
Contents
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
The Multidimensional Approach to Genre Analysis The Multidimensional Approach to Genre Analysis
-
Inflections of Music, Sounds, and Voice Inflections of Music, Sounds, and Voice
-
Formula and Affect Formula and Affect
-
Notes Notes
-
-
-
-
-
-
13 Sound and the Comic/Horror Romance Film: Formula, Affect, and Inflection
Get access-
Published:March 2020
Cite
Abstract
Media scholars (and audiences) routinely make useful comparative analyses of films and television series. The problems of grouping texts are well known. This essay proposes a multidimensional approach to this critical activity, one that focuses on formulas, affects, and inflections. Narrative formulas and affects propel our sense of a genre; however, inflections such as stars, target audiences, locales, time periods, verisimilitude, taste markers, or performance styles can radically twist the base into something more complicated. One of the most important sorts of inflections is use of sound: aural effects, voice, and music. Such a multidimensional approach to grouping texts helps to resolve many anomalies in genre categorizing: for instance, the generic category of the musical. Scholars have tended to describe the musical based on Hollywood films created between 1930 and 1960. During this period, most musicals use a standard romance formula and vary the space and time to form several common “subgenres.” The author argues that, from the 1960s, artists begin to turn to other narrative formulas such as the male quest story (Tommy), horror (Sweeney Todd), the fallen-man melodrama (All That Jazz, Pennies from Heaven), and the bio pix (Hamilton). What the musical “is” is inflecting a narrative formula with a particular musical treatment—bursting into song or dance not necessarily provoked by a reasonably motivated diegetic event such as a nightclub act. Such an inflection of musical treatment could be applied to any narrative formula and has been. This essay explores this argument focusing on the comic/horror romance film Zombieland (2009) but with other examples to illustrate the viability of the critical approach and the functions of sound.
Sign in
Personal account
- Sign in with email/username & password
- Get email alerts
- Save searches
- Purchase content
- Activate your purchase/trial code
- Add your ORCID iD
Purchase
Our books are available by subscription or purchase to libraries and institutions.
Purchasing informationMonth: | Total Views: |
---|---|
January 2024 | 4 |
February 2024 | 1 |
August 2024 | 1 |
Get help with access
Institutional access
Access to content on Oxford Academic is often provided through institutional subscriptions and purchases. If you are a member of an institution with an active account, you may be able to access content in one of the following ways:
IP based access
Typically, access is provided across an institutional network to a range of IP addresses. This authentication occurs automatically, and it is not possible to sign out of an IP authenticated account.
Sign in through your institution
Choose this option to get remote access when outside your institution. Shibboleth/Open Athens technology is used to provide single sign-on between your institution’s website and Oxford Academic.
If your institution is not listed or you cannot sign in to your institution’s website, please contact your librarian or administrator.
Sign in with a library card
Enter your library card number to sign in. If you cannot sign in, please contact your librarian.
Society Members
Society member access to a journal is achieved in one of the following ways:
Sign in through society site
Many societies offer single sign-on between the society website and Oxford Academic. If you see ‘Sign in through society site’ in the sign in pane within a journal:
If you do not have a society account or have forgotten your username or password, please contact your society.
Sign in using a personal account
Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members. See below.
Personal account
A personal account can be used to get email alerts, save searches, purchase content, and activate subscriptions.
Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members.
Viewing your signed in accounts
Click the account icon in the top right to:
Signed in but can't access content
Oxford Academic is home to a wide variety of products. The institutional subscription may not cover the content that you are trying to access. If you believe you should have access to that content, please contact your librarian.
Institutional account management
For librarians and administrators, your personal account also provides access to institutional account management. Here you will find options to view and activate subscriptions, manage institutional settings and access options, access usage statistics, and more.