Unit 2 Lecture 10:25:16 PDF

Preview

Summary

Unit 2 lecture notes Professor Orr Fall 2016...

Description

Thea 120: Melodrama October 25, 2016 Melodrama in Film, TV 

“In tragedy the hero is isolated from society…but enlightened [anagnoresis], the hero cannot starve off the disaster embedded in the social structure beyond the hero’s control



In contrast, the melodramatic hero is a normative character representing incorporation into society (Himmelstien)



“The hero is central to melodrama”



Contemporary melodramas often feature heros who represent “incorporation into society” in complex ways



House MD



A central theme in melodrama is the “triumph of moral virtue over villainy, and the consequent idealizing of the moral views to be held by the audience” (Himmelstien)



“Reflecting…contemporary American society, many workplace melodramas feature… a corporate hero : a team of specialists that acts as a unit.” (Himmelstien)



“While heroes exceed societal norms, villains…are negative models of evil to be feared and eradicated or reformed by the hero…Villains threaten social norms” (Himmelstein)



“From nightmare, awakening [is] brought about by confrontation with and expulsion of the villain (evil), and a reaffirmation of the society of ‘decent people’.” (Brooks [1976], qtd in Himmelstein)



“[T]he melodrama’s highly symbolic heroic ideal, its formal conventions, and its reinforcement of the society’s dominant values at any given cultural moment render the genre highly significant as a centrist cultural mechanism stressing order and statis (Himmelstein)

Hellboy II: The Golden Army 

In many ways, HB2 is a “workplace melodrama”



Hellboy and his team fight evil



Hellboy headlines a “corporate hero” character group



The villain: Prince Nuada



His twin sister: Princess Nuala



Linked by magic, each knows and feels what the other knows and feels



Flaw with princess Nuala is that she is connected to her brother, the villain...