Laing, Heather (2000) Wandering minds and anchored bodies: music, gender and emotion in melodrama and the woman's film. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

Preview

PDF WRAP_THESIS_Laing_2000.pdf - Requires a PDF viewer. Download (32Mb)

Request Changes to record.

Abstract

This thesis examines the role of music and cultural conceptions of emotion and `the feminine' in gendered characterisation in 1940s melodrama and the woman's film. Music in melodrama and the woman's film predominantly follows the late-19th century Romantic style of composition. Many theorists have discussed this type of music in film as a signifier of emotion and `the feminine', a capacity in which it is frequently associated with female characters. The full effect of an association with this kind of music on either female or male characterisation, however, has not been examined. This study considers the effects of this association through three stages - cultural-historical precedents, the generic parameters of melodrama and the woman's film and the narrativisation of music in film. The specific study of films involves textual and musical analysis informed by cultural-historical ideas, film music theory and film theory. Since female characters are more commonly associated with music in this context, they form the primary focus of the study. Male musical-emotional characterisation, while of constant concern, comes under particular scrutiny as the final stage of the study. In conclusion I argue that cultural assumptions combine with the formal representations of film to construct a model of gender based on the idea of `inherent' emotionality. As a definitive element of this dynamic, music functions as more than just a signifier of emotion. Rather, it takes a crucial role in determining how we actually understand emotion as part of gendered characterisation.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Subjects:	P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN1993 Motion Pictures M Music and Books on Music > ML Literature of music
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Women in motion pictures, Emotions in motion pictures, Motion picture music -- Philosophy and aesthetics, Motion pictures -- Aesthetics, Melodrama in motion pictures
Official Date:	May 2000
Dates:	Date Event May 2000 Submitted
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Department of Film and Television Studies
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Dyer, Richard, 1945-
Format of File:	pdf
Extent:	362 leaves : ill, music
Language:	eng

Request changes or add full text files to a record

Repository staff actions (login required)

View Item

Downloads