Where would we be without melodrama? The exaggerated yet underrated dramatic form is the source of so much of our pop culture. It’s the mother of high-camp, the sister of hyperbole, the progenitor of soaps, and the very lifeblood of drag. Melodrama, too, so often spills over into fashion—to sometimes comedic and hilariously tragic effect. To honor the genre, Parsons’ School of Art and Design History and Theory and MA Fashion Studies—now that’s a melodramatic mouthful!—present a series of camp classics of 20-century film. The school has invited John Epperson (aka drag superstar Lypsinka), director Tom Kalin, and author Evan Calder Williams to introduce three iconic examples of melodrama: Imitation of Life (1959), Lili Marleen (1981), and The 10th Victim (1965), respectively. So go on, experience the gift of melodrama.

Free and open to the public, screenings begin November 2. Full schedule here.