Okay. Whilst reading some of the OWC scripts it occurred to me that some of the scripts I read were horror not drama and I pointed that out in two of my posts. However, the posts that followed mine more or less disputed what I said. One person basically said it doesn't matter if people stick to the genre or not and the other said that drama isn't a genre. Well, first of all, I think it does matter if people haven’t stuck to the genre, because if nobody stuck to the genre then it would be pointless nominating one. Secondly, it has always been my understanding that drama is a genre.

What do you guys think?      

You already know my views on this, this is from wikipedia...

Quoted Text A drama film is a film that depends mostly on in-depth character development, interaction, and highly emotional themes. Many people say that in a good drama film, the audience is able to experience what other characters are feeling and identify with someone.

This goes along with what i have already thought Drama to be, anything that is a dramatized enactment of a written work. For instance 'Drama class" is where you are taught to act. I have always thought that whether a movie, TV or a play is a performance of a script then it is drama regardless of the genre.

But also on the wiki is the following that would suggest that Drama is also a genre, But like the DVD stores that have a drama section I think that drama has only become a genre because it is a good way of pinholing a movie that may not be easily classified as a Horror, or Thriller or Love story etc...

For instance the 'Political Drama' is missing from the list below, I bet you could think of a 100 different drama's that are missing from the list below. Is 'The Shining' a horror film or is it a scary drama film? I think there is a very thin line there.

Quoted Text Dramatic Films include a very large spectrum of films. Because of the large number of drama films, these movies have been sub-categorized: War drama - Character development set in War theme. Legal drama (Courtroom drama) - Character development in fictional court cases. Erotic drama - Character development focused on sexuality and sexual encounters. Sports drama - Character development based on sports Crime drama - Character development based on themes such as the Police or the Mafia. Historical drama - Films that focus on historical pasts. Biographical film - Films that focus on true stories of real people. All film genres can include dramatic elements, such as comedies, action films, and horror movies, but typically, films considered drama films focus mainly on the drama of the main issue.

Drama is absolutely a genre and I agree that not sticking to the genre is a cop out (in fact it makes the script looks like it was written before the OWC and then tweeked a bit to match the given situation).

Quoted from sniper Drama is absolutely a genre and I agree that not sticking to the genre is a cop out (in fact it makes the script looks like it was written before the OWC and then tweeked a bit to match the given situation).

But how do you decide what a drama is then Sniper? If a script is a horror does that mean it cannot be a drama?

Quoted Text drama films focus mainly on the drama of the main issue.

So if the main issue is a serial killer who likes to carve his initials into his victims then it is a horror and cannot be a drama, but it the main issue is a vandal who likes to carve his initials into bus stops then it can be a drama?

What many people seem to do with drama is assign it to a movie that does not easily fit into a drama, so in reality Drama is not a genre but is actually an anti-genre!

Even if we are going down the drama is a genre route then we need to judge each script on it's own merits. So if a horror script is just torture porn and empty headed shocks for thrills then I will buy into what you say and agree it should not be classed as a drama.

But a horror about a killer who is having conversations with his alter-ego's or voices in his head* is totally focussed on the drama, it is a character led piece and therefore how can it not be a drama? Of course it is drama.

* This was started by a comment on the thread for Repetition.

Every movie/script must have drama as an element in order to work. A "true" drama piece rarely focuses on horror/action/comedy/thriller etc. elements. Sure, those elements could be present in a drama but never as a focus point in respect of screen time.

Take movies like Glengarry Glen Ross, A Few Good Men or The Contender to name but a few. In all those movies the narrative is focused solely on the drama. I just couldn't picture myself calling them anything but drama, though I'm sure you could sub-categorize every movie into whatever fits your temper.

Quoted from sniper Every movie/script must have drama as an element in order to work. A "true" drama piece rarely focuses on horror/action/comedy/thriller etc. elements. Sure, those elements could be present in a drama but never as a focus point in respect of screen time. Take movies like Glengarry Glen Ross, A Few Good Men or The Contender to name but a few. In all those movies the narrative is focused solely on the drama. I just couldn't picture myself calling them anything but drama, though I'm sure you could sub-categorize every movie into whatever fits your temper.

I can't really argue with what you say Sniper. Glengarry Glen Ross is a good one to bring up and I cannot disagree with what you say at all, I would not be able to call it anything else but a drama. But I would still use drama in the anti-genre sense. Not that there is anything wrong with calling it a drama but I would not want to exclude any other character driven movie from being called  a drama just because it is also a horror or a comedy for instance.

I agree with Sniper, drama is a genre. However, I don't think you can simply have drama alone, unless you're are making one of them boring ass life-time movies. You need some other elements(horror,comedy,action) to balance the drama.

~Zack~

Quoted from Zack I agree with Sniper, drama is a genre. However, I don't think you can simply have drama, unless you're are making one of them boring ass life-time movies. You need some other elements(horror,comedy,action) to balance the drama.

Zack, you need to watch Glengarry Glen Ross.

For the purposes of an OWC shouldn't it be clear that drama means the following:

NOT COMEDY
NOT HORROR
NOT ACTION
(NOT ANIMÉ)

Drama as a genre relies on dialogue, or the plot is conveyed through dialogue, not through fighting, explosions, shooting monsters or people falling down manholes.

Dramas with comedic elements are called Dramedy. Which of course means comedies with dramatic elements are callled...Comas?

I digress. But I will echo Rob and say: You need to watch Glengarry Glenn Ross, Zack. What about Memento? Isn't that drama?

Quoted from Death Monkey What about Memento? Isn't that drama?

Yeah, and so is Heat when you think about it.

Wasn't Memento an action thriller? Sure it was dramatic, but it had thriller vibe to it. Oh, and falling down a manhole is pretty dramatic.

~Zack~

Quoted from Zack Wasn't Memento an action thriller? Sure it was dramatic, but it had thriller vibe to it. Oh, and falling down a manhole is pretty dramatic. ~Zack~

Isn't there just one scene with an actual pace in that film? Where he's being chased by Dodd. There's no action to speak of. 99% of the film consists of "talky scenes" and the action lies in the dialogue, if you will.

Whether or not it's a thriller...I'm not sure. Most of the time this genre seems to mean "action without explosions". But I suppose thriller/drama wouldn't be too much of a stretch.

Quoted from Zack I don't think you can simply have drama, unless you're are making one of them boring ass life-time movies.

OK, Zack -- this is just silly.  

There are sub-genres of drama, of course, but of course Drama is a genre

Add these to your viewing list, Zack:

The Ice Storm
Midnight Cowboy
Leaving Las Vegas
American History X
Rain Man
Taxi Driver
What's Eating Gilbert Grape

And that is just off the top of my head, man.  There are thousands more where what is going on is pure, human drama without conventions "borrowed" from other genres.

You need to step outside of the Horror aisle once in a while.

I've seen American History X. There was a decent amount of action in that movie. But yeah, I already said in my first post that I did agree that drama was a genre.

~Zack~

It takes more than one or two grisly murders, a handful of bullets, or some one liners to turn something from a drama to some kind of drama-action/horror/comedy hybrid. Eastern Promises, for example, is first and foremost a drama, despite Viggo Mortensen in the buff having a knife fight with some Chechen mercenaries. American History X is also a pretty straightforward drama. You can argue semantics, of course, but the fact is drama is a genre. Just because you don't want to write within the boundaries that constitute a valid genre piece doesn't mean the genre doesn't exist... and for the record, writing within said boundaries doesn't make you a conformist. You can approach a genre unconventionally without dabbling in other genres at the same time.