The Moral Occult

The melodrama is one of the most confusing yet interesting genres I have encountered in my time of studying. There is often a lot going on, and it is sometimes difficult for the audience to catch up. That being said, when you know what to look for or the ideas and methods that writers use, it may become more clear as to what is going on. In his text The Melodramatic Imagination, author Peter Brooks defines the idea of "moral occult". This is the idea of right and wrong or good vs. evil. "Moral" meaning what you think is right or wrong, and "occult" meaning your beliefs and/or how you practice them.

Brooks decides the moral occult is the center of all melodramas when he states, "The melodramatic mode in large measures exists to locate and articulate the moral occult" (Brooks, 5). The author is reminding us that the moral occult, the battle between good and evil, is the center problem and the reason for the work to exist. The moral occult appears in melodramas and is often up to the character to decide between one or the other. It is the problem that the characters must resolve throughout the story, and along the way they are forced to question their beliefs and what they value. We see an example of this in the film All That Heaven Allows. One of the main characters, Cary, has decided to marry Ron but her children are appalled when they realize he is not of the same social class. Cary has to decide between Ron and her children, and the decision is not easy. There are two sides to the argument but what makes it even more difficult is that there is truth in each side.  

All That Heaven Allows

Cary and Ron in "All That Heaven Allows"

Cary is a widowed woman living alone in the home that used to house her husband and two children. After her husband passed away, her children grew old and moved out only to return on the weekends. Ron has been the family's gardener since before the children's father had passed away. It is only now that Cary is beginning to show some interest in him. They start out not sure of what it will become, but later in the movie find they have fallen in love with each other. They are to get married, but the children do not approve. The two come from two different lives. Cary is a wealthy home owner with a small circle of closed minded, judgmental friends. Ron is a simple man living in a cabin in the woods farming trees.

In the textbook, the author discusses the idea of a coincidence. Coincidences occur in melodramas often to stir up the normality and sometimes cause conflict between characters. A huge coincidence occurs in “All That Heaven Allows” when towards the end of the movie, Cary finds out that her daughter is getting married. This is a coincidence because when Cary told her children she was getting married, they threw a fit and wouldn’t accept it because they were afraid of the change. We also find out that her son Ned is going away and her children tell her to sell the house. After Cary gave up what she thought could be her new life with Ron, her children bail on her…despite the fact that she gave up everything specifically because of and for them. Her children are acting selfish when they do not realize what she has done for them.