Dawn of The Dead (2004) image analysis (1)

This scene from Dawn of the Dead (2004) features Andre and Kenneth. Andre is confessing to Kenneth all the criminal actions he has committed and explaining how he wants to change. Kenneth is the ‘male hero’ and pursues a very respected job as a policeman. With his job comes a lot of authority and superiority, this is shown in the still shot through his size compared to Andre. He is closer to the camera and therefore displaying he is more powerful. He is also seen in most of the film with a large phallic symbol, which is a shotgun; this reflects his butch personality and ego. The shot also exhibits his clean reputation compared to Andre as he is wearing a white top to connote innocence and goodness. Whereas, Andre is wearing a black top to portray his criminal past and darkness. Andre holds a negative black stereotype with a criminal record, but Kenneth contradicts the stereotype and is a tough but soft-hearted ‘male hero’ archetype. This is shown in the film when he makes good friends with Andy, across the street and genuinely cares for him. He is smart and survives at the end, which supports the Blaxploitation film style with powerful black stars, for example Track Turner (1974). Despite Andre's reputation, he is trying to turn his life around and is desperately trying to protect Luda and his unborn child. This inter-racial relationship with Luda is no longer shocking due to the change in historical context. However, would have been a new and challenging idea when the original Dawn of The Dead (1979) was released.