Article:

The passions of the vampire in film. An example of affectivity and cultural representation in German and Mexican cinema.

In this article, I will focus on the analysis of the passions which are associated with the figure of the vampire and how they are constructed in some Mexican and German films. To do this, I will describe some elements of the narrative structure and the construction of narrativity in film. The aim of this description is to show how narrative sequences are related with specific passions and what verbal, visual, and auditory features are linked to the emergence of passion effects. Then, I will explain the function and structure of the passion element in the narrative structure of film from a semiotic perspective by referring to the theory of passions by Algirdas J. Greimas and the analysis of discourse according to Jacques Fontanille as well as the study of the cinematographic elements in relation to some cultural and aesthetic aspects.

Finally, I will analyze the concept of the passion dimension by using excerpts of El ataúd del vampiro (The Vampire’s Coffin) by Fernando Méndez, comparing some elements with other vampire films. This will allow us to see the construction of similar passions and narrative structures in relation to the vampire figure giving rise to the representation of different cultural fears through multimodal and filmic resources.