Melodrama and Modernity

In this investigation into the nature and uses of melodrama in early American culture between 1880 and 1920, Ben Singer offers an interpretation of early American film, and an enlightening revaluation of the ideas that spawned it. Illustrating his point with more than 100 photos and drawings, Singer looks back to the early sensational or "blood and thunder" melodramas (for example, "The Perils of Pauline", "The Hazards of Helen") and discovers a fundamentally modern cultural expression: the booming capitalist economy, the advent of new technologies, and a more sophisticated approach toward thrilling its audience that heightened melodrama s impact.