Blog 4-The Leaning towards Abstraction in Bram Stoker's Dracula

As Vera Dika has claimed in “The Vampire Film and Dracula”, Coppola strays from the concept of realism and instead captures abstraction in his film. This impacts the viewers attention and “changes the history of the horror genre”. Coppola does this through the mise-en-scène, which allow for a more horrific and captivating viewing experience and provide additional emphasis on the personalities of the characters themselves.

Considering the scene where Jack is traveling on the train to Dracula’s manor, we see the use of a transition, where the scene begins with us viewing a backdrop through the eye of a peacock feather, and slowly changes to an opening in a cave, this creates an almost iris like affect. This artistic dramatization and lengthening of the scene is used to relate the two sets and enrapture the audience, leading the audience to believe that we only see a small portion of what is truly happening, until the shot fades out to a full view of Dracula’s manor where we will once again be more engrossed in the plot.

Sound plays an important role in this film; it provides suspense in some scenes where we know Dracula will attack, or sad music when Dracula expresses his love for Mina. In the scene where Dracula and Mina are intimate, we hear sweet music that dramatizes the scene and as Dracula spills blood from his body the audience is captivated by how Mina is sexualized and captivated by it. The entire scene is very sexual and the audience is taken away from the horrific elements of Dracula and instead is more concerned with the love aspect of the film.

The costumes in Dracula have been used to convey many messages to the audience. For example in the scene with Reinfield and Dr. Seward, we see the distressed and dirty clothing they both wear, as Reinfield describes his maniacal thoughts. Reinfield’s hair crazed and his glasses exaggerating his wide eyes display to the audience the extent of insanity in the scene is juxtaposed with Dracula’s horrific crimes throughout the film, which the audience might view as insane. The opposite is seen in the scene with Lucy being entranced by Dracula in the garden with her billowy dress, representing her innocence, as Dracula sexually violates her and her blood spills, tarnishing her.

Lastly it is important to recognize the use of sets throughout the film to convey certain messages to audience. For example the scene where Dracula is welcoming Jack to his manor, the first thing the audience sees is Dracula’s shadow, which seems to have a mind of its own. Yet once this shadow is taken into perspective and analyzed in terms of the set, the audience will appreciate Dracula’s long, skinny fingers reaching out towards the light. The dampness and spider webs and darkness, corresponding to the aged Dracula, shadow the extravagance of the manor. Essentially Coppola’s usage of the mise-en-scène provide a more engrossing experience for the audience in addition to creating certain subliminal messages, that when analyzed correspond with the characters and create more abstraction. 

Works Cited 

Dika, Vera, and Barry Grant. "From Dracula-with Love." The Dread of Difference. U of Texas, 1996. 388-400. Print.