Melodrama Flashcards
What genre is Melodrama initially defined as?
A theatrical genre focusing on sensational, highly dramatic narratives.
Who suggests that Melodrama coincides with modernism and the Industrial Revolution?
Susan Hayward.
According to Laura Mulvey, what drives Melodrama’s excitement?
Conflict not between enemies, but between people tied by blood or love.
What must be reached for family life to survive, according to Laura Mulvey?
A compromise has to be reached, sexual difference softened, and the male brought to see the value of domestic life.
In what ways could we describe Sunrise as a Melodrama?
It reduces characters to universal symbols and explores heightened themes and ideas.
Who plays one of the protagonists in Sunrise?
Janet Gaynor.
What theme is explored through endurance and sacrifice in Sunrise?
The theme of marriage.
What type of narrative setup is featured in Sunrise?
A triangular setup.
What moral ideology does Sunrise reflect?
A conservative, traditionalist moral ideology.
Which psychological ideas drive the narrative of Sunrise?
Ideas from Freudian psychology, such as The Madonna Whore Complex.
What nostalgic vision does Sunrise present?
A vision of family and happiness rooted in an idealised past.
What cinematic techniques are used in Sunrise?
Flashbacks and the first-ever synchronised heightened non-diegetic score.
What is a Kammerspielfilm?
German dramas that focus on intimate stories that are more realist.
Fill in the blank: Sunrise could be argued to be more of a _______ than a German Expressionist film.
Kammerspielfilm.
What is the main conflict in the triangular setup of Sunrise?
The Man is tempted away from The Wife by The Woman from The City.
