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.