Romero’s Dawn: Fighting the Urge to Become a Zombified Consumerist

Romero’s Dawn: Fighting the Urge to Become a Zombified Consumerist

            The opening minutes of George A. Romero’s 1978 film Dawn of the Dead thrust viewers into a country that has devolved into chaos as society is in the throes of a zombie apocalypse. Immediately the viewer is introduced to Fran who is a news reporter with the WGN television network. Her significant other, Stephen, is the WGN television network traffic reporter and he offers up the idea of stealing the helicopter from the station to fly from the city of Philadelphia to safety. The two of them connect with Roger and Peter, police officers on separate SWAT teams that descend on an apartment building to help quell an uprising. Seeing a possible way out all four characters get on the helicopter and head out west looking for some means of safety and security from the onrushing mobs of creatures they leave behind. After a brief stopover to fuel the helicopter, the four survivors decide they need to find a place to rest and find something to eat. As hope is dwindling away they see a large shopping mall which appears on the horizon promising the supplies they need. Stephen lands on the roof and the survivors look down through the skylights assessing the situation at hand. What they see is a consumerist palace full of stocked stores and electrical power with a few zombies walking the halls of the building. The four survivors take shelter inside the building and from there the film becomes a battle for survival as they attempt to keep out the zombies that constantly come banging on the doors.

            Fran, trying to get a handle on what is happening when they land at the mall, proposes the question as to why the zombies have come to this place as civilization is falling. Her boyfriend Stephen answers with the words that echo throughout the remainder of the film, “Some kind of instinct. Memory, of what they used to do. This was an important place in their lives” (Dawn of the Dead, 1978).  With that it becomes clear that the overt metaphor Romero is discussing in the discourse of the film is the idea of consumerism. Specifically, he is looking at how ingrained in society the need to own and consume goods has become in the twentieth century. Consuming has become such a part of culture that even when characters die in Romero’s film they still search for the mall. At some point, the desires of conscious living beings have drifted into the conscious of beings that no longer are living. With the zombies pushed into the background, it moves the four survivors to the forefront focusing attention on their actions in this time of crisis. The zombies offer a threatening presence that hover over the surviving characters in the film, but the real story focuses on the survivors and how they are engaging the consumerist paradise surrounding them.

            Romero’s film serves as a commentary on America’s slavish devotion to consumerist tendencies. As Kyle Bishop points out about the film, “The insatiable need to purchase, own, and consume has become so deeply ingrained in twentieth-century Americans that their reanimated corpses are relentlessly driven by the same instincts and needs” (Bishop 234). Romero is specifically looking at Americans of the 1970s and how they have become zombies long before they have begun a never-ending search for human flesh. They are slaves to the ideology of consumerism traveling to the mall in a ritual of procuring and consuming goods. Using the mall as the location is natural because, “the shopping mall remains a cultural fascination in capitalist countries” (Harper). At the mall, shoppers have a vast array of products to select from, while having outlets for food, movies, and as much or little human interaction that they could want. It is a destination, meeting place, and social center for people of all ages. By attacking the ideology of consumerism Romero is going after a target that is central to the capitalist economy in which Americans live. Dawn of the Dead is a film that at first glance appears to be offering some confirmation of America’s love of consumerist culture. The survivors take up residence in the mall which provides a flight of fantasy, or “mall fantasia,” (Loudermilk 93) where everything is free and available to anyone who has the means of acquiring the items. A closer look at the film though reveals what Jean-Louis Comolli and Jean Narboni described as a Category E film in their essay “Cinema/Ideology/Criticism.” That category of films turns ideology on its ear by presenting themselves as a text subversive to the dominant ideology. In discussing the end result of this category of films they wrote, “The ideology thus becomes subordinate to the text. It no longer has an independent existence. It is presented by the film…While being completely integrated in the system and the ideology (these films) end up partially dismantling the system from within” (Comolli and Narboni 483). Romero is trying to be disruptive in this film by putting the ideology of consumerism under a microscope for viewers. While shopping holds a special place for certain people, Romero wants those same people to carefully examine these relationships to uncover what that love of purchasing actually means. In this particular scenario there is no outside world, there is no law, and there is no working towards anything. To go a step further he sets an analogy in the film that, “Seems to suggest that devotion to an inadequate ritual robs people of their souls, reduces them to zombies” (Horne 105). Viewers are prodded into looking inside themselves to examine why they are attached to items that can be bought even if it is something ingrained deeply into their being.

