Shaun Of The Dead - Narrative resolution

 

Shaun Of The Dead - Narrative resolution

- Shaun's relationship with the family (especially Philip): Shaun ends up admitting that he sees Philip as his father in spite of saying in numerous occasions that "he is not my dad. He is my step-dad". This happens when Philip is dying in the car, where he admits that he had always seen Shaun as a son. Their relationship gets fixed in a way, because of the death/turning into a zombie of Philip. If it had not been for that incident they probably would have not resolved their issues. On the other hand, Shaun's relationship with his mum is shown as broken in a way due to the resentment of having married Philip over fifteen years ago. Their relationship though is resolved the moment that Barbara finds the flowers in the bin of the pub. Once again, Barbara's and Shaun's mother and son relationship gets resolved because she gets bitten and their issues have to be solved before the character dies/turns into a zombie. 

- Friendship with Ed: The friendship between Shaun and Ed is resolved when Ed sacrifices himself to not slow down Shaun and Liz by the end of the film. It gives Shaun the chance to become the mature person that Liz wanted in the beginning as Ed was (mainly) the last string that hold him to childhood and to a childish mentality. Ed did not allow Shaun to grow up during their many years of friendship, so his death/turning into a zombie has a deeper meaning than just a sacrifice to save his friends. 
Although the last scene shows both Shaun and Ed as a zombie playing video games like in the very beginning, showing that in spite of Ed's condition their friendship is still intact. By the end, Shaun has made certain changes that has influenced Liz into taking him back but he still has the slight childish attitude that is still seen in their exchange. 
A popular theory is that both Shaun and Ed were "zombified" before the apocalypse even happened (this is reflected in the opening scene). So in the film, we see Shaun being de-zombified and becoming human again. By the end, Shaun is living again and being spontaneous as well as taking initiative which Liz wanted from him. 

- Relationship with Liz: For their relationship to work, they both had to meet in the middle and make sacrifices as well as changes in what they want from each other and their lifestyles. Through the process of them getting to the pub plus what happens in the middle, the audience can sense (before Liz herself may realise) that they are going to end up together again. This is expected by the way Liz touches Shaun, gets closer to him, calls him "babe", defends him against Davs, fights side to side with him... Their relationship keeps changing for the better through the journey until they get to the pub - by this point, Shaun has taken responsibility of the situation and is in charge (something that Liz appreciates because he had been very passive before, which was one of the reasons why she broke up with him in the first place). By the end, (specifically their last scene together) they are living together in an apartment that mixes Shaun's and Liz's personality instead of the teenager and filthy apartment where Shaun, Ed and Peter lived in the beginning. The best representation of "meeting in the middle" and making sacrifices and changes to work their relationship out is the mise-en-scene of the apartment. The decoration shows a more mature aspect of Shaun and a laid-back aspect of Liz. The way he dresses in comparison to what he wore at the beginning (double scene) and how he acts also helps to prove this point. 

- General lifestyle choices: In comparison to the beginning, promises are being kept from Shaun's side, and there has been a compromise between both Shaun and Liz. He seems more mature now while Liz has relaxed a little bit. The compromise is well represented in the last scene where the apartment (through film form) is shown - there is a mixture between their lives and is represented in the apartment where they live together. Arguably, the absence of Ed's presence in their lives (directly) has allowed this to happen and for them to improve in their relationship. 



























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