Melodrama in Media

Katrina Sampanes Peed

SIMILAR TO ELISABETH ANKER

Prohibition• Blue Laws– Started with the Puritans to uphold God’s morals but had

nothing to do with alcohol• “defuddling the thinking of humanity”• Blamed much crime on alcohol• 3 main reasons

1. Concerned that the evils of alcohol would tempt the new military

2. Believed as a nation, we needed to conserve the grain that was used for brewing

3. There was an anti-German sentiment against beer manufacturers

Prohibition• Groups like the American Temperance Movement

and leaders such as Carrie Nation fought to ban the manufacture, sale, and distribution of Alcohol

• Villain = alcohol, victim = American values, Hero = Temperence

• Polarized Good and Evil – Carrie Nation tearing up bars

Japanese Interment

Camps• Movies made to explain “Japanese Relocation” to the public did not portray the Japanese as victims but as fostering a small group of potential villains

• America was the potential victim• And they followed “democracy” and acted to

uphold the American ideals

• Referred to Japanese areas as “possible Axis agents”• Emphasized how close these Japanese

neighborhoods were to military bases, oil plants, and how they fishermen could observe our ship movements

• “encouraged the Japanese to leave voluntarily”• Forced to register• “their” churches and schools• “Happily handled the paperwork”• Using melodrama tools to justify actions eerily

similar to Nazi Germany’s

Japanese Interment

Camps

ANALYZED LIKE LINDA

Amanda Knox• 21 year old American studying abroad in Italy

accused of murdering her 21 year old roommate, Meridith Kercher also studying abroad from England

• Specifically Fiorenza Sarzanini’s novel Amanda e gli altri (“Amanda and the Others”) published before the trial– Leaked Amanda’s private journals

• Promiscuous and portrayed as “sex crazed”• Murder suspected as sex crime so emphasized

Amanda’s sexuality• Ambiguity, complexity, and irony– Can hurt melodrama so ignore holes in the

prosecution and focus on unrelated attention grabbing details from her personal life

• Her trial(s) became an international spectacle

Amanda Knox

• A woman arrested for murdering and abusing her 2 year old daughter Caylee and lying to the police

• Her trial was sensationalized on through national television

Casey Anthony

• Williams explains how the public judges the jury themselves (257)– The whole country fell in love with little

Caylee, was convinced of Casey’s guilt and completely appalled when they found her not guilty

• Death penalty was on the table– Extreme reaction against a villain– Probably scared jurors about any uncertainties

Casey Anthony

PERSONALLY APPEALING EXAMPLES

Bone Marrow Donation

• Has been dramatized through movies, television, and a general lack of current information into something much scarier, more dangerous, and painful than it really is.

• Melodrama can actually be used to dispel rumors and illustrate the necessity for registered donors

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPrn84PHbpM

Bone Marrow Donation

Sexual Assault• Has real victims and villains and sadly not enough

heroes• Often stories making the victims sound like villains– James Taranto “Drunkenness and Double Standards” in

the Wall Street Journal• Strong pathos and easy for victims to feel shamed• Often victims are disregarded– “Hanover College Told Rape Victim That Attempting To

Have Her Alleged Rapist Punished Is Harassment”

Sexual Assault• Prevalent all around the world• Brett Taylor was a respected community leader

in Gwinnett County, Georgia and is now awaiting trial for “32 various felony charges alleging sexual misconduct 17 different children” dating back to 1992.