I'm not a big fan of Mellow Dramas

Rating: 3/10 (1 October 2008)

Society seems to be drifting further away from buying into the classical mellow dramatic structure, whether in theater or film. Its structure is too predictable, exaggerated and mundane for an ever increasing and intelligent world that starves for realism, or at least parody. It shouldn't be a surprise, then, why films such as The Dark Knight or Enchanted are coming out and breaking those classical conventions in order to give audiences something newsomething fresh. We're moving away from the classical structure and progressing into the hybrid worlds of both morally ambiguous and farcical mellow dramas.
Although The Mummy stayed fairly true to the mellow dramatic structure, there were certain parts that seemed to hint at more farcical interpretations. In other words, it seemed as though the filmmakers were comfortable in making fun of the film itself. For example, when eerie sounds of wind or moans would seep through an open window, Brendan Frasier's character would poke fun at how he expected things like that to happen: "That seems to happen a lot around here," he says mockingly. By doing so, he confirms a predictable convention in mellow drama that audiences have been spoon fed for far too long. The result: people laugh and don't take the genre quite too seriously. Another progressive move away from the classical structure comes when Rachel Weisz' character foretells the demise of the unfaithful sidekick, Beni: "People like you always get their come uping's," she says, as if to confirm the tragic outcome of all villains in mellow dramas. These two scenes (and I'm sure there were others) depict socially progressive movements away from the cliché elements of mellow drama, and do so by playfully mocking the overall style of the film.
Culturally regressive elements in the film deal with how both women and Arabs are portrayed. If memory serves me correct, I believe Rachel Weisz is one of the only female characters in the entire film. She is depicted as being clumsy and inferior; one not on equal playing ground as the men. Her clumsiness is demonstrated in the beginning when she knocks over an entire library of books, and her inferiority is shown when smug comments are thrown her way by certain gold diggers: "Don't worry; they have a woman on their side. They can't get too far." She also fits the classical mold of the damsel in distress; one that is helpless by herself and needs a hero to save her. All of these ideas reflect an age unknown to the generation we, today, live in. That is, today women hold much higher statuses and are even, in some cases, more capable than men than displayed in this film. Arabs are portrayed in two lights. In one sense, they are depicted as being traitors to their friends, as shown when Beni betrays Frasier; and in another sense, however, they are shown to be heroes; such as the relationship between Frasier and the Magi, who, at first, seems to be obstacle for Frasier, but later becomes his protecting warrior. The portrayal of Arabs, then, is split down the middle; reflecting them as both socially progressive heroes and culturally regressive traitors.