Source number four:

"Film Bodies: Gender, Genre, and Excess"

By Linda Williams

In this essay, Williams discusses Carol Clover's commentary on the "body genres" of horror and pornography (which have excessive amounts of violence and sex, respectively), to include melodrama- a new body genre which includes excesses of emotion.More specifically, she addresses the excessive instances of pathos found in "weepies"/"women's films." She takes the meaning of "body genres" as dealing with bodies beside themselves with emotion (pleasure, fear) and extends it to weepies for their portrayal of bodies beside themselves with sadness.There is a particular degree of attention received by the main women of each film: the helpless victim (sometimes turned unlikely hero) of the horror genre, the female who walks the line of "good girl"/ "bad girl" in pornography, and the woman behind the weeping in melodramas. The nature of the sexuality of these women is discussed in addition by Williams. Contemporary "male weepies" are touched upon, and could be useful in my paper if I decide to analyse gender roles and audiences for music and melodramas.

Mostly, though, I plan on using this source as background info. I'm hoping that it will help me to better understand Leslie Maier's evaluation of the body genres' manifestation in music as well as Linda Williams herself, since I will be using multiple sources written by her. The chart for each of the body genres on page 9 will be useful in organizing my info on the melodrama. Finally, this source is useful because it's all about the excess.One of the main things that will be used to prove the relation between pop music and the melodrama is the idea of emotional excess in both. This article can prove to be very useful in going into the excesses of the melodrama.

Source number three:

"Apt Feelings, or Why "Women's Films" aren't Trivial"
by Flo Leibowitz

This article is primarily a defense of the melodrama genre against critics who claim that it isn't as valid as, and is less trivial than, other film genres. It begins with a criticism of melodramas by philosopher John Morreall, which serves to summarize the 'general' view, the 'misinformed' view, and ultimately an untrue view. Leibowitz defends the high emotions of melodramas by analyzing their complexities and thereby disproving Morreal's claims that the films make him feel a specific emotion. There is often a mix of emotions in melodramatic tragedy, loss, or sacrifice. Leibowitz also objects to the common belief that emotional struggles are less important than the conflicts that surround the male-oriented movies, and disagrees that movies should be geared towards a solely male audience. Leibowitz also shortly discusses the importance of music in love stories, which I may come back to in writing my paper.
The major takeaway from this source is the fact that it is a solid basis of defense against traditional views of the melodrama as a genre. It argues that what many find to be 'trivial' is actually more intricate and valid than people like to believe. I can relate this to the common assumptions that pop music is trivial and offers little real emotional value. This source uses All That Heaven Allows for multiple examples, and having seen the movie, these points are better understood. This source will be useful in establishing my discussion of film melodrama, and the connections to music will be made using other sources.

Source number two:

"Bjork's 'Vulnicura': An Inquiry Into Melodrama"

By Ann  Powers

In this review of Bjork's new album, 'Vulnicura," Ann Powers discusses the ways in which Bjork's music relates to elements of the melodrama genre. She discusses things like the difference in meaning between the written lyrics and the performed lyrics, aspects of the melodrama within individual songs, and also slightly the 'bad rep' that melodramas receive in connection to negative reviews about Bjork's 'hippie style.' 

Since this isn't a scholarly article, the author's legitimacy isn't necessarily of the utmost importance. I plan on using this piece mostly as an example of how other types of music can be seen as melodramatic. I also wanted to find an example of how I could analyze individual songs and albums, so Powers' review will be useful in helping me format my own music reviews. Finally, this is another source that can help me cement the relationship between pop music and melodrama that I want to establish in my paper.

Source number one:

"In Excess? Body Genres, “Bad” Music, and the Judgment of Audiences"
by Leslie M. Meier

In her essay, Meir discusses the way in which music is seen as "good" or "bad," and the factors that influence this. She argues early on that music can be judged as "bad" for one of two main reasons: first, there’s the ‘concerned parent’s’ definition of “bad” music, which would be that including inappropriate language or themes or subject matter; then there’s the ‘concerned music lover’s’ definition of “bad” music, which is often music that is exaggeratedly emotional or appealing to women’s emotions.  

Meir draws from Linda Williams's evaluation of "body genres" in her essay “Film Bodies: Gender, Genre, and Excess” to define the genres that contain the most “bad” music. Williams suggests that the genres of film that demonstrate the most excess are horror (excessive violence), pornography (excessive sex), and melodrama (excessive emotion). Meir discusses exaggeration in the music genres of “shock rock” and “gangsta rap” (excessive violence), “porno rock” and “camp pop” (excessive sex), and “arena rock” and “sob pop” (excessive emotion).

