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.