Sub-Genre Research: Drama

Drama

Dramas are capable of moving a person emotionally and evoke empathy from the audience by reenacting relatable situations. Generally, this genere follows realistic and likeable characters dealing with traumtic or conflicting issues and follows them as they attempt to correct wrongs that they have done to others or that others have done to them. Dramas give actors the chance to fully immerse themsleves in a role due to the fact that characters usually develop over the course of the film thus allowing the audience to engage with them fully. Within Drama itself, there can also be sub-genres that act as subordinates in order to focus on a main theme of the film. They are as follows:

War Drama:

Drama films that are set during a time of war tend to focus on how larger conflicts between the public can threaten human exsistence. For example, The Deer Hunter (1978) reflects the aftermath of the Vietnam War on the lives of three Russian American steelworkers and their struggle to return to society. The film cost $15million to make and was highly controversial for the scenes depiecting Russian roulette between Robert De Niro's character and the Viet Cong soldiers because there were no documented cases of it taking place thus making the scene incredibly unrealistic in it's portrayal. However, the film depeicts how the war traumatises the main characters and the pressure put on soldiers to move on from the destruction they've been witness to and return happily to the people they've left behind.
Romantic Drama: 

These films generally focus on the passion, affection and emotion relfected between the main characters and the journey that their love takes them on, whether it be through marriage or turmoil. Romantic Drama revolves around an obstacle that is preventing the two main characters from finding love. Music is often incorporated to indicate mood and create atmosphere. In Brokeback Mountain (2005) follows emotional and sexual relationship between Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist in the American West in the 60's. The film shows how the prejudicial views of society prevent the two main characters being open about their love for each other and the angst that it causes them both in later life.
Crime Drama: 

Crime Drama can vary from realistic portrayals of figures actually involved in crime to the crimes perpetrated by imaginary villians. Road To Perdition (2002) directed by Sam Mendes takes place in 1931, during the Great Depression, as a father and his son attempt to get revenge against a mobster that murdered the rest of his family. The story explores the themes of violence and the powerful relationships between Fathers and Sons. The films title, is both the father and son's destination town as well as a euphamisim for Hell, which the father tries to prevent his son from travelling.
Comedy Drama:

Comedy-Drama is a popular sub-genre of film that combines elements of comedy with serious subject matter. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011) follows a group of British pensioners moving to a retirement hotel in India and their exploration of going beyond what is expected of their age group. The film was successful because of it's ability to play on the stereotypes associated with elder individuals but also the refreshing angle it took in putting the characters in elements that audiences wouldn't expect such as romance and xenophobia.
Melodrama:

Melodrama is dramatic due to the plot becoming typically sensational to the point of overtaking the characterisation of the characters. It is designed to appeal to the audience's emotions and music is often used to accompany the major scenes. Volver (2006) is a Spanish film that follows an eccentric family of women as they attempt to make amends with their dead mother's ghost and hide the body of the main sister's (Penelope Cruz) dead husband after he attempts to sexully assult her teenage daughter.