KISS OF THE VAMPIRE Flashcards
What is the product context?
Produced by Hammer Film Productions and distributed by J. Arthur Rank and Universal, Kiss of the Vampire was intended to be the second sequel to 1958’s Dracula, although the film’s script actually makes no reference to Stoker’s character. This is perhaps to distance itself from unfavourable comparisons to the superior Christopher Lee who starred in the original film.
What were Hammer’s previous successes?
By 1963, success with other ‘monster movie’ franchises such as The Mummy and Frankenstein. Distributers Universal also saw early success with films in this genre.
What were the political and social contexts of the time?
The 1960s is often seen as the start of women’s sexual liberation, aided by events such as the introduction of the contraceptive pill in 1960.
More women than ever were entering the paid workforce and sixties feminists were campaigning for equal pay, an end to sexual harassment and more equality between men and women in wider society.
In America, equal pay legislation was passed in 1963.
How can both older and modern stereotypes be seen in the poster?
‘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.
How do iconographic symbols establish genre?
The use of bats, dripping blood, the moon, dark colour pallette are recognisable genre conventions to the Vampire genre.
How do iconographic symbols link to Neale’s genre theory?
As conventions of the Vampire genre, they highlight similarity - which is appealing to audiences as these generate meaning and pleasure for the audience.
How do iconographic symbols link to Hall’s conceptual road map?
They form part of the “shared conceptual road map” that give meaning to the “world” of the poster. The audience is actively encouraged to decodethis familiar generic iconography.
How are Binary Opposites (Strauss’ structuralism) created through the language in the poster?
The words “kiss” and “vampire” establish the film as a vampire/romance hybrid genre.
Furthermore, the “kiss” in the title creates a suspense between the connotes relationship between the male and female vampire - Barthes hermeneutic code.
What is the effect of the font used in the title?
The capitalised, serif font of the title creates connotations linked to the vampire film genre with its ‘wooden’ styling (referencing the vampire’s coffin or the stake needed to kill him perhaps).
Moreover, the “V” looking like a fang further reinforces the vampire genre through its connotations of gore.
How does the credit block link to context?
Conventionally, it lists more highly paid male actors and in order of fame.
“Clifford Evans” had previously starred in another Hammer film “Curse of the Werewolf”.
What is the effect of the painted main image?
It is highly conventional of films of the period and links to the poster for Christopher Lee’s Dracula, but the fact that it’s in colour (anchored by the text “In Eastman Color”) connotes that this is a modern telling of an older story.
What do the females dress codes connote?
Both women wear pale dresses made of light materials and these dress codes serve to reinforce their femininity by highlighting the curves of their bodies and revealing the flesh of their upper chests and arms.
The fact that they are wearing white connotes the idea of virginity and innocence of the victims - posing them as inferior to their male counterparts.
What is the significance of the pose of the female victim on the left?
The gesture code of the 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.
Through her being draped in his arm, the pose holds sexual connotations which could reflect the context of the time. It also places her in Propp’s category of “damsel in distress”.
What is the significance of the female on the right?
Baring her teeth and with her arm raised almost fist-like as she’s being bitten by the bat, the second woman’s gesture codes are more aggressive, and the submissive pose of her male ‘victim’ (including being on his knees with his head back and throat exposed) represent her in a non-stereotypically dominant way.
This might link to the idea of sexual liberation and the empowerment of women during the 1960s.
What does the gesture code of the vampire himself connote?
The vampire himself seems uncharacteristically fearful in his gesture codes with his arm thrown across his body in a defensive gesture, perhaps protecting himself from the female vampire.
What are the visual signifiers in the poster and what do they portray?
The gloomy grey, black and brown colour palette reinforces the film’s dark, scary conventions while the red highlight colour draws attention to the attacking bats, the vampire and the blood – all key visual signifiers for the genre.
How does Gauntlett’s theory of identity link to the poster?
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 or environment.
How does Van Zoonen’s feminist theory link to the poster?
By assuming this ‘co-antagonist’ role, the female vampire is perhaps contributing to social change by representing women in non-traditional roles (Van Zoonen, 1989) though the passive female victim does reinforce these.
How can Barthes Hermeneutic code be applied to the poster?
Suspense is created through the enigmas surrounding the connoted relationship between the male and female vampires (emphasised by the “kiss” of the title) and the fate of their two victims (Barthes’ Hermeneutic Code).
How can Barthes Semantic Code be applied to the poster?
Barthes’ Semantic Code could be applied to images of the bats and their conventional association with vampirism and horror in general.
These also hold the connotations of taking virginity amongst vampire films, linking to the sexualisation of women even in the early 1960s.
How can Barthes Symbolic code be applied to the poster?
The Symbolic Codes (Barthes) of horror,darkness and fear are more widely reinforced through signifiers such as the moon and the male victim’s ‘submissive sacrifice’ gesture code.
What does the mis en scene of hair colour connote?
Victim’s blonde hair.
Hammer films made heavy use of typecasting, casting the same kind of hegemonically attractive woman over and over again.
Blonde hair here is symbolic of hegemonic attractiveness, and reinforces certain stereotypes about the value of women
How can Laura Mulvey’s Male Gaze theory be applied?
Through both women dress codes, they are positioned for a heterosexual male to desire.
