Big Screen Mega-Melodrama

“Suspense has been long recognized as a basic quality of melodrama. Consider, for example, the iconic scene in the Titanic where suspense is measured by the prolonged upending of the ship before it sinks.” With suspense being such a crucial quality of melodrama, music plays a big part in helping build the suspense and create the full effect on the audience. The suspense built through the unique soundtrack of the film Titanic, helps to prolong the anxiety that will further be distinguished as the movie goes on. Music provides a homeostatic balance to decipher between emotions and often veers the audience in a certain direction. This source is useful for me because it not only talks about music or only the Titanic, but both and how they incorporate with each other. The information is reliable due to the fact that this is a scholarly source through a library database, and contains information that is solidified by other sources also. This source may be considered biased because there are a few opinions on whether the film is even a melodrama, even though it contains most of the characteristics necessary to be one. However, this article will still be a good fit for my research essay because it has many great examples of how the music in Titanic accompanies the genre of melodrama (and some how it does not).

Effects of Film Music

This source is not necessarily a book or article, but is just as useful as information to aid in the research of the effect of film music. In this experiment, participants viewed one of three versions of a certain film. The versions included one with no music, one with horror music and the third with documentary music. Viewers watching the music-entailed films had increased heart rates and increased and decreased anxiety levels.  This experiment would be useful towards my research essay topic of “How does music have an effect on films?” because it is almost directly related to my research topic and gives a prime example of people’s emotional responses to films with music. Compared to other sources in my bibliography, this one is unique because it is a physical example of music’s effects rather than someone just voicing their opinion or talking about their beliefs. I believe this source will be helpful in getting my point across and helps shape my argument due to the fact that people were involved and tested using different types of music and seeing which were most affected and least affected and what occurred in the body during the reaction to each film and its music. The fact that cardiovascular, electrodermal, and somatic physiological responses were all continuously monitored, has a big impact on the usefulness of this experiment. This experiment is also relevant because although it is not specifically stated, horror movies can also be considered as melodramas depending on the film, its elements, and how it is portrayed.

Sources Continued

"Some of the most memorable music written for the movies comes before the movie begins. Opening theme music, sometimes even before the credits start to roll, serves very different functions for different films" is how the article opens and strongly addresses its main point right from the start. As the article goes on it continues to talk about different films and how their music addresses them. From films such as Gone With the Wind to Freaks, Lloyd Schwartz explains how music depicts a movie and  clearly sets the mood from horror film to classical musical. This source is useful because it explains more in depth how music adds "another emotional layer". I still do not yet have all of my sources in my bibliography, however, I feel as if this one of the more beneficial ones. This source also could be biased but I believe Schwartz's point of view on music is very agreeable with. Lloyd Schwartz's article was helpful to me in finding someone else's documented opinion on the drastic effects of music in films, and will help me further to show through the titanic more specific effects of the audience from the music used. This source has not changed my opinion about my topic, if anything, it has strengthened it.

Orgies of Feeling

In Elizabeth Anker's text, Orgies of Feeling, melodrama animates the description of politics in her eyes and also “melodrama directly competes with Jeremiad, a perennially popular genre in American culture patterned on biblical lamentations of the prophets, which offers strident moral critique degraded society, and prophecies’ that society will collapse if it continues down its wayward path.”  9/11 is a topic of interest throughout her text and different points of view are explained. Anker considers both sides of the political spectrum. One opinionated view described is imperialism, and putting blame on America itself for the terrors of 9/11 and how if we weren’t involved with foreign affairs and terrorism then it wouldn’t have been our liability. Another view is that the freedom we have in this county influenced terror attacks due to the way some of the freedoms go against certain religious ways, for example, sexuality.  Jerry Falwell says “you helped this happen” to all of the gays, abortionists and feminists and that they helped this happen in their ways of trying to secularize America. I do not agree with either side of the political spectrum exemplified in Orgies of Feeling, but I can understand how someone from an outside point of view may try to justify those reasons, however, I still do not feel that America is to blame for these attacks nor were they “asking for it”.

