In this bold and compelling book, Mandy Merck argues that melodrama – an aesthetic that originated in 17th century theatre – has not only migrated into popular cinema, but also shapes our contemporary, celebrity-fixated culture. She outlines the ways in which theatrical melodrama’s use of moralizing narratives and highly symbolic mise-en-scene survives in the cinema, and explains that melodrama, film stardom and celebrity are equally concerned with the relation of personal worth to public attention.Examining a range of classical and contemporary films from Charlie Chaplin’s City Lights (1931) to the documentary Weiner (2016), exploring the gendered appeal of ‘women’s pictures’, the compulsory exhibitionism of political celebrity, personal trauma, and much more, Merck illustrates the ways in which films constantly restage the moral evaluation of prominent individuals, whether they are actors, high-profile whistle-blowers, politicians, artists or reality TV contestants.