            The 1970s saw a paradigm shift in how capitalism worked for most Americans. According to Rick Wolff, a Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts, real wages for workers rose every decade from 1820 to 1970. While wages were rising however, the output of the American worker was increasing at a faster rate. Wolff argues that there were a number of factors that risked upsetting the balance of work output versus rising wages. Specifically he mentions that there would be an uprising from the workers if “Rising wages did not suffice to make them (the workers) ignore the growing inequality of US life, or if they rejected subordination to ever more automated, exhausting work disciplines” (Wolff). At that point the companies, and the economic markers, switched towards pushing the idea of consumerism. If people had purchasable items put in front of them as distractions then they would never question the clearly evident divide in front of them. In the 70s, real worker wages stopped rising, but the demand for goods did not stop. That never-ending feeling of obtaining more is an idea referred to by Aristotle as “pleonexia,” which means, “the disposition to have more” (Walker 83).  To go a step beyond that, it further means grabbing for extra even when you have your share. Aristotle further says, “Those who grasp seek to keep at bay the inescapable bad fortune with which death confronts us” (Wolff). Stephen’s character in the film is the main character that has a tendency to be openly grabbing for items at multiple occasions even when he already has everything. It is his idea to steal the helicopter because, “Someone has to survive” (Dawn of the Dead) When Fran shows some reservations about staying in the mall Stephen tries to reassure her by pointing out how much is in the mall telling her, “This place is terrific! It really is! It’s perfect. All kinds of things. We’ve really got it made here” (Dawn of the Dead).  The mall itself factors into the idea of consumerism because it helped cause a shift from small stores to supercenters where everything can be found, but at a cost of human interaction and social identities as malls do not have room for conscious shoppers. The lack of conscious shoppers is a concern because as wages trend downward that should trigger a decline in interest of goods but that never occurred. Romero is arguing that people need to be more discretionary in how they spend their money and thus engage in consumerism.

            Most of the literature regarding the film has focused solely on the views of Romero regarding consumerism. With Romero putting the metaphor squarely in the narrative of the film it is hard not to focus on the almost satirical nature of the film. In a documentary on the making of this film, Romero admits as such by offering, “The moment we come in and see [the mall], I think it is going to be obvious about the false security of consumer society . . . In this film the people starting to get tempted and attracted by the mall and adopting their military attempts to taking it over . . .these are things that I’ve tried to stay as close as possible to the script” (Document of the Dead, 1985). Scholars argue the film is drawing a line in the sand against the ideology of consumerism- the machinations of the film point too directly in that direction to be ignored.  The zombies fill up the mall; the survivors stay there enjoying the plentiful goods, and ultimately a motorcycle gang of thugs break into the mall searching for their own piece of what is inside. Consumerism is flayed in the course of the two hour film by Romero. It is an idea that most scholarly pieces about the film have picked up and run with. However, Romero is not quite as nihilistic in his motives as some of the writings make him seem. It is clear that while Romero does reject some concepts of consumerism, he does not reject them all. Malls can confuse people towards identifying a good life with gadget oriented affluence but the mall in the film does offer sanctuary to the four survivors. The majority of the literature discussing the film focuses on the evils of consumerism though it misses the distinction that Romero is making between different forms of our consumerist tendencies. There is a line Romero draws between good consumerism and the perversion of consumerism. Furthermore, that line is drawn based off how the individual characters interact with the environment of the mall. Romero showcases the mall as the constructed ecosystem it is, with all the familiar trademarks that are recognizable to viewers. Fountains spit water upward, stores are brightly lit, and shelves are stocked with goods ready for purchase. Not all of the characters though relish the gleeful plundering of the mall. Throughout the film the viewer is shown different modes of engaging with the mall and in the end, the fates of the four survivors are tied to how much respect they show their new home. Romero is arguing that while the ideology of consumerism can corrupt individuals, if people exercise some restraint and discretion towards how they operate within that ideology, they will never fully succumb to it. In attempting to do this he uses a mix of dialogue and camera shots throughout the film to set up the differences. Fran and Peter (the two characters that ultimately survive) are shown multiple times with the camera looking up at them in situations where the consumerism ideology is at play with the implication being that they are above the accepted ideology, or good consumers. Stephen and Roger (the two characters that do not survive) are shown at camera level or the camera looks down on them in situations where that ideology is in play with the implication being that they are consumed with the ideology, or a perversion of consumerism. There are also some efforts to show certain characters as being boxed in at times or surrounded by the ideology around them.

            To Romero’s credit he takes great care to show the mall in its unblemished form. While the world outside is crumbling, the mall stays intact. It is not unrecognizable to viewers because the impending apocalypse has so far failed to destroy the place. What the viewer is seeing is their consumerist palace in the way they most easily recognize it. When focusing on the differentiation between how survivors interact with the mall though it is important to first focus on how the mall appears in the film and consequently how it works in the lives of those that shop there. In a study done to focus on how malls try to appeal to consumers, Pauline Maclaran and Stephen Brown conducted a study of a new shopping center being built in Ireland. Within the course of the study they found that stores are arranged in a manner to create the most appealing artscape, or design, to make shoppers comfortable in their stores (Maclaran and Brown 321). Combined with some other factors this helps to create a feeling of topophilia, or a love of place, in shoppers. Romero recognized this mission of developers and placed that within the context of the film. In his original shooting script Romero describes the mall as a shrine built to consumerism for consumers, “Stores of every type offer gaudy displays of consumer items…At either end of the concourse, like the main altars at each end of a cathedral, stand the mammoth two-story department stores, great symbols of a consumer society” (Horne 97). Designers of mall layouts have an understanding that they need to foster a rapport between consumers and the shopping experience. However, there needs to be a sense of harmony between the design and those who experience the design. In Dawn of the Dead, the harmonious nature comes out of necessity for the four survivors, but for the zombies it comes out of familiarity.

