Read complete books and articles on: Melodrama in Film

Melodrama - [Gr.,=song-drama], originally a spoken text with musical background, as in Greek drama. The form was popular in the 18th cent., when its composers included Georg Benda, J. J. Rousseau, and W. A. Mozart, among others. Modern examples of the true music melodrama are found in Richard Strauss's setting of Tennyson's Enoch Arden, and in Arnold Schoenberg's Pierrot

9 of the Best Books and Articles on: Melodrama in Film

as selected by Questia librarians

1.

Melodrama and Modernity: Early Sensational Cinema and Its Contexts » Read Now
by Ben Singer. 358 pgs.

Collections: Entire Library

In this groundbreaking investigation into the nature and meanings of melodrama in American culture between 1880 and 1920, Ben Singer offers a challenging new reevaluation of early American cinema and the era that spawned it. Singer looks back to the sensational or "blood and thunder" melodramas...
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In this groundbreaking investigation into the nature and meanings of melodrama in American culture between 1880 and 1920, Ben Singer offers a challenging new reevaluation of early American cinema and the era that spawned it. Singer looks back to the sensational or "blood and thunder" melodramas (e.g., The Perils of Pauline, The Hazards of Helen, etc.) and uncovers a fundamentally modern cultural expression, one reflecting spectacular transformations in the sensory environment of the metropolis, in the experience of capitalism, in the popular imagination of gender, and in the exploitation of the thrill in popular amusement. Written with verve and panache, and illustrated with 100 striking photos and drawings, Singer's study provides an invaluable historical and conceptual map both of melodrama as a genre on stage and screen and of modernity as a pivotal idea in social theory.
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2.

All That Hollywood Allows: Re-Reading Gender in 1950s Melodrama » Read Now
by Jackie Byars. 326 pgs.

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...Working Women in Film Melodramas of the Early 1950s...Romance" and "the Gaze" in Female-Oriented Film Melodramas of the 1950s , 132...American life, and the film...
3.

Handbook of American Film Genres (Chap. 16 "Melodrama") » Read Now
by Wes D. Gehring. 412 pgs.

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"More genres, 19 in fact, are discussed than in other standard works. The 14 genres considered here by film scholar contributors other than Gehring include the adventure film, the western, the gangster film, film noir, the WW II combat film, the horror film, science fiction, fantasy, the musical...
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"More genres, 19 in fact, are discussed than in other standard works. The 14 genres considered here by film scholar contributors other than Gehring include the adventure film, the western, the gangster film, film noir, the WW II combat film, the horror film, science fiction, fantasy, the musical, melodrama, the social problem film, the biographical film, and the art film. The discussion of fine comedy genres by Gehring himself is far more extensive than in other genre studies, embracing screwball comedy, populist comedy, parody, black humor, and clown comedy. . . . Recommended for both undergraduate and graduate collections." Choice
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4.

Classical Hollywood Narrative: The Paradigm Wars ("Introduction: The Family Melodrama of Classical Narrative Cinema" begins on p. 1) » Read Now
by Jane Gaines. 354 pgs.

Collections: Philosophy, Entire Library

...divorcing itself from melodrama, while American film, in contrast, "naturalized...the Heart Is: Studies in Melodrama and the Woman's Film , ed. Christine...
5.

The Oxford History of World Cinema (Includes discussion of melodrama in film in multiple chapters) » Read Now
by Geoffrey Nowell-Smith. 824 pgs.

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From its humble beginnings as a novelty in a handful of cities, cinema has risen to become a billion-dollar industry and the most spectacular and original contemporary art form. In The Oxford History of World Cinema, an international team of film historians traces the history of this enduringly...
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From its humble beginnings as a novelty in a handful of cities, cinema has risen to become a billion-dollar industry and the most spectacular and original contemporary art form. In The Oxford History of World Cinema, an international team of film historians traces the history of this enduringly popular entertainment medium. Covering all aspects of its development, stars, studios, and cultural impact, the book celebrates and chronicles over one hundred years of diverse achievement from westerns to the New Wave, from animation to the avant-garde, and from Hollywood to Hong Kong. The Oxford History of World Cinema tells the story of the major inventions and developments in the cinema business, its institutions, genres, and personnel, and they outline the evolution of national cinemas round the world--the varied and distinctive film traditions that have developed alongside Hollywood. A unique aspect of the book are the special inset features on the film-makers and personalities--Garbo and Godard, Keaton and Kurosawa, Bugs Bunny and Bergman--who have had an enduring impact in popular memory and cinematic lore. With over 280 illustrations, a full bibliography, and an extensive index, this is the buff's ultimate guide to cinema worldwide.
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6.

The Man's Film: Woo and the Pleasures of Male Melodrama, in Journal of Popular Culture » Read Now
by Philippa Gates. 21 pgs.

...rupture in the film. Nowell-Smith argues that in the melodramatic text there is a...Heart Is: Studies in Melodrama and the Womans Film. London: BFI Publishing...Heart Is:...
7.

Silver Sling-Backs and Mexican Melodrama: Salon Mexico and Danzoon, in Screen » Read Now
by Dolores Tierney. 12 pgs.

Collections: Philosophy, Entire Library

...on the family melodrama", in Marcia Landy...a Reader on Film and TV Melodrama...night- club) film, an important...Age Mexican melodrama, is in fact a hybrid...is: Studies...
8.

Narratives of Resistance: National Identity and Ambivalence in the Turkish Melodrama Between 1965 and 1975, in Screen » Read Now
by Nezih Erdogan. 13 pgs.

Collections: Philosophy, Entire Library

...father. This film, like many...exemplifies how melodrama resolves conflict...agent. 21 In many instances...The melodramatic mode and...notes on film history...performance...
9.

Toward a Post-Structural Influence in Film Genre Study: Intertextuality and 'The Shining,' in Film Criticism » Read Now
by Walter Metz. 24 pgs.

Collections: Entire Library

...hybridizes genres, in this case the horror film and the melodrama.(3) I fully...articulated in American film history, the...between the melodrama and the...