FAQ for
Dawn of the Dead (1978) More at IMDbPro »

Dawn of the Dead is a commentary on materialism and urban sprawl. George Romero is saying that America has become a land of mindless consumers. He makes this point satirically by showing that Americans, even after death, will congregate at the shopping mall. America will be left in ruins, he warns, if we don't curb our greed for material goods. Or it's a film about class warfare. The survivors represent the rich, who want to shut themselves in with their material goods and keep out the poor, i.e. the walking dead. Or it's simply a film about zombies, and no social commentary is intended. The viewers may decide for themselves.

Sort of. Dawn of the Dead (1978) was released as Zombi in Italy. Its success led the Italian director Lucio Fulci to name his zombie film Zombi 2 (1979). Zombi 2 is the most prominent of many Italian rip-offs of Dawn of the Dead. Zombies were the most popular subject for cheap Italian horror films for years after its release.

See: this FAQ entry