FILM GENRE: MELODRAMA (FM2089)

Is melodrama a genre, a way of imagining the world, or the predominant aesthetic mode to represent intense emotions? Throughout the history of film it has been all of these, traveling across cultures and cinematic contexts. In this course we explore theories and concepts that can help us make sense of melodrama, and apply them to a number of key films from different countries. We question why these films move us, and how their narrative and mise-en-scene create stark moral conflicts and “excessive” pathos. Through group assignments and an individual research project, we also explore the ways in which melodrama affects our current understanding of history, politics, and society. The first part of the course focuses on melodrama from early cinema to the post-WWII period, whereas the second part addresses a number of international films spanning from the early 1990s to the 21st century.