Covering everything from Batman to Zorro’s Fighting Legion, Matinee Melodrama is the first scholarly study of the cinematic adventure serial as a distinct artform, one that uniquely encouraged audience participation and imaginative play. It suggests that the serial’s incoherent plotting and reliance on formula, far from being faults, should be understood as some of its most appealing attributes, helping lay the groundwork for today’s blockbuster action movies, interactive videogames, and active fan cultures.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Contents
Acknowledgments
1 Serials, Melodrama, and Play: Why Study Serials?
2 Storytelling on a Schedule: Narrative Form in the Sound Serial
3 The Serial World
4 Cliffhanging
5 Narrative and the Art of Formula
6 Film Style and the Art of Formula
7 Cliffhanger Legacies
Conclusion
Appendix: Some Sources for Sound Serials
Filmography
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index
