Drama (film and television)

Last updated

Gone with the Wind is a popular romance drama. Gone With The Wind 1967 re-release.jpg
Gone with the Wind is a popular romance drama.

In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. [1] The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-genre, macro-genre, or micro-genre, [2] such as soap opera, police crime drama, political drama, legal drama, historical drama, domestic drama, teen drama, and comedy-drama (dramedy). These terms tend to indicate a particular setting or subject matter, or they combine a drama's otherwise serious tone with elements that encourage a broader range of moods. To these ends, a primary element in a drama is the occurrence of conflict—emotional, social, or otherwise—and its resolution in the course of the storyline.

Contents

All forms of cinema or television that involve fictional stories are forms of drama in the broader sense if their storytelling is achieved by means of actors who represent (mimesis) characters. In this broader sense, drama is a mode distinct from novels, short stories, and narrative poetry or songs. [3] In the modern era, before the birth of cinema or television, "drama" within theatre was a type of play that was neither a comedy nor a tragedy. It is this narrower sense that the film and television industries, along with film studies, adopted. "Radio drama" has been used in both senses—originally transmitted in a live performance, it has also been used to describe the more high-brow and serious end of the dramatic output of radio. [4]

Types of drama in film and television

The Screenwriters Taxonomy contends that film genres are fundamentally based upon a film's atmosphere, character and story, and therefore the labels "drama" and "comedy" are too broad to be considered a genre. [2] Instead, the taxonomy contends that film dramas are a "Type" of film; listing at least ten different sub-types of film and television drama. [5]

Docudrama

Docudramas are dramatized adaptations of real-life events. While not always completely accurate, the general facts are more-or-less true. [6] The difference between a docudrama and a documentary is that in a documentary it uses real people to describe history or current events; in a docudrama it uses professionally trained actors to play the roles in the current event, that is "dramatized" a bit. Examples: Black Mass (2015) and Zodiac (2007).

Docufiction

Unlike docudramas, docu-fictional films combine documentary and fiction, where actual footage or real events are intermingled with recreated scenes. [7] Examples: Interior. Leather Bar (2013) and Your Name Here (2015).

Comedy drama

Many otherwise serious productions have humorous scenes and characters intended to provide comic relief. A comedy drama has humor as a more central component of the story, along with serious content. [8]  Examples include Three Colours: White (1994), The Truman Show (1998), The Man Without a Past (2002), The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011), and Silver Linings Playbook (2012).

Hyperdrama

Coined by film professor Ken Dancyger, these stories exaggerate characters and situations to the point of becoming fable, legend or fairy tale. [9]  Examples: Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) and Maleficent (2014).

Light drama

Light dramas are light-hearted stories that are, nevertheless, serious in nature. [10]  Examples: The Help (2011) and The Terminal (2004).

Psychological drama

Psychological dramas are dramas that focus on the characters' inner life and psychological problems. [11] Examples: Requiem for a Dream (2000), Oldboy (2003), Babel (2006), Whiplash (2014), and Anomalisa (2015)

Satirical drama

Satire can involve humor, but the result is typically sharp social commentary that is anything but funny. Satire often uses irony or exaggeration to expose faults in society or individuals that influence social ideology. [12]  Examples: Thank You for Smoking (2005) and Idiocracy (2006).

Straight drama

Straight drama applies to those that do not attempt a specific approach to drama but, rather, consider drama as a lack of comedic techniques. [12]  Examples: Ghost World (2001) and Wuthering Heights (2011).

Type/genre combinations

Salah Zulfikar and Naglaa Fathi in My Husband's Wife (1970) Salah&Naglaa.jpg
Salah Zulfikar and Naglaa Fathi in My Husband's Wife (1970)

According to the Screenwriters' Taxonomy, all film descriptions should contain their type (comedy or drama) combined with one (or more) of the eleven super-genres. [2] This combination does not create a separate genre, but rather, provides a better understanding of the film.

According to the taxonomy, combining the type with the genre does not create a separate genre. [2] For instance, the "Horror Drama" is simply a dramatic horror film (as opposed to a comedic horror film). "Horror Drama" is not a genre separate from the horror genre or the drama type. [13]

Crime drama

Crime dramas explore themes of truth, justice, and freedom, and contain the fundamental dichotomy of "criminal vs. lawman". Crime films make the audience jump through a series of mental "hoops"; it is not uncommon for the crime drama to use verbal gymnastics to keep the audience and the protagonist on their toes. [2]  

Examples of crime dramas include: The Godfather (1972), Chinatown (1974), Goodfellas (1990), The Usual Suspects (1995), The Big Short (2015), and Udta Punjab (2016).

