Melodrama

Melodrama was and is a popular form of drama which exaggerates a lot of its themes in order to appeal to the audience, is used a lot in the entertainment industry. Melodrama is very “Black and White” because by using this particular type of drama you are immediately aware of who are the stock characters without any confusion. The stock characters are your stereotypical characters required to make an entertaining story, there are 2 types of characters that can be used to make a story, and there are Dynamic Characters; who throughout the story undergo changes in their attitude / personality usually for the better (Like a villain changing his priorities to do good towards the end of the story). Then there are the Static characters, who very much…

The readings from this week were “Film Bodies: Gender, Genre, and Excess” by Linda Williams and “Mega-Melodrama! Vertical and Horizontal Suspension of the ‘Classical,’” which is also by Linda Williams. The thesis that was articulated for “Film Bodies: Gender, Genre, and Excess” reads “This essay explores the notion that there may be some value in thinking about the form, function, and system of seemingly gratuitous excesses in these three genres… My hope, therefore, is that by thinking…

One convention of melodrama is the traditional melodramatic plot, best known as the 3p’s, is the provocation, pang and penalty. This is used to convey the plot of the melodrama’s. The provocation is the initial cause for setting the action in motion, often the jealousy or greed of a wicked character. The pang is the sufferings of the good and innocent characters who are in conflict with the evil. And the penalty is suffered by the wicked character in his or her evil ways in a last-minute…

“Tracefossilim” of Melodramatic Cuba There has been a resurgence of melodrama in Cuban film since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Indeed, two of Cuba’s most prominent and historically significant filmmakers, Tomás Gutiérrez Alea and Humberto Solás, have produced highly melodramatic films in the almost two decades since the Soviet collapse, a time known in Cuba as the special period. 1 While there are certainly melodramatic tendencies in other post-revolutionary Cuban films, melodrama has…

Drama is a term used in literature that can catch some people’s eyes. “A drama is a composition in verse or prose presenting a story in pantomime or dialogue, containing conflict of characters, particularly the ones who perform in front of audience on the stage” ("Drama - Examples and Definition of Drama”). It is a performance based fictional illustration. Drama is a type of illustration that can depict a play in theaters or on televisions. It is based on action. The action is what draws the…

Lynn Nottage once said, “Just because it’s a unique perspective doesn’t mean it can’t offer something universal.” In my opinion, Ruined is a melodrama that illustrates storytelling by allowing characters to identify themselves as well as teach the audience. Storytelling is an exquisite and diverse tool that can be used in a variety of situations for numerous purposes. One peculiar aspect of Ruined is that there is no clear villain and in that way Ruined resists being a melodrama. However,…

Mellodrama 1. the conventions of melodrama are the characters for example the villan, hero and herione. One of the main conventions that help with making these characters is music, when the hero enters the room or saves someone heroic music will play, but when the villan kills someone or steals something evil music will play. Gestures are another big part of the theartre as it gives delivery of speech and motion for example someone rolling their eyes obviosly is idicating that they are fed up.…

Throughout film history melodrama has meant many different meanings and been attached to many different genres. By the time the 1980’s role around it became obvious that a melodrama was taking on a whole new form that had many little factors that would make it considered melodrama. To decide if a film is a melodrama or not comes to many different aspects found in melodramas of the time. A film like Steel Magnolias (1989) was a massive hit with both audiences and critics alike, and many consider…

Dancing with Death: An Analysis of Black Queer Melodrama In this proposal I will be exploring the use of melodrama, and the theme of death in the films “Paris is Burning” and “Black is… Black Aint”, Both of which reach their climax at the death of central characters in their films. The beginning of my project will consist of defining the aforementioned films as performative films, in doing so, next, I could establish a connection between performative documentary and black queerness. This…

of good and evil are expressed through the actions of the characters and because of this, the play is considered to be a melodrama. Along with being a melodrama, this play is a story and therefore illustrates multiple purposes of storytelling. These aspects of the play helped to turn the text into a Pulitzer Prize-winning play that is taught in classrooms. The climax of a story is the point in which the plot of the story turns. The climax can occur at any part of a text…