Audience Appeal
Shaun of the dead offers appeal to its audience in a multitude of ways. Using Katz and Blumler's uses and gratifications theory we can see this in:
Personal identification- The audience can fin appeal through personal identification due to the characters down to earth personalities and relatable aspects. For example, Shaun leads a very normal life that many viewers will observe and see parts of themselves in him.
Surveillance- While not a primary focus in this film, some audiences may watch it for in order to analyse the film-making techniques employed by Edgar Wright. Film enthusiasts may appreciate the clever use of visual elements such as the hyper-quick cuts or the repetition of certain lines or scenes.
Social interaction- This films widespread reach across the UK especially means that a lot of people have seen this film and can talk about how they enjoyed it. the films many references to other media in the zombie franchise creates a level of understanding between groups of viewers.
Escapism- This films zombie films makes it so that fans of the genre can enjoy it for that reason. the enjoyment comes from the idea that whilst these Zombies are a threat if you mess up, they are usually easily defeated and the audience enjoys watching Shaun and friends beating these zombies around the head with a bat.
Star power- A decent cast in this film (the likes of Bill Nighy and Simon Pegg the most renowned) means that some of the audience can find appeal through recognisable faces that put on superb performances.
The unbearable weight of massive talent
In other genres we see appeal found in similar and different ways. There is hardly any personal identification for the majority of the characters as Nick is a celebrity and Javi is a crazy rich fan of Nick. But there is also the element of star power that is fulfilled by a cast with Nicholas Cage, Pedro pascal (who has become a lot more popular in recent years), as well as some others like Neil Patrick Harris. The escapism is also a way that the film appeals because they get a view into a crazy world filled with a washed up Nicholas Cage fighting the cartel with Pedro pascal, what's not to love?
Zombieland
This film uses similar elements to appeal to its audience with escapism through the zombie genre and star power through the likes of Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg as well as Bill Murray's cameo as himself. Ways it differs is there is a lack of relatability to be seen in the characters to the same level of Shaun of the dead means that the appeal coming from there isn't as prominent.
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