            Prior to arriving at the mall the survivors are having a discussion about their current predicament and where they should be heading. Roger and Stephen are in the front of the helicopter with Fran and Peter sitting in the back. As they assess the maps they talk about avoiding locks along the rivers outside of Pittsburgh since those are probably still manned by guards. Stephen offers the argument that, “They are just out after scavengers and looters” (Dawn of the Dead).  Peter quickly responds by angrily asking if Stephen has the papers for the helicopter they are flying. A clear contrast in their thoughts on the situation at hand is immediately evident. Stephen does not see them as doing anything illegal. He is still trying to differentiate between good and bad but does not recognize that what they are doing is a bad form of procurement. Peter though, realizes that the four of them are engaging in the behavior that Stephen is decrying. To further his side Peter adds, “Right. And we’re out here doing traffic reports? Wake up sucker. We’re thieves and bad guys is what we are. And we gotta find our own way” (Dawn of the Dead). Peter recognizes the group as being bad consumers in this instance. There is nothing that elevates them above a common looter because they stole something and are using that for their benefit. It is a distinction that comes into play throughout the rest of the film. With Stephen being unable to differentiate what they are doing from looters he is placing himself into an area where he is unable to make a choice away from consumerism. Peter’s comments show that he is not lost in the ideology of consumerism because he is able to recognize what is good and what is bad.

            The screen goes dark after this exchange before a smash cut, accompanied by a loud musical change on the soundtrack, switches us to daylight with the helicopter hovering towards the mall. A shot from the sky shows the mall in the left side of the frame with the vast parking lot taking up a majority of the picture. They circle further on towards the mall with the parking lot gradually taking up more and more of the frame. The shot itself makes it appear as if the helicopter is willing them to go forward to another destination. At the very least it offers some sense of internal debate within the survivors about whether or not they should land there. The ominous music on the soundtrack increases the palpable uneasy feeling of this structure despite it offering the security the survivors are seeking. Unsurprisingly that binary nature is noticed in the film. Philip Horne’s essay on the film incorporates a quote from Robin Wood that offers, “The mall is associated with entrapment in consumer-capitalism, from whose structures and characteristic relationship-patterns the surviving humans must learn to extricate themselves or succumb to the living dead.” (Horne 99). When the building is first viewed it is hard to see why any person would be attracted to it. On its exterior the mall is a cold looking concrete building with minimal entrances in and no windows, other than the glass in the doors, looking out. The wide shot of the mall then switches into quick cut clips of exterior places around the mall. A light post marked “30” is shown in a mid-range shot with the camera looking up at the post where the viewer can clearly read what is on the sign. The very next shot though is under that same light post looking directly up at it to the point where the number is not visible and all it appears to be is four lights hovering over the viewer. It is a disorienting shot in that it is not recognizable to the viewer. Marked light posts offer a frame of reference for consumers when they exit the mall. From the first angle we get that post from the angle most common for shoppers. It is at a distance where the number can be seen and the viewer can walk forward with some confidence about their parking situation. The second shot though furthers the sense of unease about the place. This is the mall that one knows, but there is now something different about it. Following that cut we get a shot of the fence surrounding the electrical area of the mall with the foreboding, “Danger! High Voltage!” sign. Electrical areas are usually tucked away on the backside of a mall hidden from shoppers. It is not a space that creates a warm fuzzy feeling in consumers. In fact, it stands as a sense of danger- a space trying to shield itself from the on rushing shoppers advancing through the parking lot. Taken literally in this instance, it is alerting the survivors that there is trouble waiting for them the minute they enter this facility. The very last shot in the sequence is the entrance marker as the helicopter flies past in the background landing on the roof. Again this situates the survivors into a place where they can recognize the mall as they remember it, welcoming and offering to them a place to purchase to their heart’s content. Of the four images, two offer some sense of familiarity while the other two offer a stern warning towards the survivors. While this mall resembles something from their not too distant past, the world is different and the surroundings have changed.

            Once inside the mall the survivors see that there is a storage room that is separate from the rest of the building, a place where they could situate themselves and be protected from the zombies already in the place. When they get set up in there, Roger and Peter decide to go down into the mall and lock off some of the stores to allow themselves access to places without having to go through the mob of undead. It is referred to by both as a “hit and run” mission but there are some telling signs indicating their feelings on what that term actually means. Peter offers that there is a lot of stuff down there that they could use. Roger says the place is a gold mine. Using those opposing viewpoints there is a discussion to be had about procuring things one needs and things one wants.

