Representation - Kiss Of The Vampire Context

Question 1

What film genre is Kiss of the Vampire?

Answer 1

Gothic horror

Question 2

When was Kiss of the Vampire released?

Answer 2

1963

Question 3

Who produced Kiss of the Vampire?

Answer 3

Hammer Film Productions

Question 4

With whom did Hammer Film Productions work with?

Answer 4

Universal Studios

Question 5

Who released Kiss of the Vampire?

Answer 5

Universal Studios

Question 6

What was their ideology?

Answer 6

To be the best gothic horror film produced at the time and to also display an evolution of gender roles.

They display different representations of femininity and masculinity; a traditional representation, as well as representations that subvert traditional stereotypes.

Question 7

What is Universal Pictures and when was it formed?

Answer 7

An American film studio which was formed in 1912 and is now one of the oldest surviving film studios in the United States.

Question 8

What is Universal reputable for?

Answer 8

Creating the ‘classic monsters’ (such as Frankestein, Dracula and The Mummy) that we still see in contemporary horror films today.

They are now the pedestal of any horror film ever created which has now evolved into global phenomenon.

Question 9

What is Hammer Film Productions and when was it founded?

Answer 9

A British Film production company which was founded in 1934, that specialises with the horror genre.

Question 10

What is Hammer Productions best well known for?

Answer 10

Their series of gothic ‘Hammer Horror’ which are film made from the mid 1950s until the 70s.

Question 11

Which major United States studios did Hammer Productions have a partnership with?

Answer 11

Universal and Warner Bros

Question 12

Why are the ‘Hammer Horrors’ different to the typical Hollywood horror film?

Answer 12

They are produced on a low budget further displaying a low production value to their films.

Despite this, many of their fans enjoyed these films because Hammer liked to project an eerie atmosphere into their gothic horrors and would even go on to exploiting violence within them and providing sexual content throughout.

Question 13

Who produced the first Dracula novel and when?

Answer 13

Bram Stocker, 1897

Question 14

What happened 100 year later, in 1992, after Stoker released the first Dracula novel?

Answer 14

Francis Ford Coppolla’s adaptation of Stoker’s book saw Vampires and Draculas classed as a type of ‘monster’, which
consequently turned the film into a ‘monster movie’.

Question 15

What is a ‘monster movie’?

Answer 15

A disaster film that focuses on a group of characters struggling to survive the attacks by one or more antagonistic monsters.

Question 16

What are the codes and conventions of a monster movie film poster?

Answer 16

• Hyperbolic and superlative language to convey terror and a sense of scariness about the creatures.
• The directors and producers using bankable stars within their horror product to attract a large amount of viewers to watch their film, further making the film commercially viable as they will then be earning a big
  sum of money from the product.
• Making the monster/creature a dominant threat to the whole of the human race creating further terror towards the audience.

Question 17

The 1960s was what kind of decade?

Answer 17

A pivotal decade in which gender roles began to change.

It was a time for the feminists, women began to campaign for their equal rights and The Woman’s Sexual Liberation also became apparent.

Women also began working full-time, just like males did, yet they were sexually harassed constantly so they also protested for this to be banned, which did eventually happen.

Question 18

What is the Woman’s Sexual Liberation?

Answer 18

A social movement that challenged
the traditional codes or behaviours related to sexuality and interpersonal relationships throughout the world

Question 19

What did the Sexual Liberation also include?

Answer 19

An increased acceptance of sex outside of the traditional heterosexual relationships, as well as normalising factors such as public nudity, pornography, premarital sex, alternative forms of sexuality and the legalisation of abortion.

Question 20

Why did both men and women start to become more promiscuous within their behaviour during this time?

Answer 20

Because the contraceptive pill had just been invented which then caused people to become more sexually active as women no longer had to worry about the risk of unwanted pregnancies

Question 21

What is a Feminist?

Answer 21

Women which advocated and protested for women’s rights on the grounds equality of the sexes.

Question 22

What did women begin to campaign for?

Answer 22

Equal pay - even though it is still not equal, their protesting and preaching had caused the Equal Pay Legalisation to come into place which aimed at abolishing the wage disparity based on a person’s sex.