How musicals manufacture happy feelings

(PhysOrg.com) -- Long before Glee became a popular television show, audiences were singing in the streets and skipping over puddles to the tune of American film musicals of the 1930s through 1950s.

The fifth lecture in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities Faculty Lecture Series is by English professor Joel Faflak, entitled, “Get Happy! Utopianism and the Film Musical.”

Students, faculty and staff are invited to attend the free event on Thursday, Jan. 20, held at the Landon Branch, London Public Library (167 Wortley Rd., in the Martha Bishop Room). The talk begins at 7 p.m.

The discussion will examine the rise of the American film musical in the 1930s, to its heyday in the 1950s, and its long 'demise' since that time. By examining a few clips that demonstrate precisely how film musicals work to 'manufacture' happy feelings, Faflak will explore how the legacy of film musicals has endured in other ways.

Click here for a complete list of lectures in the series.

Provided by University of Western Ontario