Fantasy drama 

According to Eric R. Williams, the hallmark of fantasy drama films is "a sense of wonderment, typically played out in a visually intense world inhabited by mythic creatures, magic or superhuman characters. Props and costumes within these films often belie a sense of mythology and folklore – whether ancient, futuristic, or other-worldly. The costumes, as well as the exotic world, reflect the personal, inner struggles that the hero faces in the story." [2]

Examples of fantasy dramas include The Lord of the Rings (2001–2003), Pan's Labyrinth (2006), Where the Wild Things Are (2009), and Life of Pi (2012).

Horror drama 

Horror dramas often involve the central characters isolated from the rest of society. These characters are often teenagers or people in their early twenties (the genre's central audience) and are eventually killed off during the course of the film. Thematically, horror films often serve as morality tales, with the killer serving up violent penance for the victims' past sins. [5]  Metaphorically, these become battles of Good vs. Evil or Purity vs. Sin. 

Psycho (1960), Halloween (1978), The Shining (1980), The Conjuring (2013), It (2017), mother! (2017), and Hereditary (2018) are examples of horror drama films.

Life drama (day-in-the-life)

Day-in-the-life films takes small events in a person's life and raises their level of importance. The "small things in life" feel as important to the protagonist (and the audience) as the climactic battle in an action film, or the final shootout in a western. [5]  Often, the protagonists deal with multiple, overlapping issues in the course of the film – just as we do in life. 

Films of this type/genre combination include: The Wrestler (2008), Fruitvale Station (2013), and Locke (2013).

Romantic drama

Romantic dramas are films with central themes that reinforce our beliefs about love (e.g.: themes such as "love at first sight", "love conquers all", or "there is someone out there for everyone"); the story typically revolves around characters falling into (and out of, and back into) love. [14]

Annie Hall (1977), The Notebook (2004), Carol (2015), Her (2013), and La La Land (2016) are examples of romance dramas.

Science fiction drama

The science fiction drama film is often the story of a protagonist (and their allies) facing something "unknown" that has the potential to change the future of humanity; this unknown may be represented by a villain with incomprehensible powers, a creature we do not understand, or a scientific scenario that threatens to change the world; the science fiction story forces the audience to consider the nature of human beings, the confines of time or space or the concepts of human existence in general. [15]

Examples include: Metropolis (1927), Planet of the Apes (1968), A Clockwork Orange (1971), Blade Runner (1982) and its sequel Blade Runner 2049 (2017), Children of Men (2006), and Arrival (2016).

Sports drama

In the sports super-genre, characters will be playing sports. Thematically, the story is often one of "Our Team" versus "Their Team"; their team will always try to win, and our team will show the world that they deserve recognition or redemption; the story does not always have to involve a team. The story could also be about an individual athlete or the story could focus on an individual playing on a team. [16]

Examples of this genre/type include:  The Hustler (1961), Hoosiers (1986), Remember the Titans (2000), and Moneyball (2011).

War drama

War films typically tells the story of a small group of isolated individuals who – one by one – get killed (literally or metaphorically) by an outside force until there is a final fight to the death; the idea of the protagonists facing death is a central expectation in a war film. In a war film even though the enemy may out-number, or out-power, the hero, we assume that the enemy can be defeated if only the hero can figure out how. [5]  

Examples include: Apocalypse Now (1979), Come and See (1985), Life is Beautiful (1997), The Hurt Locker (2008), 1944 (2015), Wildeye (2015), and 1917 (2019).

Western drama 

Films in the western super-genre often take place in the American Southwest or Mexico, with a large number of scenes occurring outdoors so we can soak in scenic landscapes. Visceral expectations for the audience include fistfights, gunplay, and chase scenes. There is also the expectation of spectacular panoramic images of the countryside including sunsets, wide open landscapes, and endless deserts and sky. [2]  

Examples of western dramas include: True Grit (1969) and its 2010 remake, Mad Max (1979), Unforgiven (1992), No Country for Old Men (2007), Django Unchained (2012), Hell or High Water (2016), and Logan (2017).

Misidentified categories

Some film categories that use the word "comedy" or "drama" are not recognized by the Screenwriters Taxonomy as either a film genre or a film type. For instance, "Melodrama" and "Screwball Comedy" are considered Pathways, [17]  while "romantic comedy" and "family drama" are macro-genres. [18]

Family drama

A macro-genre in the Screenwriters Taxonomy. These films tell a story in which many of the central characters are related. The story revolves around how the family as a whole reacts to a central challenge. There are four micro-genres for the family drama: Family Bond, Family Feud, Family Loss, and Family Rift. [2]

Melodrama

A sub-type of drama films that uses plots that appeal to the heightened emotions of the audience. Melodramatic plots often deal with "crises of human emotion, failed romance or friendship, strained familial situations, tragedy, illness, neuroses, or emotional and physical hardship". [19] Film critics sometimes use the term "pejoratively to connote an unrealistic, pathos-filled, camp tale of romance or domestic situations with stereotypical characters (often including a central female character) that would directly appeal to feminine audiences". [20] Also called "women's movies", "weepies", tearjerkers, or "chick flicks". If they are targeted to a male audience, then they are called "guy cry" films. Often considered "soap-opera" drama.

