Domestic Melodrama as Genre (Discussion)
From Screenpedia
Molly Haskell
- Groups 1, 2, and 3: What three types of women does Haskell find in the woman's film? Describe a character in a relatively recent film (say, since the 1980s) who exemplifies each type.
- Groups 4, 5, and 6: What are the woman's film's four main themes? Do you see them operating in the two melodramas we've viewed: Ordinary People and Imitation of Life (1934)?
- : How is hostility toward children expressed in the woman's film? Have you seen it in a recent American film?
- : What impact does the issue of race have on the woman's film? Compare/contrast the white and black mothers (Bea and Delilah, respectively) in Imitation of Life.
- : What theme does Haskell see that entwines the domestic and the romantic? Have you seen it in a recent American film?
Only one extra credit question may be answered.
21st-century melodramas
Film melodramas released since 2000.
- In the Bedroom (2001)
- Sweet November (2001)
- Life Is a House (2001)
- A Walk to Remember (2002)
- White Oleander (2002)
- Love Actually (2003)
- The Notebook (2004)
- Madea's Family Reunion (2006)
- The Holiday (2006)
- Daddy's Little Girls (2007)
- Why Did I Get Married? (2007)
- P.S. I Love You (2007)
- Juno (2007)
- Meet the Browns (2008)
- The Family That Preys (2008)
- 27 Dresses (2008)
- I Can Do Bad All by Myself (2009)
- He's Just Not That Into You (2009)
- Why Did I Get Married Too? (2010)
- Remember Me (2010)
- The Kids Are All Right (2010)
- Madea's Big Happy Family (2011)
- The Descendants (2011)
- Les Misérables (2012)
- The Vow (2012)
- August: Osage County (2013)
- The Single Moms Club (2014)
- Winter's Tale (2014)
Bibliography
- Molly Haskell, "The Woman's Film," in From Reverence to Rape: The Treatment of Women in the Movies (New York: Penguin, 1974; revised edition 1987) 153-188.
Footnotes
- In spring 2010, this discussion was combined with Domestic Melodrama Since World War II (Discussion), into Domestic Melodrama as Genre (2010 Discussion).