Shaun of the Dead

Shaun of the Dead

Through making the transition from " balding, weak-chinned loser to wide awake zombie slayer" Simon Pegg's character of Shaun in British comedy Shaun of the Dead displays the use of mise en scene by shifting his environment from 'normal' and laid back to stressful and highly charged.

This was shown at the beginning of the film when we saw Shaun going about his normal morning routine, brushing his teeth, using the toilet and grabbing his breakfast. After awaking up with a hangover from too many at the Winchester Shaun and his flatmate Ed encounter a neighbourhood a little different to the one they thought they lived in. Mise en scene displays the current panicky tension of Shaun and Ed through the frisbee throwing techniques used to prevent the zombies from attacking them in the backyard. It also clearly showed that Shaun was a 'leader' not a follower and that his 'team leader' job at the electrical shop wasn't displaying his true potential in this area.

As the film went on Shaun took on the responsibility of saving Liz his ex girlfriend, her friends, Ed and then we were introduced to Shaun's mum who was oblivious to the scenes of great danger that continually unfolded around her, this showed that peoples reactions to situations are as different as they are.

The end of this film saw Shaun as the hero rather than the "balding, weak-chinned loser" the film watcher was introduced to at the beginning of Shaun of the Dead and the evolution of Shaun's character.

References

Quote: Edelstein, D. The Importance of Being Undead. (2004)

- "transition from balding, weak-chinned loser to wide-awake zombie slayer".