Advert, Film Poster: Kiss Of The Vampire 1963

Question 1

What is the product context for Kiss of the Vampire?

Answer 1

• produced by Hammer Film Production and distributed by J.Arthur Rank and universal
• Intended to be the second sequel to 1958’s Dracula, although the script makes no reference to Stoker’s character, perhaps to distance itself from comparisons Christopher Lee who starred in the original film
• Hammer had success with other ‘monster movie’ franchises such as ‘The Mummy’ and ‘Frankenstein’

Question 2

What is the cultural context?

Answer 2

• 1960s audience could be assumed to be familiar with the codes & conventions of ‘monster movie’ film posters and its usually female visions
• Intertexts - The evil of Frankenstein (1964) and Blood From The Mummy’s Tomb (1971)

Question 3

What are the codes and conventions?

Answer 3

• Capitalised, serif font of the title connotes the vampire film genre with its ‘wooden’ styling and the blood dripping from the letter v’s fang
• painted main image - highly conventional to this period - links to poster for Christopher Lee’s Dracula
• Poster is in colour, connotes that this is a modern telling of an older story
• Gloomy grey, black and brown palette reinforces the films dark + scary conventions, while the red draws attention to the attacking bats, the vampire and the blood - key visual signifiers for the genre
• Conventionally, the stars are listed with the more highly paid, male actors first and in order of fame

Question 4

How can Barthes Semiotic theory be applied?

Answer 4

• Hermeneutic code - suspense is created through the enigmas surrounding the connoted relationship between the male and female vampires and the fate of the two victims
• Semantic code - images of the bats and their conventional association with vampirism and horror in general
• Symbolic codes - of horror, darkness and fear are widely reinforced through signifiers such as the moon and the male victims ‘submissive sacrifice’ gesture code

Question 5

How can Levi-Strauss’ structuralism theory be applied to Kiss of the Vampire?

Answer 5

Binary oppositions - opposing representations of the vampires and their victims, and the romantic connotations of “kiss” opposed in the film’s title to the stereotypical ‘vampire’ monster

Question 6

What are the political + social contexts of Kiss of the Vampire?

Answer 6

• The 1960s is often seen as the start of women’s sexual liberation, aided by the events such as the introduction of the contraception pill in 1960
• More women than ever were entering the paid workforce and sixties feminists were campaigning for equal pay, and end to sexual harassment and more equality between men & women in wider society
• ‘older’ stereotypes of women as passive victims of men, and more modern ‘male fears’ of women challenging male dominance could both be seen to be encoded in this film poster

Question 7

How are representations constructed in the poster of Kiss of the Vampire?

Answer 7

• Dress codes - both women wear pale dresses made of light materials, and therefore reinforce their femininity by highlighting the curves of their bodies and revealing the flesh of their upper chests and arms
• Gesture code of woman on the left is that of the stereotypical passive victim of the ‘monster’, his power highlighted by the fact that he’s holding her by just one arm
• The second woman’s gesture codes are more aggressive with her arm raised and teeth bared, with the submissive pose of her male ‘victim’ on his knees with his throat exposed, representing her in a non-stereotypically dominant way

Question 8

How can Hall’s representation theory be applied to Kiss of the Vampire?

Answer 8

Images of a castle, bats, the vampire’s cape and dripping blood from part of the “shared conceptual road map” that give meaning to the “world” of the poster - the audience is actively encouraged to decode this familiar genetic iconography

Question 9

How can Gauntlett’s identity theory be applied to Kiss of the Vampire?

Answer 9

Perhaps the female vampire acts as a role model for women struggling against male oppression or desperate to be seen as the equals of men, whatever the narrative of environment

Question 10

How can Van Zoonen’s feminist theory be applied to Kiss of the Vampire?

Answer 10

By assuming this ‘co-antagonist’ role, the female vampire is perhaps contributing to social change by representing women in non-traditional roles.
However, the passive female victim does reinforce these.