Portfolio Project Genre #1

Genre #1: Drama

For the start of my Cambridge portfolio project, one of the genres that caught my eye that I knew I wanted my film to be based on is drama. The reason behind this is because I have always loved films that are serious and have a deep meaning behind it, as it makes me feel like I can connect with the characters or even relate to them. I have been looking into this genre and some of the stuff such as people who enjoy watching drama films have surprised me.

To begin with, the target audience for this genre is not what I thought it would be, as most of them are women, ages eighteen through thirty, fairly young women, as they may connect most to the themes of relationships, emotions such as love, illness, even discrimination, perhaps life struggles as some may face within that age range as they are becoming their own person, becoming independent. The reason some might connect to films as such is because they may feel that that specific film can change their perspective on life, implementing some personal growth within. They also like to see characters that reflect their own lives, showing them that they are not alone, that the character represents their personality in a way.

Some more finding in my research on drama films is about genre conventions with content and techniques. What you will find in a lot of drama films is when characters leaks out their emotions and thoughts out loud for the audience to understand their motive behind what they are doing. This connects into the field on narration as it can give the crowd some background information to explain why the character are the way they are. In drama, direct address’ is very common as it breaks the fourth wall, inviting the audience into the world of play. Lastly, the use of masks plays a huge part towards building drama in film. Incorporating a mask into a performance allows the actor to transform into a different character, giving off a sense of mystery and suspense to the audience, leaving them hanging, wondering why they need to conceal their identity, are they that important to do so, or what their background is.

Now, some examples of drama films are “Forest Gump” and “Interstellar.”

In Forest Gump, the themes of love and loss are shown, focusing on the American experience, as the main character Forest is displayed as an innocent man who has to deal with the hardships of bullying, war, the death of his friends and girlfriend. He builds character along the way while still remaining the humble simple man he was from the beginning, conveying a very sad emotion to the audience while throwing in a few strands of humor on the way.

Another film displaying a dramatic production is Interstellar, showing themes of love, a common one, sacrifice, and family. The main character, Cooper, has to make a decision, one that decides the humanity’s fate, but he has to leave his family to do. As the pressure builds up, to break the news to his family that he has to leave Earth to save it, he also faces other problems in outer space as he encounters stuff in space beyond human interpretation, and by the end of the film, he is a completely different person.

To wrap it up, drama is a genre I definitely want to consider to base my final portfolio project off of. The majority of drama films are so moving emotionally and I think to myself, why not make one of my own?