            They step into the electrical room and Roger sees a wall that has a number of switches which control the automated aspects of the mall. Peter says to turn everything on so they have power in the entire facility. To this point the mall is a drab, dark place with no life to it. The zombies are walking the halls expressionless as they move from one end of the building to the other. As Roger begins turning on aspects of the mall the viewer begins to see the mall come to life through a sequence that alternates between switches being turned on, and showing what that switch did and its effects. It is in this sequence where viewers see why the mall is so hard to extract oneself from.

            First, Roger flicks the switch for the music which turns on the easy listening muzak which is commonly heard throughout a mall’s speaker system. The music itself carries an ambling nature designed to mimic the process of walking as a shopper could easily move in tune with the notes. When the music starts we cut to the zombies walking through the mall and this matching nature can be seen. Their expression never changes to indicate that there is a foreign noise now being played.  Nothing about this is out of place to them as it taps into the memory they are recalling of being in the mall before. The scene cuts back to Roger as he flicks the switch for the escalators. Once those are on we see a shot of two zombies being carried to the second level on the machine. Again there is no change in the expression on the faces of the zombies as this action still does not seem out of the ordinary to them. Next to be turned on by Roger are the fountains which begin shooting water into the air followed quickly by Roger turning on the exhibits in the mall. Artwork emerges from behind sliding partitions in the wall which reveal the pieces designed to create an ambience in the walkways. This switch also gives movement to the mannequins in the stores which begin turning towards the shoppers to showcase the items that are available for purchase. Here in this sequence Romero works to show that the zombies and mannequins share similar qualities. Viewers see a brunette mannequin wearing lipstick turn towards the camera from right to left to show her face. This shot immediately cuts to a similar looking zombie turning from left to right in frame. Both movements are done with an almost mechanical precision with very little fluidity contained within the movements. It looks like these are mirror image shots. From pairing these scenes up side by side Romero is offering a comparison which shows that the mannequins and zombies, and by extension the shoppers, are similar. Shops want people to purchase their goods and in doing so essentially turn shoppers into walking mannequins. Wandering aimlessly through the mall without any engagement is turning oneself into a zombie- something devoid of emotional attachment and just searching for something to grab, be it clothes or brains. Mindlessly walking through the mall and being unaffected by everything happening in the background is succumbing to the system. It is what shops and malls want from the people that go there. One is not supposed to think about what they are purchasing because stopping and thinking about a purchase may lead to not making a purchase.

            Romero gives us the opposing view of this by cutting to Fran at the tail end of this back and forth sequence. She is standing in the stairwell as a lookout for the sleeping Stephen and is clearly annoyed by the music she is hearing over the loudspeaker. After a few seconds of dealing with it she rolls her eyes upward and flips her hair backward in an annoyed manner before going back into the room to wake up Stephen. In this shot the camera is a level below Fran looking up at her. Contrast that with the following shot where the camera is on the same level of the mall- albeit out in the concourse area and not the stairwell- looking down at the zombies on the bottom floor of the mall. If one thinks of the camera level looking straight ahead as being the platform of consumerism, the camera is looking up at Fran as if she is above this crass commercialization, and casting aspersions on the zombies for being a part of the machine or being figuratively under its spell. The camera cuts back to the same level as the zombies to show them mystified by what is happening around them in the mall. Two zombies foolishly walk into the fountains chasing the movement of the water. A mass of zombies wander towards the clock in the middle of the building drawn by the siren sound of the chimes. One zombie is stuck in the fountain and is grabbing change from the floor of the decorative piece. As zombies ride the escalator one has fallen down and just lays motionless on the device as it goes to the upper level. Other zombies behind him on the escalator just step around him as he lies at the top of the steps. They never acknowledge his presence there but just continue moving forward towards their destinations. Viewed as a collection, all these scenes work as vignettes of things one could see on any given day at a mall. As pointed out earlier, Romero is taking great pains to show the mall in a form that viewers would be familiar with. Malls try to create a blissful effect where shoppers are lulled into a comatose state within a system that only asks them to continually purchase goods. Throughout this sequence, beginning with Fran, we see the dichotomy of consumer culture, with Fran representing consumers trying to operate outside the system by proposing indifference to the charms of the mall. Conversely the zombies act as the masses that would normally populate the mall on any regular day. There is zero thought given to what they are doing, consumption is the only thing on their mind.

            Throughout their initial shopping spree Roger and Peter take different tracts towards what they pick up.  Roger immediately yells about getting watches- an item that is not essential to survival. Peter offers to grab a radio and television set which are, “the things we need” (Dawn of the Dead). The camera shot is from a high angle looking down on the two men as they run through the store, however Peter disappears from the shot with Roger being the only one in frame. Again, the camera is casting blame on Roger for his actions. Grabbing items that do not qualify as necessities is bad consumerism. With the keys to the building now as well the survivors have a certain level of power that is not usually granted to those outside of the system, but they choose to use the same methods that the consumerist creators use. As A. Loudermilk points out, “The runners (Peter and Roger), must enact a sort of false advertising- as decoys- in order to maneuver the slow-moving cluster of zombies…For the time being it seems that the desired human consumable has one-up on Romero’s walking dead consumer” (Loudermilk 92). Simply put, when the two men need to get out away from this situation the method they use is similar to one used by malls. Divert the shopper in one direction to hide something else. Falling for this course of action the zombies remove themselves from being a threat and instead are drawn to the allure of the sale.

