Genres can be defined by a shared subject matter, for example comedies are mainly defined by a type of story situation. However genre definitions can be flexible and this is shown by the fact that they can mix together or crossbreed. This is something that I am doing with my film sequence as the genres I am using are comedy and drama.
With Drama there are two main parts to a dramatic narrative structure: the story, so what happens and then to whom it happens, and also how the story unfolds, the discourse. Conflict is often present in dramas, this is in order to emotionally move or touch the audience. In other cases the protagonist has a goal to fulfil and someone or something gets in the way. These struggles can take many forms, for example: Man against man; man against society; man against nature; and man against machine
Dramas are generally serious stories and they show a real life situation and also in a realistic way. The characters behave at their worst and their best as well as everything in-between. Urban dramas exploit reality, and after the 1980’s, a new genre was defined by guns, drugs, violence and revenge.
Dramas are serious presentations or real life situations that have characters who are conflicting with themselves, others or nature. Drama films often have of-the-time issues and problems, concerns and injustices. Examples of these would be racism, religion such as anti-Semitism, drugs, poverty, politics, corrupted power, alcohol, class division, sexual inequality, mental illness, corrupt societal institutions, abuse such as sexual, violence, domestic, women and children and so on and so forth and also possibly other issues of the times.
Dramatic films realistically and frankly deal with social problems, however in the earlier years of Hollywood and censorship there was a tendency to not blame society and institutions but rather to blame problems on an individual, who, it was likely, would be punished for their actions.
Comedies are designed to specifically make the audience laugh and are often light-hearted dramas primarily for enjoyment. Each situation the characters find themselves in are exaggerated along with the characters, language and action. Generally comedies have happy endings, although the comedy can have a pessimistic side, for example black humour or gallows humour.
Comedies generally come in to forms: situation comedy and comedian-led, but these can over-lap and the comedy genre is more likely to be paired with another big genre such as musical-comedy. Not only can comedies be part of two genre films but also there are subgenres in which comedy fits, for example rom-com, sports comedy or coming-of-age comedy.
There are many different forms of comedy for example: Deadpan, which can be defined by the expressionless face of Buster Keaton; Verbal comedy, which is typified by cruel verbal wit, sexual innuendo or thoughtful humour; and Black comedy, which are dark sarcastic but humorous stories around serious subjects such as death.
Black humour is closely linked with gallows humour. It is often used in dramatic films which means they can keep a serious tone, playing a dark subject for laughs, an example of this is in Dr Strangelove, Stanley Kubrick, about nuclear warfare however the procedure for preventing war the system which will make sure it happens. Gallows humour, an earlier form of black humour, is humour that still manages to be funny even in a hopeless situation, and is often in response to this. It often happens when death is inevitable or is perceived to be that way. An example of this is in the Monty Python’s film Life of Brian when the group of men being crucified sing ‘Always look on the bright side of life’.
African Americans were often used to make people laugh in mainstream society and on stage. In early comedy films this was also used and often linked with the entire race rather than one single person. The 1970’s saw to crossover comedians hitting the silver screen, and a lot of highly successful films were created.
Comedy is one of the oldest film genres, and unlike others it puts more emphasis on individual stars. One of the earliest film forms of comedy was slapstick due to its physical nature, perfect for silent films. This could involve being soaked with water or hit over the head with a pan.
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