Liturgical drama / Religious drama / Christian drama

Focuses on religious characters, mystery play, beliefs, and respect.

Crime drama/police procedural/legal drama

Character development based on themes involving criminals, law enforcement and the legal system.

Historical drama

Films that focus on dramatic events in history.

Medical drama

Focuses on doctors, nurses, hospital staff, and ambulance saving victims and the interactions of their daily lives.

Teen drama

Focuses on teenage characters, especially where a secondary school setting plays a role.

See also

Citations

  1. "Drama". Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. 2015. a play, movie, television show, that is about a serious subject and is not meant to make the audience laugh
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Williams, Eric R. (2017). The screenwriters taxonomy : a roadmap to collaborative storytelling. New York, NY: Routledge Studies in Media Theory and Practice. ISBN   978-1-315-10864-3. OCLC   993983488.
  3. Elam (1980, 98).
  4. Banham (1998, 894–900).
  5. 1 2 3 4 Williams, Eric R. (2017). Screen adaptation : beyond the basics : techniques for adapting books, comics, and real-life stories into screenplays. New York: Focal Press. ISBN   978-1-315-66941-0. OCLC   986993829.
  6. Ogunleye, Foluke. "Television Docudrama as Alternative Records of History". Documentary Is Never Neutral. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  7. "Producing Docu-Fiction". Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  8. Williams, Eric R. (2019). Falling in Love with Romance Movies (Episode #3 Comedy and Tragedy: Age Does Not Protect You ). Audible.
  9. Dancyger, Ken. (2015). Alternative scriptwriting : beyond the hollywood formula. England: Focal. ISBN   978-1-138-17118-3. OCLC   941876150.
  10. Jones, Phil (2007). Drama as therapy : theory, practice, and research (2nd ed.). London: Routledge. ISBN   978-0-415-41555-2. OCLC   85485014.
  11. "Subgenre - Psychological Drama". AllMovie. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  12. 1 2 Williams, Eric R. (2019). Falling in Love with Romance Movies (Episode #8 Satire and Social Commentary). Audible.
  13. Williams, Eric. R. (2018). "How to View and Appreciate Great Movies (episode #4: Genre Layers and Audience Expectations)". English. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  14. Williams, Eric R. (2019). Falling in Love with Romance Movies (Episode #2 Genre: To Feel the Sun on Both Sides). Audible.
  15. Williams, Eric R. (2018). "How to View and Appreciate Great Movies (Episode #6 Themes on Screen)". English. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  16. Firestein, David J. (2007). "Fields of Dreams: American Sports Movies". E Journal USA. 12.
  17. Williams, Eric R. (2018). "How to View and Appreciate Great Movies (episode #22 Pathways to Great Antagonists)". The Great Courses. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  18. Williams, Eric R. (2018). "How to View and Appreciate Great Movies (episode #3 Movie Genre: It's Not What You Think)". The Great Courses. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  19. Dirks, Tim. "Greatest Tearjerkers – Scenes and Moments". Filmsite. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  20. "Melodramas Films". Filmsite. Retrieved 16 June 2020.

General and cited references

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Comedy film</span> Genre of film which emphasizes humour

A comedy film is a category of film that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the oldest genres in film, and it is derived from classical comedy in theatre. Some of the earliest silent films were comedies such as slapstick comedy, which often relies on visual depictions, such as sight gags and pratfalls, so they can be enjoyed without requiring sound. To provide drama and excitement to silent movies, live music was played in sync with the action on the screen, on pianos, organs, and other instruments. When sound films became more prevalent during the 1920s, comedy films grew in popularity, as laughter could result from both burlesque situations but also from humorous dialogue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fantasy film</span> Film genre

Fantasy films are films that belong to the fantasy genre with fantastic themes, usually magic, supernatural events, mythology, folklore, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered a form of speculative fiction alongside science fiction films and horror films, although the genres do overlap. Fantasy films often have an element of magic, myth, wonder, escapism, and the extraordinary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Film genre</span> Classification of films based on similarities in narrative elements

A film genre is a stylistic or thematic category for motion pictures based on similarities either in the narrative elements, aesthetic approach, or the emotional response to the film.

