Melodrama is bound to a number of misconceptions regarding its origins, form and function. In their lecture "Melodrama  Unbound", Christine Gledhill (University of Sunderland) and Linda Williams (University of California, Berkeley) – editors of the anthology of the same name (2018) – focus on the shift in critical thinking from melodrama as a genre to melodrama as a mode, analysing what modality means and carving out the particulars of melodramatic modality. They will ask about ways of conceiving the trans-national travels of melodrama and the applicability of modality to cinemas across the world. They will conclude by raising questions about the significance of the worldwide prevalence of melodramatic modalities.