Media Language Flashcards
Cultural context & Intertexts
The 1960s 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 its (usually female) victims.
Interesting intertexts for comparative study might
include:
- The Evil of Frankenstein (1964)
- Blood From The Mummy’s Tomb (1971)
Consider codes and conventions, and how
media language influences meaning:
The font
• 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 V’s ‘fang.’
Consider codes and conventions, and how
media language influences meaning:
The main image & anchorage
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 it’s in colour (anchored by
the text “In Eastman Color”) connotes that this is a modern telling of an older story.
Consider codes and conventions, and how
media language influences meaning:
The colour pallette
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.
Consider codes and conventions, and how
media language influences meaning:
The star list
• Conventionally, the stars are listed with the more highly paid male actors first and in order of fame, Clifford Evans having starred in Hammer’s 1961 hit Curse of the Werewolf.
Semiotics – Roland Barthes
Hermeneutic code
• 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).
Semiotics – Roland Barthes
Semantic codes
• Barthes’ Semantic Code could be applied to images of the bats and their conventional association with vampirism and horror in general. conventions while the red highlight colour draws attention to the attacking bats, the vampire and the blood – all key visual signifiers for the genre.
Semiotics – Roland Barthes
Symbolic codes
• 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.
Structuralism – Claude Lévi-Strauss
Concept outlined
• 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 film’s
title to the stereotypical “vampire” monster.
Structuralism – Claude Lévi-Strauss
What are some of the binary oppositions established within the poster?
Light vs Dark
- Light vs. Dark
• The color palette establishes a stark contrast: the pale, ghostly lighting on the central figures versus the black and blood-red tones in the background. This signifies the clash between innocence (potential victims) and malevolence (vampires).
Structuralism – Claude Lévi-Strauss
What are some of the binary oppositions established within the poster?
Masculine vs Feminine power
Masculine vs feminine power
• The central female figure, dressed in a flowing, pale gown, appears in a weakened, vulnerable position, arms outstretched as if fainting.
• However, the second woman in the background appears more empowered, suggesting an inversion of traditional gender roles within horror.
• The male vampire, dressed in dark, dominates the composition, reinforcing the gendered power struggle.
Structuralism – Claude Lévi-Strauss
What are some of the binary oppositions established within the poster?
Life vs Death
- Life vs. Death
• The human-like appearance of the female victim contrasts with the monstrous, undead imagery of the vampire figures.
• This is reinforced by the bat motif, which serves as a visual signifier of the undead and horror genre conventions.
Structuralism – Claude Lévi-Strauss
What are some of the binary oppositions established within the poster?
Romance vs Horror
- Romance vs. Horror
• The title itself, Kiss of the Vampire, presents a paradox: the romantic connotation of a “kiss” clashing with the violent, supernatural terror of a vampire.
• The visual composition reflects this: the intimacy of physical contact between the vampire and his victim juxtaposed with the menace of his outstretched claws.
Structuralism – Claude Lévi-Strauss
What are some of the binary oppositions established within the poster?
Modernity vs The supernatural
- Modernity vs. The Supernatural
• The 1950s/60s film promotion style (bold typography, painterly illustrations) contrasts with the Gothic horror setting, suggesting a temporal clash between the contemporary and the ancient.
Baudrillard - Postmodernism
Applied to Kiss of the vampire (general)
Applying postmodernism to Kiss of the Vampire (1963) involves recognizing how the film poster recycles and reinterprets traditional Gothic conventions to convey an ideological message, reflecting shifts in 1960s society.
Postmodernism challenges the idea of fixed meanings and embraces pastiche, intertextuality, and the questioning of dominant ideologies.
Postmodernism - Baudrillard
Pastiche & intertextuality
The poster borrows heavily from classic Gothic horror iconography (castles, bats, capes, blood), reinforcing the idea that meaning is constructed through references to pre-existing cultural texts.
This aligns with postmodernist pastiche, where media texts imitate and recycle past styles without necessarily offering anything “original.”
Post modernism Baudrillard
Questioning of traditional gender roles
The representation of gender roles (via several gesture codes) reflects a society in transition. The passive female victim aligns with older horror tropes, but the potentially empowered female vampire challenges patriarchal norms.
This subtle disruption of traditional gender binaries mirrors the early feminist movements of the 1960s, suggesting that horror (typically portraying traditional tropes regarding gender e.g. the damsel in distress, or the ‘final girl’ - both involving a sense of purity and vulnerability) is beginning to shift its ideological messages.
