The notion of mode is critical in the reevaluation of melodrama. As a mode, melodrama appears not only as a dramatic genre pervaded by sensationalism, exaggerations, and moral polarities, but also as a cultural imaginary that shapes the emotional experience of modernity, characterized by anxiety, moral confusion, and the dissolution of hierarchy. Despite its usefulness, the notion of mode remains mystifying: What exactly are modes and how do they differ from genres? Refiguring Melodrama in Film and Television: Captive Affects, Elastic Sufferings, Vicarious Objects argues that, whereas genres divide a universe in terms of similarities and differences, modes express or modify an indivisible whole. This study contends that the melodramatic mode is concerned with the expression of the social whole in terms of suffering. Zarzosa explains how melodrama is not a cultural imaginary that proclaims the existence of a defunct moral order in a post-sacred world, but an apparatus that shapes suffering and redistributes its visibility. The moral ideas we associate with melodrama are only a means to achieve this end.
To develop this conception of melodrama, Refiguring Melodrama in Film and Television offers a novel conceptualization of the following aspects of melodrama theory: affect, interpretation, exchange, excess, sacrifice, and coincidence. These aspects of melodrama are coupled with the analysis of classic melodramas (Home from the Hill and The Story of Adele H.), contemporary films (The Piano, [Safe], and Year of the Dog), and television series (Torchwood and Lost). Refiguring Melodrama in Film and Television provides an essential new look at melodrama and its function in popular culture and media.
eBook - ePub
Refiguring Melodrama in Film and Television
Captive Affects, Elastic Sufferings, Vicarious Objects
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eBook - ePub
Refiguring Melodrama in Film and Television
Captive Affects, Elastic Sufferings, Vicarious Objects
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Table of contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction The Outwitted Critic
- Chapter 1 Modalities of Melodrama
- Chapter 2 Affect, Affection, Affectation
- Chapter 3 Diagnosing Suffering
- Chapter 4 Trafficking in Sacred Objects
- Chapter 5 Sacrifice and the Animal Melodrama
- Chapter 6 The Excesses of the Posthuman Melodrama
- Chapter 7 The Outside and the Coincidence Machine
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Film and Television References
- About the Author
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Yes, you can access Refiguring Melodrama in Film and Television by Agustín Zarzosa in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Social Sciences & Film & Video. We have over 1.5 million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.