Zoey's AICE Media Studies Blog: November 2021

Drama has become a genre with a large popularity among all demographics. To produce films with this genre, directors need to keep the audience engaged through intricate techniques and specific choices in order to portray a story of someone finding their way through life.

Content

A dramatic film will have a conflict, this could include character versus character, character versus nature, character versus self, or character versus society. The topic of these conflicts can be regarding current events, societal issues, or a system being corrupted. Usually, the plot will have an exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and (sometimes) resolution. Dramatic films will typically be set in ordinary situations and while following the life of one or two people. Throughout the film, the audience will see the best and the worst out of these characters as they watch the leads navigate through life while dealing with what they are presented with.

Production Techniques

Production while creating movie dramas is highly emphasized on emotional dialogue to add personality to the actors and create a bigger impact. Characters will speak to one another or themselves in order for the story to develop and for new revelations to be made. With the voices, come sounds and music that are inputted to establish the atmosphere of the shot. Additionally, the lighting of the film will also contribute to setting the scene. If a film is using cool tone colors, this could indicate emptiness or hopelessness in the scene. For example, in this scene from The Pursuit of Happyness, the father and son are sitting on the bathroom floor as a result of being homeless, this low point in the dad's life and so the colors are cooler to show his desperation.

Marketing

Movie dramas tend to be targeted toward younger audiences, from teenagers to young adults. With that, the best way to get through to this demographic is through technology and social media, this can include Youtube advertisements, sponsored TikTok videos, or reposting an Instagram post. Another way this genre will be marketed is through casting. Having a well-known actor/actress play a major role in a film will instantly boost viewership and revenue from the dedicated fans. This also ties with posting on social media since whenever a popular celebrity reveals on Instagram that they are going to be in a new movie, a portion of their fans will repost it onto their own Instagram stories which spreads that information to their followers.

Samples

An example of a Movie drama is Beautiful Boy. The film is based on memoirs given by Nicolas (Nic) Sheff (Timotheé Chalamet) and his father, David Sheff (Steve Carell). The story follows Nic as he is dealing with drug addiction and David is doing everything in his power to save him. This matches the setting in which we are watching a seemingly mundane situation, and overall Nic was a level-headed child, with a good support system. As the movie progresses, the audience wonders how this intelligent boy, who got into all the colleges he applied to, reaches the point of almost overdosing on meth. There are parts where the conflict is between Nic and his own father, such as when Nic is in denial over the severity of his addiction and refuses any help. However, there is also a point where it is Nic versus himself, he realizes that he has a drug problem but at the same time, he notices that no one is there to help him anymore as his father also ran out of solutions and hope to rescue him. There are moments when Nic must pull strings and be unethical to get his fix and have his own fun, such as, breaking into his own home or stealing money from his younger sibling's piggy bank. This movie uses cool and warm tones to match the ambiance of the scene. For example, when Nic was sober and with his family, the scenes tend to be brighter and orange-hued. However, when he relapsed, scenes would become very dark and blue-toned to show an emptiness. From his recovery to his relapses and watching Nic go through his addiction journey, the audience can see him at his best and worst.

The film Parasite is a foreign film that highlights the disparities between class identities. The Kim family a poor household that can barely make ends meet. After being introduced to the Parks, a rich high-class family, the Kim's devise a plan to widdle their way into a luxurious life by replacing and getting the current employees of the Parks fired. The director, Bon Joon-ho, made meticulous cinematic choices to signify the divide between the rich and poor. For example, the mother of the wealthy family, Yeon Kyo, speaks on the phone with a friend talking about how the rain was such a blessing for their lawn. However, on Kim's side, the rain completely flooded his basement home. This dialogue and contrast show the two different perspectives two people will have about the same event, and how a group can be blind to anything beyond their bubble. We also see the Kim's in their highs, like when they accomplish their goal of making it into the rich family, but we also see the lows of their life, such as becoming homeless but still having to live their double life. Additionally, the audience sees through the Park Family, they seem to be very nice people, but then judge economic status, and take notice of Ki Taek's (the father of the Kim family) smell. This film shows how the rich family goes through life with the help of their employees and how the poor family gets through life with the pay of the rich. The conflict that is presented to the audience is class conflict and how the ordinary lives of these families can get spun out of control.