            The survivors attempt to close off the mall which requires them to move trucks from an adjacent parking yard to the front of the doors. In this process Roger is bitten by a zombie and is doomed to become one. Peter throughout the scene keeps the mission solely in the front of his mind. He is being careful about everything he is doing. Roger is more reckless in his actions and looks at this as an activity not worthy of care or respect.  At one point Roger and Peter start to pull away but Roger insists they go back because he forgot his bag. Peter asks him to let it go but Roger persists. Again we are witnessing bad consumerism. He is unwilling to move on and let what he thinks is his get left behind. After he is bitten the camera looks down at Roger with the zombie in the foreground obscuring part of Roger’s body. Roger is also stuck between two trucks with no escape. He was figuratively and literally trapped by his need to pursue what he felt was rightfully his.

            After the mall has been sealed off and cleared of zombies the four survivors survey the emptiness and vastness of the building in front of them. At this point the mall is entirely their own. They are positioned on the upper level of the building and as they view the aftermath of their takeover the camera focuses downward into the mall as if the three of them are looking down on consumerism and are above the lemming like nature of shopping. Although they are in solitude the moaning and groaning of the zombies can still be heard echoing through the hallways. Fran and Stephen talk about the fact that the creatures are still lurking and Stephen says they are after us. Peter disagrees with this and offers, “They’re after the place. They don’t know why, they just remember. Remember that they want to be in here” (Dawn of the Dead).  With this statement Peter recognizes what Stephen did earlier- the ingrained nature of this place in the lives of the living. Fran questions what the creatures are and Peter answers by pointedly stating, “They’re us. That’s all” (Dawn of the Dead).  There is a sense of melancholy that pervades throughout this discussion about what is happening around them. Whether they are longing for what this place once stood for or solely lamenting their own fates at this point the discussion focuses almost solely on what they need to do now. One could make the assumption that the survivors can see where their fates are drifting at this point. In his piece about the film, Tony Williams wrote, “Mindlessness, the suspension of any form of critically-minded independent thought and passivity, characterizes any true believer whether they adhere to the realms of capitalism…The four humans soon become reduced to conditions of mindless passivity like their living dead alter egos” (Williams 93). While there is some validity to this in the actions of the survivors, it is clear from what he says that Peter doesn’t view himself, or the others, as being above the zombies although the camera positions them in this manner once again. He phrases his comments in a knowing manner about the reality of this situation. If one falls victim to the hedonistic pleasures the mall offers than they have removed themselves from the position of spectator and are a part of the machine, and essentially part of the problem. Peter may fall into the trap of the mall but his comments reveal a certain level of humanity inside of him yet that gives the impression that he will never fully fall under the allure of the mall. In Stephen’s mind, the four inside are still what is for sale, yet the mall has been cordoned off from the dead outside. The survivors are not the commodity desired; they just happen to be within the commodity desired. This particular scene follows one where Romero shows us a montage of the four survivors shopping in their mall that is now zombie free which helps shape how this conversation is viewed.

            Fran is paired off with the bitten, and now doomed to become a living dead, Roger as she wheels him around the mall in a shopping cart. They reach the center of the shopping mall and Fran leaves Roger alone to sit in his cart around the fountains. Similar to what was seen with the zombies earlier in the film, Roger is smitten with the movement of the water. Spatially, for part of the scene the camera is filming from behind the waterfall so we see Roger though the translucence of the water. The viewer is put in a spot where again they are observing what is happening and it has a voyeuristic quality. Viewed this way as well, Roger appears to be contained within the walls of the consumerism ideology now. He is physically contained by the confines of the shopping cart but visually he looks contained by the walls of water and stores behind him. Angle wise the camera is also on the same level as Roger which gives the same appearance in which the viewer saw the zombies filmed during the initial scenes in the mall.

            Peter and Stephen are moving through the mall together and go into the bank where Peter takes some of the money out of the register and both grin for the security cameras. On the surface this seems like an action outside of the argument being made, but Peter makes clear that the reason he is taking the money is because they may need it for the future. For author Stephen Harper this sequence is one of a, “Fantasy of purchasing power that emphasizes the economic exclusivity of consumerism.” (Harper). While that is true, more attention should be paid to how the characters react to what they are taking. Peter looks at it as a survival need- maybe not an immediate one- but one that could be necessary at some point in the future. Throughout the exchange Stephen is grinning in a mischievous manner. He is also framed in his shot as leaning over the divider at the teller window. It is another place where there are walls that can be physically seen. Stephen hovers over them but when Peter hands him the money, Stephen leans forward through the teller window to shake hands, while one hand remains outside the window holding the cash. From this we see a man who is starting to drift into the confining metaphorical walls of the system. Ultimately this would make him a prisoner to consumerist desires.

