We plan to screen some short melodramas, which will probably\u00a0centre on the early works of American Cinema\u00a0pioneer DW Griffith.\u00a0\u00a0As well as influencing editing techniques, Griffith was well known for his melodramas such as Broken Blossoms<\/em> (1919), Way Down East<\/em> (1920) and Orphans of the Storm<\/em> (1921).<\/p>\n The films we may show include What Shall we Do with Our Old?<\/em> (1911), An Unseen Enemy<\/em> (1912, starring Lillian and Dorothy Gish) and The Mothering Heart<\/em> (1913, starring Lillian Gish).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Frances also has some film shorts to share. She has kindly provided the following information:<\/p>\n Suspense<\/i> (1913) is an early narrative film about a woman and child threatened by an intruder in their home. One of the film\u2019s directors, Lois Weber, was a prominent female director in early cinema and she also wrote, produced and starred in many of her films.\u00a0 Weber\u2019s films often featured social problems and tackled controversial issues, as with Hypocrites <\/i>(1915), Where Are My Children?<\/i> (1916) and Shoes<\/i> (1916). This latter film \u2013 which tells the story of a woman who sells her body for much-needed work shoes \u2013 bears a striking resemblance to the themes discussed with last week\u2019s Love on the Dole<\/i>.<\/p>\n Suspense<\/i>\u2019s narrative centres on the representation of the telephone \u2013 a fairly new addition to domestic homes at the beginning of the twentieth century \u2013 and, as Tom Gunning notes, the film features one the earliest elaborate uses of the split-screen device. (Gunning, 1991)<\/p>\n Barbe-bleue<\/i> (Bluebeard, <\/i>1901) is one of the earlier works of French filmmaker and magician Georges M\u00e9li\u00e8s. Popularly described as the grandfather of special effects cinema, M\u00e9li\u00e8s makes use of his trademark trick shots, superimpositions and dissolves in the construction of his \u201cartificially arranged scenes\u201d (M\u00e9li\u00e8s, 1907) in Barbe-bleue<\/i>. The film is based on the folktale of the same name which tells the story of a villainous nobleman who murders his wives. Melies\u2019 film shows the latest young wife who is left alone in Bluebeard\u2019s castle and forbidden by her new husband from entering a locked room. Inevitably, the temptation becomes too much for the bride and she discovers Bluebeard\u2019s deadly secret…<\/p>\n Both Suspense<\/i> and Bluebeard<\/i> continue in one of trends we have explored in other melodramas: namely the focus on the woman\u2019s story which often features the female protagonist suffering in some manner.\u00a0 In this sense Suspense<\/i> and Bluebeard<\/i> can also be classified within the gothic tradition \u2013 a genre\/cycle closely related to melodrama \u2013 as the films place a particular emphasis upon the domestic home as the site of terror and danger.<\/p>\n References:<\/p>\n Gunning, T. 1991. \u201cHeard over the phone: The Lonely Villa and the de Lorde tradition of the terrors of technology.\u201d Screen<\/i>, 32 (2): 184-196.<\/p>\n M\u00e9li\u00e8s, G. 1907. \u201cKinematographic Views\u201d. In: <\/i>Gaudreault, A. 2011. Film and Attraction: From Kinematography to Cinema. <\/i>Urbana, Chicago and Springfield: University of Illinois Press.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In addition to screening\u00a0shorts, we will be discussing plans for the\u00a0\u00a0group’s future such as the possibility of organising a conference or symposium as well as publishing opportunities.<\/p>\n Do attend if you can. And please note,\u00a0we start at\u00a05pm, not 4pm as previously advertised!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Posted by Sarah All are welcome to attend the\u00a0second of the Summer Term\u2019s screening and discussion\u00a0sessions which will take place on the\u00a015th of\u00a0May in Jarman 7,\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 from 5pm to 7pm. We plan to screen some short melodramas, which will probably\u00a0centre … Continue reading ![\"unseen\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/melodramaresearchgroup\/files\/2013\/05\/unseen.png\")
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