Kiss of the Vampire (Component 1) Flashcards
What year was Kiss of the Vampire released?
1963
What studio produced Kiss of the Vampire?
Hammer Film
What studio distributed Kiss of the Vampire?
Universal
What was the hays code?
a set of moral guidelines and rules that were meant to make Hollywood pictures “presentable” and “safe” for the public at large, which meant not covering or featuring certain controversial topics, themes, or actions.
What semiotic code is seen in the iconography of the male victim and the female victim kneeling down in the poster for ‘KOTV’?
action code
What is chiaroscuro lighting?
very deep, low key lighting with contrasting high key lighting
What is a macabre tone?
a sense of foreboding
How are binary oppositions created in the kiss of the vampire poster?
one of the women could be seen as “empowering” and the other can be seen as a “victim”, opposite ends of the scale
What is the significance of the universal logo on the poster?
it shows how the movie is now aimed towards a global audience
What context of the time affects the poster?
the fear of women taking men’s jobs after WW2 by use of a female villain
What conventions of the horror genre are shown in the poster?
visual codes of the full moon in the background, blood dripping, fangs
How can we apply Van Zoomen’s theory to Kiss of the Vampire?
women were objectified for voyeuristic pleasure, men’s bodies were seen as a spectacle
Name 2 key theorists linked to Kiss of the Vampire
Stuart Hall
David Gauntlett
Lisbet Van Zoonen
bell hooks
How did Kiss of the Vampre help film posters to evolve for the future
the fact there are only antagonists and victims in the poster , no heros
What was the women’s liberation movement?
the women’s liberation movement was a feminist movement created to eliminate forms of oppression based on gender
How do representations of gender reflect the fear of men had regarding their authority in society?
the male vampire’s fear reflects how men felt as if they were losing their authority in society
Which 2 major historical events may have influenced Kiss of the vampire in 1963?
assassination of JFK
soviet union launched the first woman into space
What does the typography represent?
wooden texture to represent coffin
spikes on words represent both fangs, and wooden stakes
How did Hammer studios ‘reinvent’ the horror genre?
they pushed the limit of censorship and classification
Which pill was freely available to all women in the UK from 1961?
contraceptive pill
Where is Hammer studios from?
Great Britain
Why was Kiss of the Vampire and society becoming more liberal in its ideologies?
Hays code was becoming less prominent in Hollywood
What legislation was passed in 1963?
equal pay legislation
In relation to the ‘why Kiss of the Vampire becoming more liberal in its ideologies’ question 1) what theories can be applied?
Van Zoonen