            The camera cuts back to Fran and the viewer observes her trying on dresses in a clothing store. She stands in front of a changing room mirror wearing a sun hat, a dress, and is holding a matching purse. The mirror has three individual mirrors so a person can look at clothing from the front, their left and right sides. The camera is behind Fran so while we see three sides closing in on Fran there is still a sense that there is nothing behind her confining her to these desires. Also, through the reflection of the mirror the viewer can see the store laid out behind her. Additionally, the scene is filmed with the camera pointed upward looking at Fran. Again the implication is that Fran is still above the idea of pervasive consumerism and is not falling into the trappings of the mall around her. Fran is also portrayed as someone who is neither excited nor impressed by this shopping excursion. She only looks in the mirror for a brief couple seconds before she turns around and looks behind her as if she is looking for a way out.

            While the three guys pick up watches, hats, and candy- Fran goes ice skating in the mall’s skating rink. This solitary moment for Fran is filmed from a distance and the camera, while stationed above the rink, films it from so far away that it never highlights the idea that it is looking down on Fran. Furthermore, she is positioned skating in front of the open door to the rink which again showcases that Fran is aware of the way out. Set against the backdrop of Roger, Peter, and Stephen’s purchases, Fran stands alone as someone who is not participating in the destruction of the mall’s sanctity. It is telling enough that she is engaging in an activity that does not consist of taking anything.

            The film advances a few months as Peter, Stephen, and Fran have adapted to their surroundings and are treating the mall as their home at this point following Roger turning into a zombie and being killed. After a few months in the place the pull of consumerism begins to get to Fran. She is sitting in a department store again and dressing up with fancy clothing and is using make-up and perfume. The happiness with this is evident in her face. Instead of filming her from behind and looking up, the camera is now pulled in tight off her right shoulder giving a feeling that Fran is now being boxed in by the same greed that has consumed others within the consumerist ideology. This shot stands as a stark contrast to the last time we saw Fran dressing up in front of the mirror. Most powerfully though, Romero inserts cuts of a mannequin head in the store looking almost identical to how Fran has dolled herself up. Brandishing a pistol, Fran looks at herself in the mirror and smiles at the look she has given herself. On one hand it looks as if consumerism has firmed its grasp around Fran’s throat and is now consuming her. As the camera focuses on the mannequin though we hear a voice on the PA system announce, “Attention all shoppers. If you have a sweet tooth, we have a special treat for you. If your purchases in the next half hour amount to five dollars or more we’ll give you a bag of hard candy free” (Dawn of the Dead). In the middle of this announcement Fran drops what the viewer now sees was a façade. For Fran, the announcement reminds her of the reality of the situation surrounding her. What good are promises of free candy, a reward for indulging yourself in rampant consumerism, if there is no world to walk into which relieves you from these gimmicks? Besides, the three remaining survivors can have the candy whether they purchase five dollars of merchandise or not. Purchasing goods creates a space to converse with someone about the candy that is now rightfully yours and that interaction provides a few brief moments of humanity outside the vein of consumerism. Fran doesn’t have that diversion anymore. All she has are Stephen and Peter, and a vast empire just waiting to be picked clean. Seeing as she appears uninterested in that, there is nothing Fran is living for at this moment. Furthermore, the next scene shows that Fran sees what has become of the group as they sit down for dinner rhetorically asking, if the characters have trapped themselves in a culture where there is no escape. There is some comfort the three feel but that is stymied by the isolation permeating their very existence. Kyle Bishop discusses the sense of isolation by offering, “Although they (the survivors) have attempted to recreate the structural apparatuses of society…the institutions are mere fabrications.” (Bishop 244). The movie is arguing that what good are institutions that do not carry any weight outside of the established society? Consumerism is an empty shell of an ideology at this point in the film because there is no challenge to owning anything.

            With the three of them living as a family and cut off from the outside world, they have essentially exited the ideology of consumerism while trapping themselves in the building geared towards perpetuating that ideology. While consumerism has some bad connotations it at least gives one the feeling that they are working towards something. Whether they are buying goods for survival or treating themselves to some superfluous good earned through hard work- a good is an end goal of production. Here the survivors no longer have that noble intention. Everything is theirs for the taking and they are taking within the visual confines of the system. Matched with Fran’s comments from earlier in the film the mall has officially become a place of doom for the three remaining survivors. The mall has taken hold of their collective conscience and has settled them into a place where they are too content to leave, yet not content enough to stay.  That binary way of thinking is at the heart of shopping and is what Romero criticizes throughout. People want more, but at what point does one have enough?