This source will be useful to me because it draws from Linda Williams’ writing, which I will most likely incorporate in my essay as well. It is also quite credible based on the level of analysis, number of sources used, and the credibility of the author. The most useful part of this piece, though, is its comparison of the melodrama in film to “arena rock” and “sob pop” in music. The music that I will look at probably fits best in the genre of “sob pop,” so this comparison will be very relevant. 

Possible Research Topics

I definitely want to do something non-traditional with my melodrama research paper. I haven't seen many classic melodramas, but I've found many traits of the melodramatic genre in the types of movies and shows I watch, as well as the music I listen to.

My first ideas were to analyze some of my favorite movies that are close to the genre, such as those based off of Nicholas Sparks and John Green novels. Another film that I really considered was Titanic for it's more traditional melodramatic style.

Then I started to think about the TV dramas that I enjoy, and how I could pick out elements of the melodrama in each of them. The big one that I thought about was Prison Break (four seasons, all of which are on Netflix). The fourth and final season, in my opinion, was by far the most melodramatic. Every problem came down to life-or-death decision making; many, many, many conflicts were resolved by deus ex machina, which I read about when first googling the definition of melodrama; all of this plays out in violence and action, meanwhile there is a love affair and terminal illness playing out different background plots. Currently, this is tied for my top option going into this paper,

My other number one choice is based in music. Recently, after comments in class about the melodramatic effects and implications with music, I thought about the melodramatic nature of country music lyrics. Though she's more of a pop musician now, I considered Taylor Swift as an artist to analyze. I definitely love her music, and it speaks to the heart with its brutal honesty. Every song is about romance and love, and with more than five albums of examples, I would be able to find all different kinds of plots played out through music.

The "Moral Occult" and the Melodramatic Mode

The 'moral occult' is described by Brooks as dealing with spiritual values, and located just beneath the surface of reality. He calls it the "center of interest" (5), as it deals with the truth itself behind the layers of drama that mask it. Brooks writes that the moral occult is located and articulated through the melodramatic mode (5). Melodrama is able to so easily reveal the moral occult because of the exaggerated nature of melodrama itself. Declarations are grand, emotions are poured out, characters speak their minds and gesture meaningfully and so on. As Brooks writes, "The desire to express all seems a fundamental characteristic of the melodramatic mode" (4). This enables us to get right to the moral occult because few things are kept secretive. We know the emotions and feelings of every character the moment they begin to feel them. They make it obvious, and it is easy to find the characters' moral motivation and overall values.
Examples of this can be found within Sirk's All That Heaven Allows. Whenever there is conflict between Cary and her children, both sides speak very openly about what they believe. Her son questions her outright, in front of her new boyfriend Ron, about whether she's intentionally removed the father's presence in the house by taking down his trophy. This highlights the son's morals involved with family as well as how much he values the memory of his father. He also refers to Ron as "a nice set of muscles" when arguing with his mother, showing that he values love and believes that this new relationship is nothing in comparison to the loving one Cary had with the father.

All That Heaven Allows

All That Heaven Allows

Clash of Generations commentary

While the biggest conflict in All That Heaven Allows can be seen as that between Cary and Ron's relationship and Cary's society, I believe that the strongest factor pushing that conflict is the clash that exists between generations in her society. For starters, one of the main problems that Cary’s friends and children have with Ron is the fact that he’s so much younger than her. At least, that’s one of the main problems that are clearly stated through the melodramatic dialogue of the film. I believe that beneath the obvious conflicts, Sirk hints at others in society without needing to be so explicit about them.

           We see early in the film that Cary’s son and daughter are trying to build their lives up since they are still young and have new experiences ahead of them. This is because they are members of a younger generation. In a way, it’s their time to shine right now- to meet people, fall in love, be married, move away, find work, and so on. I believe that they object so strongly to their mother’s relationship because she’s stealing some of their spotlight in a way. The two very clearly loved their father, and want to preserve his memory and keep the past alive through the trophy and stories of him. I see it as being because they were content with their old family structure, and would like to keep it static so that they can lead dynamic lives while they are still in their youth.

          I believe that this is the true reasoning behind the actions of Cary’s children, whether they know it or not. There is a lingering tension in the film that never allows Cary to be truly close with her children. Everything about the mise-en-scene points to this divide. More specifically, “[the] shot constructions make explicit the rift between Cary Scott and her two children" (Mercer & Singler 52). One example is the shot of Cary’s son leaving while Cary appears to be trapped by the screen that has gotten between them.

          The problem of clashing generations only appears in Cary’s suburban world. Ron’s friends have no trouble with the relationship, but the society that Sirk is trying to criticize certainly does. And I believe that conflict between generations is a major cause of this.