Romantic comedy is a subgenre of comedy and romance fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typical romantic comedy, the two lovers tend to be young, likeable, and seemingly meant for each other, yet they are kept apart by some complicating circumstance until, surmounting all obstacles, they are finally united. A fairy-tale-style happy ending is a typical feature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Science fiction film</span> Film genre

Science fiction is a film genre that uses speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial lifeforms, spacecraft, robots, cyborgs, mutants, interstellar travel, time travel, or other technologies. Science fiction films have often been used to focus on political or social issues, and to explore philosophical issues like the human condition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melodrama</span> Dramatic work that exaggerates plot and characters to appeal to the emotions

A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or excessively sentimental, rather than action. Characters are often flat, and written to fulfill stereotypes. Melodramas are typically set in the private sphere of the home, focusing on morality and family issues, love, and marriage, often with challenges from an outside source, such as a "temptress", a scoundrel, or an aristocratic villain. A melodrama on stage, filmed, or on television is usually accompanied by dramatic and suggestive music that offers cues to the audience of the drama being presented.

A hybrid genre is a literary or film genre that blends themes and elements from two or more different genres. Works in hybrid genres are also referred to as cross-genre, multi-genre, mixed genre, or fusion genre. The Dictionary of Media and Communication describes hybrid genre as "the combination of two or more genres", which may combine elements of more than one genre and/or which may "cut across categories such as fact and fiction". Some such sub-genres have acquired their own specialised names, such as comedy drama, romantic comedy ("rom-com"), horror Western, and docudrama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crime film</span> Film genre

Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as drama or gangster film, but also include comedy, and, in turn, is divided into many sub-genres, such as mystery, suspense or noir.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Romance film</span> Film genre

Romance films involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their journey through dating, courtship or marriage is featured. These films make the search for romantic love the main plot focus. Occasionally, romance lovers face obstacles such as finances, physical illness, various forms of discrimination, psychological restraints or family resistance. As in all quite strong, deep and close romantic relationships, the tensions of day-to-day life, temptations, and differences in compatibility enter into the plots of romantic films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ghost story</span> Literary genre, work of literature featuring supernatural elements

A ghost story is any piece of fiction, or drama, that includes a ghost, or simply takes as a premise the possibility of ghosts or characters' belief in them. The "ghost" may appear of its own accord or be summoned by magic. Linked to the ghost is the idea of a "haunting", where a supernatural entity is tied to a place, object or person. Ghost stories are commonly examples of ghostlore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Historical drama</span> Film subgenre

A historical drama is a dramatic work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television, which presents historical events and characters with varying degrees of fictional elements such as creative dialogue or fictional scenes which aim to compress separate events or illustrate a broader factual narrative. The biographical film is a type of historical drama which generally focuses on a single individual or well-defined group. Historical dramas can include romances, adventure films, and swashbucklers.

Slice of life is a depiction of mundane experiences in art and entertainment. In theater, slice of life refers to naturalism, while in literary parlance it is a narrative technique in which a seemingly arbitrary sequence of events in a character's life is presented, often lacking plot development, conflict and exposition, as well as often having an open ending.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Comedy horror</span> Genre that combines elements of horror and comedy

Comedy horror, also known as horror comedy, is a literary, television, and film genre that combines elements of comedy and horror fiction. Comedy horror has been described as able to be categorized under three types: "black comedy, parody and spoof." It often crosses over with the black comedy genre. Comedy horror can also parody or subtly spoof horror clichés as its main source of humour or use those elements to take a story in a different direction. Examples of comedy horror films include Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948), An American Werewolf in London (1981), the Evil Dead franchise (1981–present), Gremlins (1984), Shaun of the Dead (2004), and The Cabin in the Woods (2011).

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to fiction:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thriller film</span> Film genre

Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. Tension is created by delaying what the audience sees as inevitable, and is built through situations that are menacing or where escape seems impossible.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of fantasy</span> Overview of and topical guide to fantasy

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to fantasy:

Inspired by the biological classification system of the Linnaean taxonomy, screenwriter Eric R. Williams developed the Screenwriters Taxonomy in 2017 to create a common language of creative collaboration for filmmakers. Williams’ central thesis in The Screenwriters Taxonomy: A Roadmap to Collaborative Storytelling is that the term “genre” is used so broadly to describe films that the modern use of the word has become meaningless. The Screenwriter's Taxonomy proposes seven categories for discussing the creative process of telling cinematic stories.

  1. Type
  2. Super Genre
  3. Macrogenres
  4. Microgenres
  5. Voice
  6. Pathway
  7. Point of View