Blog Post 2

In The Melodramatic Imagination, Peter Brooks mentions the ‘moral occult’, which serves as a major supporter in a melodrama, acting as the center of interest in the movie. In every melodrama, there are always scenes in which are filled with intensity, excitement, and surprise. Due to the immensity of emotions in these movies, it may be difficult to locate the moral occult, especially if you’re not looking for it. With the help of cinematic elements, like gestures, the audience is able to notice and understand the scene that it’s in. Brooks mentions, “James’s moral manichaeism is the basis of a vision of the social world as the scene of dramatic choice between heightened moral alternatives, where every gesture, however frivolous or insignificant it may seem, is charged with the conflict between light and darkness, salvation and damnation”(pg. 5). By the use of gestures, the audience is given more insight to what a character is trying to express or what the director is trying to portray. In the movie All That Heaven Allows, there are many metaphoric gestures that are used. For example, the trophy in the living room represents the father, and what he stood for and how he is remembered. The branch that Ron gives to Cary represents Ron and how he is tied together with nature. The gestures aren’t direct and aren’t as obvious, but if it is being analyzed it is clear that the objects have more meaning.