Monday, January 27, 2014

3 questions

1.  Ben Singer defines melodrama as a genre as "a genre with a specific relation to the hallmarks of modern life: urbanization, cultural discontinuity, increased mobility, and sensory complexity."  Based on the examples of melodrama we've discussed in class and outside knowledge, does a piece have to have all four "hallmarks" in order to be melodramatic or just a few?

2.  In Playing the Race Card, it is highlighted that many famous melodramas "all share the common function of revealing moral good in a world where virtue has become hard to read."  Would revenge on a villain be considered "moral good"?

3.  Disney's "Mickey's Mellerdrammer" incorporated a lot of comedy into it's portrayal of the story of Uncle Tom's Cabin.  If it had not would this melodrama be too inappropriate for the young audiences that typically watch Mickey Mouse?

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