            In the end though, it is not the zombies that ultimately doom the survivors, it is a renegade motorcycle gang breaking into the mall that causes problems. The first time the viewer sees the motorcycle gang they are watching Stephen teach Fran to fly a helicopter. It is framed initially through the eyes of a person looking through binoculars. Again it gives the viewer a sense of watching something from outside the system and because of the voyeuristic nature of the scene it alerts the viewers that the intentions of the gang on the hill are not noble despite how they try to portray themselves to the three survivors. The two groups engage each other over a short wave radio with the bikers trying to gain access to the mall. Fran and Stephen are willing to let them in but Peter remains unconvinced about the magnanimous nature the bikers are presenting.  Ultimately he is correct that the bikers are not coming there to share the riches, but rather to pilfer from the survivors. Engaging in their outlaw logic the bikers indicate they are going to attack because, “We don’t like people who don’t share” (Dawn of the Dead). Peter engages in bad consumerism and it leads to an attack from the motorcycle gang.

            The bikers come under cover of darkness and appear first as lights in the distance coming toward the mall. In contrast with the slow moving zombies, the bikers are fast although both groups though are awkward in their actions. The zombies are sloppy and amble about with no real purpose while the biker gang is reckless with nothing but carnage on their minds. Entrances and zombies are reduced to rubble by grenades, guns, axes, and whatever else the bikers have been able to get their hands on. There is a sloppy precision to what they are doing. This entire scene is filmed from a stable viewing point that is looking straight on at the fight. The bikers and living dead are battling for entry into the mall essentially making this a battle over consumerism. Peter recognizes what the survivors are going to be dealing with here and his only act of defense is to lock the stores and offer to Stephen, “Let’s not make it easy for them” (Dawn of the Dead)  While Peter does want to protect what they have he doesn’t want to engage with the bikers in any manner. Letting them have their run of the mall does not matter as it is more important to protect the domesticity they have developed for themselves. Safety and not consumerism is Peter’s goal here which is a switch from just minutes earlier. He advises Stephen to stay upstairs and lay low letting the bikers have their fun, grab their stuff, and then move on.

            When the bikers attack the interior of the mall, the viewer is shown lengthy sequences of the bikers and zombies fighting with each other. The camera is situated at the same visual level of the action and is focused in tight on everything happening. There are shots filmed looking through trees in the mall and behind structures as the motorcycles disappear behind a column only to reappear on the other side. Romero is situating the viewer again outside the action to show that these bikers are fully entrenched in the ideology of consumerism. They are not procuring goods for survival but rather just because the lawlessness of the times allows them to steal whatever they want. Zombies are roughed up by multiple bikers as they are pulled to the ground, hit with beer bottles, seltzer water, and pies. It is an attack that is cartoonish in nature and shows a lack of respect for everything and everyone involved. The bikers are representing anarchy against the system, but in some way they are participating in the circle as much as anyone. Marching against the grain in order to stand out still indicates that one knows which drum to march in step against. However, it is clear that the bikers do not respect any aspect of what society has become or what this place represents. They destroy the mall by blowing the doors open and shooting locks. They destroy the zombies and the interior of the building. They see nothing but a world that is theirs for the taking and they gleefully destroy every aspect of this place.

            Peter and Stephen have taken cover upstairs and are separated from each other. Peter is listening to the chaos downstairs and while he is concerned he realizes that they are safe from what is happening as long as they do not draw attention to themselves. Stephen though has a different take on what is happening. He is shown hiding in a forest setting in the mall and is filmed as he is standing halfway behind a tree with a look on his face that looks eerily similar to the one on Roger’s face when he returned from the dead. It is cold, emotionless, and his eyes and cheeks look sunken as he is clearly wrestling with his anger. Unable to contain himself anymore, Stephen leaps behind a park bench and cuts off contact with Peter. Partially hidden behind the bench and again framed partially behind walls he mutters the words, “It’s ours. We took it. It’s ours” (Dawn of the Dead).  Upon finishing his thought he opens fire on a bike moving past him. At this point the bikers now know where Stephen and Peter are hiding and this all erupts into a gun fight that draws the groups’ attention towards each other and off the zombies. This opportunity is taken by the zombies to turn the tables on everyone in the building and they begin to overrun the mall and get the upper hand on all the living humans inside. Stephen is the survivor that gets the worst end of this deal. He is shot in the gun battle with the bikers and then he tries to escape through the vent in the elevator back to the safety of their residence in the offices. However, he is unable to pull himself up to that level. The mall is rejecting him at this point and he has himself to blame. Consumerism has swallowed him and he no longer is able to bring himself out of the ideology. Stuck in an elevator he is easy prey for the zombies who attack the minute the elevator reaches its destination and opens its doors. As he forces the last zombie out, the doors close and Stephen is left to suffer in his last minutes as a living being. Throughout this sequence, Romero intercuts scenes of Peter trying to escape through a hallway after debating whether he could save Stephen. As he scurries through the hallway he hears a few gunshots and stops to pound the wall and damn the terrible decision he has been forced to make. Saving Stephen is a noble goal but by doing so he is running back into the consumerist paradigm and entering that world. The dankly lit hallway where he currently is situates him again outside the brightly lit paradise so close to him. While he is in a hallway the camera is set up so the viewer is looking down the hallway at Peter. The viewer sees the exit behind him and while he is contained in two directions, he has two ways out. Either run towards the camera and back towards the mall, or continue to run away from the camera, from the mall and towards safety.  Peter chooses to continue towards his safety despite being anguished about the decision he has to make.

