Radio/Television/Film Genre (322-0-21)

Topic

Melodrama

Instructors

Ariel Rebecca Rogers

Meeting Info

Helmerich Auditorium: Tues 1:00PM - 2:50PM
Annie May Swift Hall 109: Thurs 1:00PM - 2:50PM

Overview of class

From Riverdale (Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, 2017-2023) to Barbie (Greta Gerwig, 2023), films and television shows continue to use tried-and-true melodramatic methods to evoke strong feelings in their viewers. With last-minute rescues, triumphant underdogs, thrilling action, and tear-streaked confrontations, these works harness aesthetic spectacle to stir viewers' emotions, often by foregrounding social concerns and inequities. Focusing primarily on work produced within the United States, this course examines the history of screen melodrama and its persistence in contemporary media, interrogating the appeal melodrama continues to have for audiences as well as the ways in which its conventions have morphed over time and across platforms.

Class Materials (Required)

All assigned readings will be posted to our Canvas site. All films and television shows will be screened in class.

Class Attributes

Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area