Research Catalog

Title

Our faith in evil : melodrama and the effects of entertainment violence / Gregory Desilet.

Author

Desilet, Gregory E.

Publication

Jefferson, N.C. : McFarland, c2006.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

x, 346 p. : ill.; 23 cm.

Summary

"The text examines violence in film, analyzing psychological and social effects, the dramatic structure of melodrama and its context in reality"--Provided by publisher.

Subject

• Melodrama in motion pictures
• Violence in motion pictures

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. 329-337) and index.

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

Introduction: Ultraviolence and beyond. -- pt. I: Arguing the case. Fictional horror ; The troubling, doubling self ; Inside the doppelgänger ; The origin of evil ; The nature of evil ; Tragic myth and the origin of evil ; Alternative applications of Greek mythic tradition ; Metaphysical horror ; Violence and melodrama ; Catharsis and melodrama ; Catharsis reconsidered ; Melodrama and fairy tales ; Comic books and video games ; Real horror ; The melodramatization of American culture ; Real horror ; The melodramatization of American culture ; Whence and whither: conclusions and recommendations. -- pt. II: Illustrating the case. The western as the American myth ; Multi-melodrama: The silence of the lambs ; The slasher horror genre since Psycho ; Psycho(melo)drama: Raging bull and Taxi driver ; Epic/serial melodrama: Star wars, Harry Potter, and Lord of the rings ; Apocalyptic melodrama: The terminator and The matrix ; Modern "noir" melodrama: Bonnie and Clyde ; Postmodern "noir" melodrama: Pulp fiction ; The creature feature: Jaws versus Moby Dick ; Religious melodrama: The passion of the Christ. -- Appendix 1: Effects of tragic melodrama: Plato versus Aristotle. -- Appendix 2: Methodology.

ISBN

078642348X (softcover : alk. paper)

LCCN

^^2005029555

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library