The American Film Musical

TLDR

Abstract

PREFACE I. An Introduction to the Theory of Genre Analysis General Discourse on Meaning The Role of Generic Formations in Meaning Production The Role of the Critic Toward Objective Evaluation of Subjective Criticism Establishing a Corpus II. The American Film Musical as Dual-Focus Narrative III. The Structure of the American Film Musical The film process through a series of paired segments matching the male and female leads Each separate part of the film recapitulates the film's overall duality The basic sexual duality overlays a secondary dichotomy The marriage which resolves the primary (sexual) dichotomy also mediates between the two terms of the secondary (thematic) opposition IV. The Style of the American Film Musical Audio Dissolve Video Dissolve Personality Dissolve V. The Problem of Genre History Problems with Current Terminology Towards a New Terminology Defining the Corpus Reformulating Genre History The History of the American Film Musical: A New Approach VI. The Fairy Tale Musical Prehistory Sex as Sex Sex as Battle Sex as Adventure VII. The Show Musical The Sources of Show Musical Semantics Backstage: The Syntax of Illusion Taking it Out of the Theater Saving the Dying Myth: Reflexivity as Reinforcement VIII. The Folk Musical Elements of the Folk Musical Building a Folk Syntax A Folk Art in the Age of Mass Media IX. Genre and Culture The Fundamental Characteristics of Genre Film Symbolic Spectatorship Work and Entertainment The Musical's Operational Role The Practice of Music in the Age of Electronic Reproduction Conclusion BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTES NOTES YEARLY TABLE OF MUSICALS BY SUBGENRE INDEX