Dawn of the Dead Image Analysis 1

This shot is taken from the opening scene of Dawn of the Dead (2004), during which the story of the zombie outbreak is introduced. We see a series of shots including biological tests, armies, mosques, the Middle East, reporters being attacked etc. It is implied from this scene that the zombie outbreak originated in the Middle East, an area of which, during 2004, had America and most of the world in the grips of a moral panic from terrorist attacks. The context of the time was the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers and the world was deep rooted in fear of the Middle East and of the Islam religion.