Kiss of the Vampire (All) Flashcards
Product context
Directed by Don Sharp and produced by Hammer Film Productions and distributed by J.Arthur Rank and Universal, Kiss of the vampire was intended to be the second sequel (the first being the brides of Dracula in 1960) to 1958 Dracula, although they films script actually makes no reference to stokers character. This is perhaps to distance itself from unfavourable comparisons to the superior Christopher Lee who starred in the original film
Hammer productions enjoyed massive popularity from mid 1950s to the 1970s when interest gradually waned.
In 2007 the company brought by Dutch media tycoon and rebranded for a new generation producing new films with wider international appeal such as Let Me In (2010) and the Woman in Black (2012)
In addition to Dracula, hammer had, by 1963, success with other monster movie franchises such as The Mummy and Frankenstein. Distributors Universal also saw early success with films in this genre
Historically, 1963 saw the early stages of ‘Beatlemania’ and the so called ‘swinging sixties’, the assassination of JFK and the Soviet Union launching the first woman into space
Political and social context
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
The 1960s was a time of teenage rebellion as many began to experiment with mind altering drugs and premarital sex
More women than ever were entering the paid workforce and sixties feminist 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.
Older stereotypes of women as passive victims of men and more modern male fears of women challenging male dominance could be seen to be encoded in this film poster
The abortion act of 1967 and the divorce reform act of 1969 further contributed to the improvement of women’s rights
Cultural context
The 196os audience for this advert could be assumed to be familiar with the codes and conventions of monster movie film posters - such as its composition, fonts and representations of the monster and it’s (usually female) victims.
Intertext - The Evil of Frankenstein (1964) - notice the monster looking towards the reader using an intimidating and terrifying direct mode of address and a font which is dripping akin to blood/melting flesh
Media Language: codes and conventions
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) and the blood dripping from the letter Vs ‘fang’ or tip.
The use of a painted main image is highly conventional of films of the period and links to the poster for Christopher Lee’s Dracula, but the fact that its in colour (anchored by the text in eastman color) connotes that this is a modern telling of an older story
The gloomy grey, black and brown colour pallet 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
Conventionally the stars are listed with the more highly paid male actors first in order of fame, Clifford evans having starred in Hammers 1961 hit Curse of the Werewolf
The Universal logo at the bottom right hand corner describes the international distributor - and as such reinforces the popularity of this type of genre in relation to the monsters promoted within. This logo was (and still is) a trademark of quality in this realm
Media Language: challenging conventions
In color was still a relative rarity in cinema still in 1963. Also notice the Americanisation spelling firmly placing this film poster within the US marketing materials
The background nature of the male antagonist in favour of the female counterpart taking centre stage in the poster itself - see representation
Antagonist also fearful of something seemingly more powerful and unstoppable than himself
A more subtle colour pallet than usual horror film posters of its kind - notice the pastel shades of blue and red opposed to the conventional deep ‘blood’ red and blacks used stereotypically in horror posters of this era
Media Language: Semiotics: Rowland Barthes
Suspense is created through the enigmas surrounding the connoted relationship between the male and female vampires (emphasis by the ‘kiss’ of the title) and the ate of their two victims. (hermeneutic code)
Barthes semantic code could be applied to images of the bats and their conventional association with vampirism and horror in general
The symbolic codes of horror, darkness and fear are more widely reinforced through signifiers such as the moon and the male victims submissive sacrifice gesture code
Media Language: Genre Theory: Steve Neale
Neale argues that audience pleasures are derived from generic repetition and difference. This film poster repeats much of the symbolism associated with Hammer and Universal horror films and the wider monster and vampire genre, but adds difference through connoted power of the female protagonist and the implied romantic narrative
Media Language: Structuralism: Levi-Straus
The idea that texts are constructed through the use of binary oppositions could be applied to the opposing representations of the vampires and their victims and the romantic connotations of ‘kiss’ opposed in the films title to the stereotypical ‘vampire monster
At a broader level it could quite simply represent the gender battle between males and females from a feminist perspective as patriarchy and matriarchy are starkly contrast within the confines of the poster visual imagery
Representation: Women as victims?
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 to flesh of their upper chests and arms (objectifying them sexually)
The gesture code of the woman victim is that of the stereotypical passive female victim of the monster, his power highlighted by the fact that he’s holder her by just one arm - positioned in a way to accentuate her curves
The women vampire - baring her teeth and with her arm raised almost like shes being bitten by the bat, the gesture codes are more aggressive and the submissive pose of her male victim (being on his knees head back and throat exposed) represent her in a non-stereotypically dominant way
Through this imagery it is cited that the power itself challenges dominant ideologies in 1963, in regards to gender as it is symbolic of the evolving gender politics at the time. Is the physical fight for domination between male and female vampire in the poster symbolic of 1960s societal struggles between the sexes?
Representation: Man as antagonist?
The vampire himself seems uncharctericaly fearful in his gesture codes with his arm thrown across his body in a defensive gesture, perhaps protecting himself from the female vampire
His eye contact is both fearful and fixed purely on the female vampire, suggesting both her dominance and his lack of control over her, signifying the rise of female expression in a previous male dominated/controlled society
Notice h is also leaning back to escape her ferocious and empowered nature - he is no longer comfortable being her her close proximity. The times are changing and this ancient beast (representing man perhaps?) is not comfortable with the scenario
Representation: Stuart Halls theory of representation
The images of a castle, bats, the vampires cape and dripping blood from part of the shared conceptual roadmap that give meaning to the world of the poster. The audience is actively encouraged to decode this familiar generic iconography
Representation: David Gauntletts theory of Identity
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
Representation: Lisbet Van Zoonen feminist theory
By assuming this co-antagonist role, the female vampire is perhaps contributing to social change by representing women in nontraditional roles through the passive female victim does reinforce these
Representation: Judith Butler ender performality
Evidence of fluid gender roles - male becomes victim and female the villain/monster. Notice the adaption of male performance traits within the representation of the female vampire in the form of physical and sexual active aggression
Representation: Laura Mulveys male gaze
The poster is clearly meant to be read as if from the positioning of a heterosexual male - clearly illustrated by the sexualisation/objectification of both female characters within it. Even in the case of the scary female antagonist, she is more defined by her lack of clothing that her aggressive behaviour. Note how she is dress and her posture - all aiding in emphasis of her naked shoulders and noticable breast area
