Agustíin Zarzosa is assistant professor of cinema studies at Purchase College.

With this provocative book, Agustìn Zarzosa provides an important intervention for thinking about how film images have political affects. Eschewing the often tired repertoire of genre categorization, Zarzosa develops a refreshingly different theory of the melodramatic image; one that could also be extended to other image analysis. Clear examples and rich arguments connect core notions of melodrama with key theorists of the melodramatic mode, to give original readings of films and television series. A must-read book for all interested in developments in film and television theory, and philosophy of film.

• Introduction. The Outwitted CriticChapter 1. Modalities of MelodramaChapter 2. Affect, Affection, AffectationChapter 3. Diagnosing SufferingChapter 4. Trafficking in Sacred ObjectsChapter 5. Sacrifice and the Animal MelodramaChapter 6. The Excesses of the Posthuman MelodramaChapter 7. The Outside and the Coincidence MachineConclusion. Tragedy and Melodrama

Agustíin Zarzosa is assistant professor of cinema studies at Purchase College.

With this provocative book, Agustìn Zarzosa provides an important intervention for thinking about how film images have political affects. Eschewing the often tired repertoire of genre categorization, Zarzosa develops a refreshingly different theory of the melodramatic image; one that could also be extended to other image analysis. Clear examples and rich arguments connect core notions of melodrama with key theorists of the melodramatic mode, to give original readings of films and television series. A must-read book for all interested in developments in film and television theory, and philosophy of film.

• Introduction. The Outwitted CriticChapter 1. Modalities of MelodramaChapter 2. Affect, Affection, AffectationChapter 3. Diagnosing SufferingChapter 4. Trafficking in Sacred ObjectsChapter 5. Sacrifice and the Animal MelodramaChapter 6. The Excesses of the Posthuman MelodramaChapter 7. The Outside and the Coincidence MachineConclusion. Tragedy and Melodrama