Dawn of the Dead Image Analysis 2

In this shot from the ending scene of Dawn of the Dead (2004), we have the survivors of the movie escaping on a boat out to the open sea. In this shot, we see Anna standing at the bow of the boat, the sunlight lighting her from behind, with the American flag to the right of her. This shot uses pathetic fallacy to show how Anna and the other survivors represent America and the American dream. It also links into the fears of the Middle East and how America acts as the apparent defence against terrorism. It also shows how America thinks itself better than the rest of the world as in this scene it seems as if these characters are the only survivors. However, this scene also shows the folly of the American dream and how America is not as strong and all-powerful as it thinks as, during the credits, the survivors encounter problems on the boat and reach a dock upon where they are attacked by zombies and are presumably all killed.