kiss of the vampire

Question 1

colour palette

Answer 1

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. White colour of the title contrast with the colours of the main image and potentially links to the innocence of the victims. dark colours also Contrasts with the bright colours featured and the women’s light-coloured satin dresses

Question 2

target audience

Answer 2

the horror genre typically aimed towards men and the women dressed provocatively may attract a male audience due to them being positioned as what the male gaze is in the audience.

Question 3

characters

Answer 3

1. the protagonist male vampire is featured as a very powerful, dominating character. he wears a outfit typical of the vampire genre.
2. the women he is supporting seems to be his subordinate victim. she’s wearing a light coloured revealing silky dress and high heel shoes.
3. the standing woman (also in a light satin dress) subverts gender stereotypes because she stands in a dominating position over the man. (wearing a white open shirt and black trousers, revealing his chest)
   The use of a ‘painted’ main image is conventional of films of the period. 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.

Question 4

codes and conventions of the genre

Answer 4

bats, blood - commonly featured in the vampire genre and are synonymous with the horror theme of the movie. they’re recognisable for audiences who like the genre.

Question 5

font

Answer 5

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) and the blood dripping from the letter V’s ‘fang.’

Question 6

visual image

Answer 6

The use of a ‘painted’ main image is conventional of films of the period. 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.

Question 6

Structuralism – Claude Lévi-Strauss

Answer 6

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.

Question 7

Semiotics – Roland Barthes

Answer 7

Suspense created through enigmas surrounding the connoted relationship between the male and female vampires (emphasised by the “kiss”) and the fate of their two victims.
Barthes’ Semantic Code could be applied to images of the bats and their conventional association with vampirism and horror in general.
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

Question 8

Stuart Hall’s theory of representation

Answer 8

the images of a castle, bats, the vampire’s cape and dripping blood form 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 generic iconography.

Question 9

David Gauntlett’s theory of identity

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 or environment.

Question 10

Liesbet Van Zoonen’s feminist theory

Answer 10

by assuming this ‘co-antagonist’ role, the female vampire is contributing to social change by representing women in non-traditional roles (Van Zoonen, 1989) though the passive female victim does reinforce these.