Melodrama Unbound

Across History, Media, and National Cultures

Nonfiction, Entertainment, Film, History & Criticism, Performing Arts
Cover of the book Melodrama Unbound by , Columbia University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: ISBN: 9780231543194
Publisher: Columbia University Press Publication: May 8, 2018
Imprint: Columbia University Press Language: English
Author:
ISBN: 9780231543194
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Publication: May 8, 2018
Imprint: Columbia University Press
Language: English

For too long melodrama has been associated with outdated and morally simplistic stereotypes of the Victorian stage; for too long film studies has construed it as a singular domestic genre of familial and emotional crises, either subversively excessive or narrowly focused on the dilemmas of women. Drawing on new scholarship in transnational theatrical, film, and cultural histories, this collection demonstrates that melodrama is a transgeneric mode that has long spoken to fundamental aspects of modern life and feeling.

Pointing to melodrama’s roots in the ancient Greek combination of melos and drama, and to medieval Christian iconography focused on the pathos of Christ as suffering human body, the volume highlights the importance to modernity of melodrama as a mode of emotional dramaturgy, the social and aesthetic conditions for which emerged long before the French Revolution. Contributors articulate new ways of thinking about melodrama that underscore its pervasiveness across national cultures and in a variety of genres. They examine how melodrama has traveled to and been transformed in India, China, Japan, and South America, whether through colonial circuits or later, globalization; how melodrama mixes with other modes such as romance, comedy, and realism; and finally how melodrama has modernized the dramatic functions of gender, class, and race by orchestrating vital aesthetic and emotional experiences for diverse audiences.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

For too long melodrama has been associated with outdated and morally simplistic stereotypes of the Victorian stage; for too long film studies has construed it as a singular domestic genre of familial and emotional crises, either subversively excessive or narrowly focused on the dilemmas of women. Drawing on new scholarship in transnational theatrical, film, and cultural histories, this collection demonstrates that melodrama is a transgeneric mode that has long spoken to fundamental aspects of modern life and feeling.

Pointing to melodrama’s roots in the ancient Greek combination of melos and drama, and to medieval Christian iconography focused on the pathos of Christ as suffering human body, the volume highlights the importance to modernity of melodrama as a mode of emotional dramaturgy, the social and aesthetic conditions for which emerged long before the French Revolution. Contributors articulate new ways of thinking about melodrama that underscore its pervasiveness across national cultures and in a variety of genres. They examine how melodrama has traveled to and been transformed in India, China, Japan, and South America, whether through colonial circuits or later, globalization; how melodrama mixes with other modes such as romance, comedy, and realism; and finally how melodrama has modernized the dramatic functions of gender, class, and race by orchestrating vital aesthetic and emotional experiences for diverse audiences.

More books from Columbia University Press

Cover of the book The Columbia Guide to American Indians of the Southwest by
Cover of the book Tamil Oratory and the Dravidian Aesthetic by
Cover of the book Kicking the Carbon Habit by
Cover of the book No Country by
Cover of the book The Japan–South Korea Identity Clash by
Cover of the book The Freedom Schools by
Cover of the book Political Theology by
Cover of the book Exploring Agrodiversity by
Cover of the book A New German Idealism by
Cover of the book Sebald's Vision by
Cover of the book The Other Catholics by
Cover of the book The Refuge of Affections by
Cover of the book Beating Hearts by
Cover of the book The Portable Kristeva by
Cover of the book Sovereignty by
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy