Tayler Dooley 2/12/15
Moral Occult
When one begins to analyze the
melodramatic genre, staple characteristics begin to emerge. It seems at the heart of every Melodrama lies
a power struggle between right and wrong, and/or good and evil. The protagonist
is often thrust into an emotionally charged conflict that can only be resolved
with a sound moral compass and wholesome values. It is this underlying sense of morality that characterizes
something called “the moral occult.” As defined by Peter Brooks, the moral
occult is, “The domain of operative spiritual values which is both indicated
within and masked by surface of reality” (Brooks, 5). The moral occult is
comparable to one’s conscience; the devil and the angel sitting on their
shoulder helping them determine what’s right and wrong. What is interesting
about the moral occult is how it further enhances the melodramatic mode of
expression. A key feature of the
melodrama involves characters putting everything out in the open regarding
emotions and feelings. Because of this, the audience is well aware of each
character’s sense of morality and what they view as right and wrong. So the
moral occult essentially enhances the melodrama by enabling the characters to
display their inner morality by utilizing expressive emotional mode.
The film All That Heaven Allows is full of great scenes that demonstrate
melodrama as a mode of emotional expression through moral occult. In one of the
pivotal scenes of the movie, Cary and her son Ned are having a heated
discussion about Cary’s recent engagement to Ron. Ned has made it very clear
that he does not approve of the engagement. He feels that Ron is below Cary’s
class status and is an awful way of preserving his late father’s memory. Ned
has a moral obligation to family and honor. Cary on the other hand loves Ron,
the two of them are very happy together. As much as she to values her late
husbands memory, she is at a point in her life where she is ready to move on.
The two of them clearly have conflicting moral obligations. The entire scene is
packed with emotion, as Cary and Ned making their feelings clear to one another.
No comments:
Post a Comment