
posted by Jaskeerat at 4:17 PM
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