Performing American Identity in Anti-Mormon Melodrama
In the late nineteenth century, melodramas were spectacular entertainment for Americans. They were also a key forum in which elements of American culture were represented, contested, and inverted. This book focuses specifically on the construction of the Mormon villain as rapist, murderer, and Turk in anti-Mormon melodramas. These melodramas illustrated a particularly religious world-view that dominated American life and promoted the sexually conservative ideals of the cult of true womanhood. They also examined the limits of honorable violence, and suggested the whiteness of national ethnicity. In investigating the relationship between theatre, popular literature, political rhetoric, and religious fervor, Megan Sanborn Jones reveals how anti-Mormon melodramas created a space for audiences to imagine a unified American identity.

"1102263471"
Performing American Identity in Anti-Mormon Melodrama
In the late nineteenth century, melodramas were spectacular entertainment for Americans. They were also a key forum in which elements of American culture were represented, contested, and inverted. This book focuses specifically on the construction of the Mormon villain as rapist, murderer, and Turk in anti-Mormon melodramas. These melodramas illustrated a particularly religious world-view that dominated American life and promoted the sexually conservative ideals of the cult of true womanhood. They also examined the limits of honorable violence, and suggested the whiteness of national ethnicity. In investigating the relationship between theatre, popular literature, political rhetoric, and religious fervor, Megan Sanborn Jones reveals how anti-Mormon melodramas created a space for audiences to imagine a unified American identity.

29.99 In Stock
Performing American Identity in Anti-Mormon Melodrama

Performing American Identity in Anti-Mormon Melodrama

by Megan Sanborn Jones
Performing American Identity in Anti-Mormon Melodrama

Performing American Identity in Anti-Mormon Melodrama

by Megan Sanborn Jones

Paperback

$29.99 
  • SHIP THIS ITEM
    Qualifies for Free Shipping
  • PICK UP IN STORE
    Check Availability at Nearby Stores

Related collections and offers


Overview

In the late nineteenth century, melodramas were spectacular entertainment for Americans. They were also a key forum in which elements of American culture were represented, contested, and inverted. This book focuses specifically on the construction of the Mormon villain as rapist, murderer, and Turk in anti-Mormon melodramas. These melodramas illustrated a particularly religious world-view that dominated American life and promoted the sexually conservative ideals of the cult of true womanhood. They also examined the limits of honorable violence, and suggested the whiteness of national ethnicity. In investigating the relationship between theatre, popular literature, political rhetoric, and religious fervor, Megan Sanborn Jones reveals how anti-Mormon melodramas created a space for audiences to imagine a unified American identity.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780415849876
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Publication date: 12/11/2013
Series: Studies in American Popular History and Culture
Pages: 222
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Megan Sanborn Jones is an assistant professor in the Theatre and Media Arts Department at Brigham Young University. Her research has been published in Theatre Journal, State of the Art, and The Journal of Mormon History. Her essay, "(Re)living the Pioneer Past" was the cover article of Theatre Topics (September 2006).

Table of Contents

Introduction: Outside/Inside America 1. The Christian Melodramatic Mode 2. Rapists: The Sexual Fantasy of Polygamy 3. Murderers: The Necessity of Honorable Violence 4. Turks: Appropriating Ethnicity. Conclusion: The Paradox of Identity. Notes. Bibliography. Index.

From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews