Film genres cover a wide range of subgenres, but drama is considered the most broad of all. Drama covers subgenres such as romantic drama, adventure drama, courtroom drama, period drama, and many more. According to allmovie.com, dramas follow a character or characters that are facing conflicts in their lives. These characters must find resolutions to their problems and try to overcome these conflicts. Sometimes the characters are able to resolve their problems, but in other instances the dramas end with some sort of tragic crisis such as death. Dramas lead the audience to ask deep questions about life and often touch upon the audience’s emotions. Because character roles in dramas are generally complex, actors are given the opportunity to stretch into their roles into a role not offered in other genres. The intense roles that come out of dramas also lead to some of the greatest screen performances done by actors. Stage actors from the 1950’s, such as Marlon Brando, brought a more realistic feeling to dramas because they were “trained in more naturalistic techniques” (allmovie.com). These actors shaped the future of drama films, and still inspire actors in their roles to this day.
A variety of themes are prevalent in dramas, allowing the film to deal with different issues and social settings. According to filmsite.org, some dramatic themes include society’s problems, current issues, and other complicated situations such as injustice like prejudice, racism, and intolerance. Dramas also focus on serious problems like drug addiction, violence towards others, sexual inequality, poverty, and others. Some of these dramas are meant to relate to an event occurring around the time of the movie, and a majority of them draw attention to different issues prevalent during the time.
Films are able to successfully draw the audience’s attention by focusing on certain subject matter. One type of drama is a social problem drama. Social problem dramas are made to express powerful lessons and themes. For example, these dramas can focus on poverty-related problems in films like The Good Earth (1937), which is based off a novel portraying the lives of Chinese peasants who face famine, storms, and locusts eating their crops. Another example, The Grapes of Wrath (1940), takes place during the Great Depression and follows an Okie family on a journey out of the Dust Bowl, Oklahoma in search for a better life in California. Other types of drama are race related and civil rights dramas. These films focus on race related issues that still exist, though not as strong, in our society today. Hollywood’s first major indictment of racism was Stanley Kramer’s, Home of the Brave (1949), which focuses on the story of a black solider fighting in World War II and facing harsh, racial insults from his squad. One present day example of a racial drama is Crash (2004), which follows the intense stories of conflicting races living in Los Angeles, California. The movie, like many other racial dramas, portrays racism and its effects in a negative light, making it an effective tool against racism. Courtroom, or legal, dramas are popular with certain audiences. These dramas include dramatic tension within a courtroom setting and between trial opponents. They also give the audience the “psychological breakdown of key participates” (filmsite.org), which keeps the audience interested and entertained because they must attempt to figure out the characters’ motives for their actions. One famous courtroom drama, Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), focuses on a nurturing father who is trying to win the custody of his child with his divorced wife. Political dramas focus on politics and current/historical events and issues. Frank Capra’s State of the Union (1948), which is about a Senator’s fight against political corruption, and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), are both examples of political dramas. Oliver Stone’s JFK (1991) is centered around a conspiracy and “attempted to disprove the theory that President Kennedy’s killer acted alone.
Dramas can also be classified under history-related dramas, sports dramas, and literature-related dramas. Novels, plays, memoirs, diaries, and other literary works have been adapted to form a script for many dramatic films. Well-known authors such as Jane Austen (Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility), Pearl S. Buck (The Good Earth), Louisa May Alcott (Little Women), John Steinbeck (Of Mice and Men, The Grapes of Wrath), Emily Bronte (Wuthering Heights), Charlotte Bronte (Jane Eyre), Harper Lee (To Kill a Mockingbird), and many more, have contributed to the movie industry through their famous works of writing. In conclusion, many aspects of life are exhibited in dramas, whether through everyday problems, through tragedy, or through classic literature. The drama genre’s wide topic range attracts many viewers and makes drama one of the most well known genres in the movie business.
Sources Used: http://www.allmovie.com/explore/genre/drama-649
http://www.filmsite.org/dramafilms.html
