Shaun of the Dead released in 2004 and is the self-referential "Romantic Comedy, With Zombies." It was the first of director Edgar Wrights filmography in the "Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy" and stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost from Spaced fame (Wrights TV Show prior to the making of the film). The film is incredible, playing up to audience expectations of the horror (zombie) genre, whilst balancing a great tone of not only heartfelt and emotional moments, but also comedic and entertaining scenes through the BRITISHNESS of the characters responses and atmosphere reflected throughout the setting. The film also exemplifies Wrights style of directing perfectly and still holds up when comparing it to his other comedic/superior masterpiece Hot Fuzz and even the more flawed and weaker closure that is The Worlds End.
Roland Barthes Semiotic Theory argued that media texts construct meanings through a series of codes and symbols that can be understood through a semiotic analysis of the product. This is the process of signification where signs can function at the level of denotation (the literal/straightforward meaning) or connotation (meanings associated/suggested by the sign).
BARTHES CODES:
ENIGMA Codes
ACTION Codes
SEMANTIC Codes
SYMBOLIC Codes
REFERENTIAL Codes
Despite being brief, the opening credits is a perfect example of the film demonstrating an enigma code, after all any opening to a film is necessary to raise questions and getting them answered in order to develop the story/characters. The films opening credit moves across a typical day in Britain as society moves along, working their dull jobs, with their mannerisms being very zombie like. The clever part about this enigma code is how there isn't a resolution to it, as despite being a zombie film, audiences will eventually recognise that none of the people featured in this scene are in fact zombies and are instead just functioning members of our society. There is a purpose however to there being no closure to this code and excluding an action code, as its purpose is to criticise the system that we live in and how repetitive, mundane and 'dead like' it has become to wake up early, travel to work, return home and rinse and repeat aside from other mundane tasks like shopping etc...
Audiences may also raise questions to the survival of the lead characters, as they can recognise their home isn't really safe and 'zombie-proof' to isolate from the outside world. This is when an action code is received in the form of "the plan," one of the best and most iconic moments from the film that answers audiences questions about what comes next for the characters in terms of trying to survive.
Semantic codes are included perfectly into Shaun of the Dead, with a lot of these examples demonstrating Wrights unique style of directing where his films will raise questions to what is originally rather unnecessary, and have them contribute to the climax of his film or instead a funny gag. An example would be the swan in Hot Fuzz, they are moments included into the directors film which audiences may not recognise on first watch. A better example comes from this film during the conversation scene at The Winchester the night before the characters have to fight for their survival. Ed (Frost), talks to Shaun (Pegg) about what they are going to do now that Shaun's girlfriend broke up with him. Whilst audiences may not recognise instantly what is being said here, a further look will reveal how the entire plot of the film is summed up. "We'll have a Bloody Mary first thing in the morning" refers to the name of the first zombie Shaun and Ed encounter, "a bite at the king's head" is about Shaun's father that is bitten by a zombie, and at the end, " stagger back here" and BANG! Back at the bar for shots" refers to the way the characters entered the Winchester by pretending to behave like zombies, and also the climax when the pub burns down and the shotgun used to try and kill the zombies imposing on them.
Symbolic codes are very few throughout, but there are still some to talk about. Shaun's red pen leaking down his shirt is symbolic of the bloody climax, whilst being another funny moment of the film being mundane for comedy. Probably the most recognisable symbolic code comes from the red Cornetto Shaun 'buys,' as the red cornetto is symbolic of the horror genre the film can be associated with, but the choice of the cornetto to do so is yet again another example of the film recognising how different it is to other zombie films because of how British it is. This could also be a referential code at least in nowadays terms, as the cornetto would become a key gag of Wright's other two Pegg/Frost films, going as far to name the trilogy after the desert.
The whole film if you wanted to could be interpreted as a referential code to Wright's show Spaced, S1 E3 to be exact that is a homage to classic zombie films and games too, specifically Resident Evil 2, showing Wright's appreciation zombie related media, which is significantly apparent in the film.
However, Barthes theory does have its limitations, ideally how he assumes everyone will interpret the codes encoded throughout a media product as the based meaning. Some audience members including myself may not recognise all of the film references Wright parodies throughout for comedic effect, such as the Psycho shower reference when Shaun is in the bathroom checking to see if his housemate Pete is there, and the "we're coming to get you Barbara" line coming from another classic zombie film that Wright took heavy inspiration from.
Overall, Barthes theory is a great example when using it to dissect a film like Shaun of the Dead, as it reveals how influential the film was when it comes to previously released media in terms of the intertextual references seen throughout the film that would also be directly inspirational in Wright's own actual work with the film being its very own referential code, but also how self-referential Wright is when it comes to the narrative of his films, with many enigma codes raising questions only to be answered during the end to create a more satisfying closure whilst maintaining a sense of entertainment and style.
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