Jenine Abumusallam
Display of
Romanticism in Dracula
Horror
films do not necessarily have to be viewed in terms of one genre. They often
combine ideas of comedy, action or even romance, as is the case for the film Dracula. Dracula is a good example of the interweaving of genres,
considering the fact that it displays many scenes of romance. The interweaving
of genres plays an important role in the emotional impact the film has on the
audience and their ability to connect with the characters.
In
“From Dracula-with love” by Vera Dika, she makes a very strong and evident
comparison to Beauty and the Beast,
the idea that there is a horrific beast and he is changed by the love of a
beautiful woman. This aspect is displayed between Dracula and Mina, her
consistent tenderness, acceptance, and desire towards Dracula, and how it
changes him (Dika, 39). The concept of unattainable love makes Dracula less of
a villain and more pitied by the audience. The costumes he wears and how he
transforms into a handsome man also play an important role in the idea of
romance and how he changes for his love, in hopes of making her love him back;
we see this specifically in the stalking scene.
Is
it possible that because there is so much romance involved in Dracula, that it should not be
considered a “horror film”? According to Rick Altman’s “A Semantic/Syntactic
Approach to film genre”, “it is perfectly possible for a film to be
simultaneously included in a particular generic corpus, and excluded from that
corpus”. Meaning that despite its many romantic notes, Dracula can still be considered a form of the horror genre, but
also a form of the romance genre Altman also tells us that the idea of genre,
despite how recent the criticism may be, is still mainly “ahistorical”, yet
film genres are slowly changing and becoming less homogenous (Altman, 8).
The
very beginning and the very end of the film mirror each other, beginning and
ending the film with destroyed love, leaving us heartbroken when Dracula is
killed, versus satisfied, which is what we would assume to feel when the
monster is destroyed. This leaves us questioning if the film we are actually
watching is a horror film or simply a rendition of a romantic drama. The final
scene where Mina is forced to end her love’s suffering by killing him, seems to
be a spin off of Romeo and Juliet’s doomed love. The camera cuts from Mina to
the mangled Dracula, her leaning over him and weeping this creates a sense of
sorrow and depression, despite the fact that is should be a glorious moment
where normalcy is returning, we can’t help but feel pity.
The
obvious hints of romance in Dracula,
make the film more relatable and believable. The audience becomes less focused
on the fact that Dracula is a merciless killer, and more on the devastating
love story of Dracula and Mina. Thus solidifying Altman’s claims that a film
does not necessarily have to be one genre, but can fit into a wide variety of
genres.
Work Cited
Dika, Vera, and Barry Grant. "From Dracula-with
Love." The Dread of Difference. U of Texas, 1996. 388-400.
Print.
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