Research Source

One source I intend on using is the actual film Titanic. My essay topic is how music plays an effect into the melodrama and the effect it has on the audience. Although this is a film rather than a book or article, it is just as meaningful. The music played throughout this almost 4 hour long film has an effect bigger than the usual melodrama. Some of the last people alive before the sinking of the ship dedicate the rest of their lives to music to play to help set the mood of the passengers on the ship and try and calm them down as much as possible. This is a useful source to use because aside from the violinists dedicated to their music, other background music is played all throughout the film that justifies the mood of the characters and then takes its toll on the audience. This source is helpful in shaping my argument for my essay about the role music plays in melodramas and the wide range of effects it has on the audience. The information is reliable and there are many people that can agree with the emotional affect given by the music in this film.

Potential Research Essay

Titanic has been my all time favorite movie for as long as I can remember, and that’s why I am considering using it as my research topic for my melodrama research paper. I remember having sleepovers with my older cousins and be given no choice but to watch titanic every time. My love for it grew to as much as theirs and I eventually ended up stealing the duo VCR pack for myself.  For my research paper I plan on talking about the different melodramatic aspects such as the lighting, the music, and the effect on the audience. The music plays a big part in this movie; sometimes being the thing that brings out my emotions for certain parts even more drastically than they would have been without it. Being a story about two lovers from two completely different social class levels, and set aside from the main conflict of the ship sinking, conflict arose often and with the death of a protagonist Jack, the movie was even more melodramatic. Seeing this show more times than I can count, it never gets old and I am excited to be able to write a paper about it and see what this paper can bring about.

Moral Occult

Moral occult is frequently used throughout various melodramas today. Moral occult can be described as "the center of interest and the scene of the underlying drama reside within what we could call the 'moral occult,' the domain of operative spiritual values which is both indicated within and masked by the surface of reality,"(Page 5). As said by Peter Brooks, moral occult is the center of all melodramas, and is the idea of good vs. evil (right and wrong). This basically means what your beliefs are on what is right or wrong and how you follow through with or practice them.

One example of a melodrama that portrays the moral occult is the film All That Heaven Allows by Douglas Sirk. In this melodrama, protagonist, Cary, develops the moral occult as she struggles to determine her fate. Her heart is telling her to spend the remainder of her life with Ron, but she has too many interference and pressures in the way to do that. Her children as a main road block to this lifestyle, end up leaving her alone and able to make the decision for herself. As the audience, we get a full view on everything that is occurring and on all the inside details that the other characters are unaware of.  Many other events occur leading up to this, including Ron falling off a cliff, and this is what define and build up the moral occult itself.

All That Heaven Allows

All That Heaven Allows was not a movie I ever expected myself to watch. I’m not a person who’s very big on watching old time movies, specifically not melodramas, however I enjoyed this one. Melodramas are meant to emphasize the feelings of the audience and this film sure proceeded to emphasize mine. Cary Scott was a wealthy widow with 2 children and lived her life happily. When she develops a friendship with Ron Kirby, her nurseryman, she develops more than a friendship and later obtains feelings of affection. It was at first surprising for me to watch her fall for a man so much younger than her who was also part of a lower class. It caught my interest to see that she still gained feelings for him when realizing this and noticing their differences such as his small, countryside house or cabin compared to her small city mansion. As the movie went on to show that her children did not approve due to the age difference, it was slightly disappointing because she would sacrifice anything for her kids including Ron. Once her children grew older and she had more space to herself, and decided to allow Ron back in her life, the story goes on pulling my emotions up and down a roller coaster as the two go through unexplainable events. Disappointment, happiness, sadness, excitement and many more emotion arose for me during events such as Cary’s visits to Ron’s mill, the two deciding to be together and not be together, and seeing Cary’s hope rise and fall especially in the end when she sees Ron and cares for him after his concussion. Over all this film was a great example of a melodrama and helped me to learn more about what melodramas are and consist of.