            Zombies have now taken over the mall and the camera is still on the same level as the zombies showing them as being in harmony with the consumerist ideology. While they still amble in their movements there is a precision in what the zombies are doing now. The system is no longer looking at drawing them in; it has them- now it is just a matter of controlling the machinations of their actions. Within this sequence the elevator doors slide open and out steps Stephen who is now a zombie. The zombies that were waiting outside the door for him to emerge see that he is one of them and turn away and they all begin ambling away from the department store. Stephen is framed in the shot as being between two zombies in the foreground and looks boxed in by what is around him as the elevator is directly behind him. Stephen ends up leading the zombies towards the fake partition wall that the survivors had set up to protect the home they have built now consumed with the same feeling that brought the zombies to the mall- familiarity. Fran flees to the roof as Peter kills Stephen and begins fighting off the zombies that have now invaded their solace away from the mall. The two worlds are bleeding together and the remaining survivors are being asked to choose whether they will be consumed or remove themselves. Both of them choose removal, or life, and the dash for the helicopter begins. Peter begins punching his way to the helicopter before one zombie grabs the gun in Peter’s hand and they begin jockeying over possession of the gun. In a symbolic moment, Peter lets go of the gun, passing the burden of the place onto the zombies. Consumerism has lost whatever small grasp it had on Peter as he lets go of the gun. While he stands there initially with a bit of a perplexed, but bemused look on his face, Peter does eventually decide the best thing to do is leave this all behind and head into the unknown. The zombie does not know how to use the gun and why he wants it- all he knows is that he wants it. Ultimately that is the conceit of consumerism. Stores trick people into feeling they want to purchase goods they do not need. Peter gets into the helicopter and he rides off into the sunset with Fran behind the wheel. In these closing seconds of the film the camera follows them as they drift higher into the sky, flying towards the horizon again positioning Fran and Peter as being above the idea of consumerism. They leave behind everything they had and they are moving towards a future that may be unknown, but it is one that they can find for themselves. Once the helicopter disappears the ending credits roll while Romero presents a montage of shots inside the mall. Many of the shots are ones that were used during the sequence after the motorcycle attack when the zombies had overtaken the mall. As the final scenes roll the cheery soundtrack is replaced by the chilling tone of the clock striking the advent of a new hour. This is accompanied by a wide shot from the upper level of the mall looking down at the zombies as they move around the mall again casting aspersions towards the consumers that remain. In some ways it is a new hour for the mall, but the camera angle indicates that while some remove themselves, there are plenty others ready to submit to the consumerist ideology.

            It is not really shocking that Romero tucked this message into a zombie film. Zombies look to assimilate others into their world through biting. Marketers try to do the same thing by looking to make people think that they need an item that is being presented. Also, in this film- the zombies do very little damage by themselves, but in a pack they are deadly. Again it is similar to how stores operate. Having a couple people in a store to buy a couple items will not raise their sales greatly. However if stores can draw in many people all at once that can raise their sales totals.

            The closing minutes of the film represent a switch from the beginning moments. Ending the film this way Romero does provide a positive message- albeit a small one- as the remaining two characters get out of the ideology. Both are able to successfully leave behind them the allure of shopping and although the world out there carries some unknown safety concerns, they have not lost their identities or turned into mindless soldiers in the consumerism war. Romero’s closing image before the credits show there is hope for some, while the image after the credits shows that there is no hope for others. In the lead up to its release, Romero had trouble with the MPAA over the rating of the film. The gore earned the film an “X” rating which Romero fought because he felt that would conflate the film with pornography in the viewer’s mind. Not wanting to give his film that death knell he released it unrated and added a message that read, “There is no sex in this picture. However there are scenes of violence which may be considered shocking” (Document of the Dead). Romero gave viewers a chance to be a conscious consumer with the film and make a choice for themselves as to whether they wanted to see the film without following the guidelines of the MPAA. He is asking for the same thing with the rest of people’s purchases.

             The mall itself became a hell on Earth for the survivors. Flying into the unknown at the end may carry an amount of uncertainty but the hell they had created for themselves was something they were ready to get away from. Ending the film this way Romero’s message is a bit of double-edged sword. For the viewers that identify Fran and Peter, it is a happy ending in that it legitimizes the belief that one can escape from consumerism. For the viewers that identify with the zombies, it shows that one can be a happy sinful person wandering contentedly around the mall which is exactly where they want to be. Romero shows that while there is a massive system surrounding consumers, it is possible to remove oneself from it. All it requires is being a consumer that does not get caught up in the obsessive desire to own items that are unnecessary.  

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