Drama is an interesting genre. Not only is it my favorite genre to watch/talk about, however it’s definitely one of the most unique in my opinion. They remain extremely prominent amongst the board, despite only being watched by a certain number of people. For example, action movies, maybe like The Avengers, can typically cater to a large audience, like kids who like to see explosions and super heroes, all the way to adults who can also enjoy the film when they take their kids. This isn’t really the case when you watch dramas. Do you think you’ll hear children eating popcorn while watching Whiplash (2014), or perhaps Knives Out (2019), which is PG-13 rated, therefore theoretically allowing kids to watch? Chances are, no, you’re most likely not going to. This is where I find dramas particularly interesting, since most other films can be enjoyed by a large audience, like musicals, Science Fiction, or maybe comedies. Dramas typically revolve around stories that contain lots of conflict, along with a highly driven narrative. These aspects of drama allow for a more involving and interesting story, at the cost of potential audiences. The idea of making a film that much better, at the sake of missing out on potential revenue is what really stands out to me, making dramas that much more enjoyable.
While on briefly the idea regarding drama conventions, let's talk about content. Like I said prior, dramas typically revolve around a story that has lots of conflict, and a heavy narrative. Now since I kinda scratched the surface about it in the main intro of this blog, I’ll proceed to dig a little deeper. While most genres would center around a humorous, or maybe even neutral tone, Dramas tend to get pretty serious. This could entail Dramas to break the mold that many films in the past have made. For instance, when you go see a superhero movie, or an action movie, you have a general gist on how the film is going to end. Like, the good guy wins, bad guy loses, or maybe how the main character is REALLY struggling prior to the climax, and then welp they just so happen to win. Cut and dry formula, right? This is where you’ll see dramas do the contrary. Many of these types of films don’t have a “happy ending”, or at least a clear and concise ending. Not only can they end with a bad ending, but can also follow a main lead character who is technically evil. Dramas pry away from the idea that “the good guy must win”, and do something totally unique, which leads to overall special stories. For example, one of my all time favorite Dramas, The Social Network (2010) follows the mind of Mark Zuckerberg as he proceeds to create FaceBook. Simple enough, up until we see the true story regarding what exactly happens. I’m not going to say what happens, since I want you, the reader, to watch this film, however make sure to check it out once you have the chance, since the ending isn’t technically a happy ending.
Onto another cool aspect of the genre, is definitely the production. Now, reader, picture this in your mind: You head on over to watch Fast and Furious at your local theater, and see very little narrative/ dialogue, tons and tons of explosions that take up your screen, guns being fired, and maybe give some old lady having vertigo in the corner while she’s eating popcorn. What I’m trying to get at here is that certain genres use techniques that others don’t. Dialogue is a key factor in dramas, since much of the narrative and ideologies of the film are going to be based upon what the characters are saying. The story rides off of this idea of dialogue, which can lead to them having multiple moving parts, or a highly involved story. Moreover, sound is also pretty important. Sound effects do play a big role in films, especially if you’re dealing with diegetic sound, or maybe even everyday sound cues that you’d hear all the time. But what I’m really talking about is the soundtrack. This is perhaps my favorite element of a drama, or any film. The music sets the atmosphere for the movie, which is important particularly in dramas since audio is very important in these films, as opposed to visuals that we get from other genres. It creates emotions with the characters that we hear speak through the movie. In terms of production, sound is definitely my most important feature that I look out for.
Marketing a genre is pretty hard, I’m not gonna lie. And let me just say that I’m not like a marketing expert or something, but I think we can all agree that it is easier to advertise a Marvel movie, than maybe an A24 movie. But there are definitely ways to get around this notion when it comes to drama. First of all, drama is mostly marketed towards older teenagers and adults, so they’ll most likely stick to a more serious tone in terms of marketing. Like when you see a trailer of Toy Story 3 (2013) compared to Moneyball (2011), it's obvious that the tones and vibes of those trailers strike a different target. Moreover, most marketing strategies take advantage of the actual content of the film being produced. For example, if the movie is about a true story, that's a factor that can be utilized accordingly in order to bank on the most available viewers. That’s why the tag line, “Based on a true story” is used so often, as it captivates the viewer into wanting more.
Okay, now for some of my favorite dramas, it's hard to boil it down to a couple of pieces of media, however I’ll try. Looking back on all that I have viewed, one particularly stands out. Breaking Bad (2008-2013) is by far one of my favorite pieces to view, and I also think that statistically it is the best show ever, however I have to check on that later. Now, the shows been over for like 5 years now, so I won’t bore you with how the show is, because I’m fairly confident that you know how this show works. However, just in case you haven’t seen it, or have somehow forgotten, let me give you a quick run down. Walter White (Bryan Cranston), a chemistry teacher from New Mexico, unfortunately gets diagnosed with lung cancer. As a last attempt to fund his children's future, he decides to “break bad” and not only uses his chemistry knowledge to produce methamphetamine, however uses one of his former students, Jesse Pinkman (played by Aaron Paul) to help in terms of business. Now you can probably guess how this fits into drama. Well, for starters, this show essentially hits all the check marks relating to drama in a unique way. Conflict? Yes, as we see Walt transform from awkward chemistry teacher to meth kingpin, and he obviously has to overcome a lot of obstacles towards doing so. Dialogue heavy? You bet, especially towards the earlier seasons when the budget of the show was thinner, as they didn’t expect the show to explode as much as it did. The narrative heavily relied on characters' decisions they would make via communication, as opposed to big action scenes that show one character living or not. What I’m trying to say is that this show defined drama when it came out. It broke the standard mold of most TV shows at the time, and introduced dynamic characters in an unique way.
Onto another piece of media drama that is SO good that I’ve already mentioned once in this blog, The Social Network (2011). Since I already pretty much talked about how the plot goes in the 3rd paragraph of this blog, I’ll get right into the bread and butter on how this ties in so well with the genre of drama. We’ll start off with the main character, Mark Zuckerberg, played by Jesse Eisenberg. This story is told through the eyes of Mark, and regarding all the struggles and obstacles he goes through in order to develop the website. This movie doesn’t rely on laughs, or action, but regarding the stressful and tense drive Mark takes in order to go from a nobody within Harvard, to self-proclaimed billionaire. Now this is cool and all, except he is technically the bad guy. So we have this character who we were supposed to be rooting for, however at what point do we continue to root for the main character, despite all their bad doing? Moreover, another aspect that The Social Network does right is its story. The story has lots of moving parts, yet is easy to follow. And these moving parts revolve around serious themes, like betrayal, or greed. This cements a very monotone vibe amongst the movie, and introduces important scenes that are very prominent amongst drama films.
Now if you’re looking for some drama movies to watch, boy, do I have a list for you!
Moneyball (2011) is one that I watched pretty recently, and is one of Brad Pitt's best performances in my opinion. And also based on a true story, so hey, you’ll learn something from it. Whiplash is another one that I mentioned prior, but I have to mention once more. American Sniper (2014) is another great one that is based on a true story, which follows Bradley Cooper's character Chris Kyle. A couple other ones I know are The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011), which was actually recommended by my dad, and let me just say he did not disappoint. El Camino (2019) is a sequel to Breaking Bad, and pretty much offers reassurance to Aaron Paul's character. This one relies on the drama formula used within the show, and portrays it out forwards for a pretty good movie. Joker (2019) is probably one of the most popular ones that I’ve mentioned, and for a good reason. It offers a more serious tone and aspect to the villain we’ve seen numerous times throughout theater. And this one is by far the most deep and sad and depressing out of all of these, at least in my opinion. Definitely make sure to check this one out when you have the chance.
