‘Whatever happened to Baby Jane?’ Is a 1962 American psychological horror-thriller film produced and directed by Robert Aldrich and starring Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. The plot follows an ageing former actress who holds her paralyzed ex-movie star sister captive in an old Hollywood mansion.
Whilst the enigma code of the main image on ‘Kiss of the Vampire’ is ambiguous as it is unclear as to who is attacking who, it is more obvious to see on ‘Whatever happened to Baby Jane?’ as the woman standing looks manic and the other sitting down appears to be alarmed or perhaps even frightened. I think I would be too if someone tried to feed me a dead rat. This iconography of a dead rat relates to the macabre and unusual and in turn, relates to the main genre of the movie. The symbolic code of the rather creepy looking doll is also important as it holds a bigger part to the theme and context of the film. It could also link to the use of the word ‘Baby’ which appears in the title. The enigma code of the title of the film ‘Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?’ would make the audience themselves question what has happened to this woman. ‘KotV’ also includes symbolic codes such as the full moon which also relates to its themes of gothic and supernatural.
In ‘Kiss of the Vampire’ the representation of woman can be seen in three ways which relate to the time period of which the film was released. The female aggressor towards the man showcases the idea that woman is strong and independent. It also creates a balance in gender across the poster which could tie into the balancing of society at the time and could reflect the period when there was a fight for equality. Perhaps the female vampire supports David Gauntlett’s theory of Identity as she acts as a role model for a woman struggling against male oppression or is desperate to be equals of men, whatever the narrative or environment. Maybe this representation of a ‘strong woman’ has gone too far as both men seem frightened of the female aggressor as she looks like she’s lost control and has turned somewhat manic which highlights the actual fear of most men during the 1960s which was that woman could gain too much power. We can also this idea of ‘a manic woman’ in ‘WHtBJ’. However, despite all this, there is still the ‘old-fashioned’ view of woman within the poster as the man seems to be holding the woman as if she’s a damsel in distress. Again, this can be reinforced by the tight, flesh-coloured and revealing dress and high heels which shape the woman’s legs.
Whilst both posters include binary oppositions of the ‘aggressor vs victim’ and ‘good vs evil’ only ‘KotV’ deals with ‘man vs woman’ as the other has ‘woman vs woman’. We can clearly see that woman standing in the poster holds the power over the other woman as she looms over her and dominates the frame.
Comments