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This book has truly transformed the way I perceive both race and drama. It offers a highly insightful, interesting, and revealing perspective through which to view history. For the most part, it is well-written, especially considering it is an academic text. However, at times, it does give the impression of being repetitive or overly long. Throughout the book, there is a consistent stream of perceptive commentary. Nevertheless, I found the conclusion to be rather lackluster. After presenting the emotionally powerful and socially harmful effects of melodrama, Williams can only suggest being educated when consuming media that employs these techniques. I had hoped for some advice for writers who aim to subvert the melodramatic mode to achieve a more progressive and equally emotional study of race. But perhaps that is the responsibility of the writer rather than the critic. Despite this shortcoming, this book serves as the perfect primer for the writer who desires to find a way to accomplish this.
