Dawn of the Dead (1979) image analysis 2

In this scene from Dawn of the Dead (1979) Fran (Gaylen Ross) refuses to give in to sexist ideologies that women always scream when they are scared, especially in horror movies. Fran is also blonde and attractive which would normally connote in horror films that she would be the female victim. In terms of institutional context of Horror movies, Fran’s character turns out to be a revolutionary as she was one of the first female heroines or ‘final girl’s to appear in horror movies. Her character is strong and tough which is most probably due to the fact that George A Romero is an “auteur” and is against sexism and racism, a theme common in many of his films. This is also the case in Day of the Dead (1985) where there is also a final girl, Sarah. She is also a strong, likeable woman showing Romero’s auteur influence once again.
Another way in which George A Romero goes against the cultural dominant ideologies (CDI) of films in the late 70’s is the fact that he chooses Stephen to be the male hero who is the opposite of the strong male character we normally expect.