GENRE LOCATED

 (I think, since everything will be regarding the portfolio project from now on, there is no need to put it in the title again. Welcome to the new era)

So it is decided: I will do a drama. But, of course, the decision did not come without research on the topic. Allow me to explain.

For the past few days, I have watched some of the movies listed on my previous post, taking notes on how the character development was done in each genre. Of those movies, some fall under the category of drama, others of thriller, and some even shifting into horror, according to the IMDb. The ones I watched most recently were Darren Aronofsky's Pi (1998), and Damien Chazelle's Whiplash (2014). 

The former follows an obsessed and paranoid mathematician, Max Cohen, whose work gets lost amid insane theories about mystical connections. The film also includes aspects of religion and the Kabbalah, the obscure art of interpreting the Torah - which has much to with mathematics, given that every Hebrew letter is a number. Cohen's development is retrograde: he gets worse as the movie goes forward. Throughout the course of the story, we see Max's mentor disapprove of his unhealthy practices, and discourage his search - which, in turn, only causes the mathematician to work harder to find the "truth." Still, though the story itself is that of obsession, much of the film works with violence as part of the hallucinations - not only to showcase how the character sees the world, but also to create tension and scare the audience - there are rather gruesome scenes included in the flick, appealing more to the "thriller/horror" genre than to drama. The more abstract portrayal of insanity gets the spotlight in the narrative, and is used to portray the genre conventions.

Whiplash, on the other hand, has a narrative much more grounded in reality. Andrew, a young drummer, pushes himself to unbearable extents to be "one of the greats" while continuously being put down by his abusive instructor. The character's development is dictated both by "environmental forces" - his family, his fellow bandmates, his teacher - and by his own need to be the best, to prove himself capable of being among the big names of jazz. The film uses several techniques to capture Andrew's (and the other musicians') anxiety, showing the effect that Fletcher, the teacher, has on them. But I will get into technical aspects later; this post is about the storytelling characteristics. The film follows the student engaging in several self-destructive practices, putting his own sanity on the line and sacrificing everything in the name of achieving perfection. As opposed to Pi, the story focuses fully on the character's struggle to be recognized, to receive some sort of validation. Although the mental aspects are clear - it is obvious that the manipulative nature of Fletcher has made its way into Andrew's head - there is no "hallucination," and the story is far more realistic. This, of course, plays into the concept of drama: a more humane story focused on the characters instead of a mysterious concept, and focused on character development. Whiplash also uses many other institutional conventions for drama, including eliciting strong emotions from the audience. 

As additional research, I have looked into some genre characteristics for each style of storytelling, shown below: 

 

Overall, I believe drama allows me to explore a more character-driven plot (even though the product will be only 2 minutes long), and I do not have to conform to thriller conventions, for instance, which would not produce the effect I intend for the project to have on audiences. It is not meant to scare audiences, or entertain by means of violence. Rather, the emotional turmoil should be the principal aspect of the film, and that should be translated into the film opening.

SOURCES:

Roberts, E. (2017, March 27). Codes and conventions of the drama genre. SlideShare. https://www.slideshare.net/esmeroberts/codes-and-conventions-of-the-drama-genre

BBC. (n.d.). Dramatic conventions - Drama elements - GCSE Drama Revision. BBC Bitesize. Retrieved February 12, 2021, from https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zqx3wmn/revision/6

IMDb. (2014, October 15). Whiplash (2014). https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2582802/

IMDb. (1998, July 10). Pi (1998). https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0138704/

Drama Films. (n.d.). Filmsite. Retrieved February 12, 2021, from https://www.filmsite.org/dramafilms.html

WJEC. (n. d.). Genres and generic conventions. Retrieved February 12, 2021, from 

http://resource.download.wjec.co.uk.s3.amazonaws.com/vtc/2016-17/16-17_1-14/Section%201%20Generating%20ideas%20for%20stories/Resource%201%20Exploring%20Genre/Activity%202%20Add%20example%20films%20to%20the%20genres.pdf

Reich, J. (2017, July 11). 2. What Is Genre and How Is It Determined? – Exploring Movie Construction and Production. Pressbooks. https://milnepublishing.geneseo.edu/exploring-movie-construction-and-production/chapter/2-what-is-genre-and-how-is-it-determined/

Ramirez, R. (2020, July 6). Secrets of the Thriller Genre. Story Grid. https://storygrid.com/thriller-genre/

Gilbo, S. (n.d.). Thriller Conventions: The 10 Things Every Thriller Novel Needs. Savannah Gilbo. Retrieved February 12, 2021, from https://www.savannahgilbo.com/blog/thriller-conventions