Researching and Analysing specific genre of TV Show

Drama

Typical examples of the Drama TV Genre are:

• Broadchurch
• Skins
• Holby City
• Casulty
• Call the Midwife
• Pride and Prejudice 
• My Mad Fat Diary

The genre drama, is broadcasted through series mostly, for example Broad church is broadcast on ITV and has only 2 series up to now, and Skins has 7 series. When these shows are mostly shown on TV is around 9pm/10pm which is the times where children are mostly in bed and is known to be appealing to adult/teenage audiences. The format of the narrative of the show is shown through a progression of the show, by revealing more things and building up to the resolution of the problem that is being faced in the show. The actual time period that these shows are broadcast are mostly presented to the audience each year. 

The appeals of the Drama genre as to why audiences watch these shows are purely in my opinion for entertainment, which is apart of Uses and Gratifications. People watch drama shows in general though, as by putting observations together and it seems that humans are attracted to dramas as it is seen as stimulating. It stimulates our minds and bodies, and leads to the encoders on getting a reaction out of the audience. Another reason as to why people watch Drama shows is down to social interaction, as friends may watch it also therefore, audiences are able to discuss the programme as a talking point. Another way that social interaction is the reason as to why audiences watch Drama based shows is so that they can use the likes of social networking sites like Twitter, to look at trends on the topic in the show at the time. Another thing as to why audiences may watch Drama shows is because of Personal Identity. There could be a something in that specific show which is relatable to an audience member and relevant at a certain time in their lives- audiences are able to create a bond with the characters because of this due the relevance of the topic for the two. 

The target audience of Drama TV Shows are mainly targeted towards a Mainstream audience, as the shows usually consist of reality and everyday obstacles in some sense and also in most cases appeals to the Struggler if we're talking of Dramas such as, Skins and My Mad Fat Diary. Most Dramas on TV consist audiences watching them for entertainment however they can be classified to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and from there it is denoted that most audiences are positioned in the Esteem Needs category and also Social Needs & Love and Belonging. 

Lifestyle Categories for Dramas are able to be categorized through Utopians as most Drama based TV Shows, deal with issues within such as, murder, mental health, addiction etc... which an audience could take and educate themselves more on those specific topic areas. 

Audience Profiling for Drama TV Shows would mainly be female, in the 16-30 year age group. I would think that the family would consist of a Mother, Father and Children, that are working class, and from the UK. Ethnicity wise I would say all ethnicities watch Drama shows, and are under education in either college/ sixth form and university. The religion side of things I would say mostly Christian and are apart of a labour party in the politics section.

The visuals in this opening sequence of Skins from Series 3 tells us about the setting that it is industrial and has a lot of estates. This has connotations that the area is some what "rough" which soon effects the characters beings, and clearly identifying this being a drama packed show. On the topic of characters, this opening sequence for them, denotes the types of people that is typical of the Drama genre, for example, we see the characters smoking connoting rebellion and also characters kissing which connotes drama that may affect other characters in the narrative of the show. Leading onto themes that this opening sequence that the visuals connote are love, rebellion, adolescence and friendship. The music of the opening titles is the sound of bells which suggests, that the audience may feel as if panic has surfaced as bells are alarming which would make an audience feel anxious as it is a sign that something is wrong or something is about to go wrong, which fits perfectly with the Drama genre. Finally the camera shots in this reveal the characters to us, which enables us audience members to quickly relate to them and/or understand what is happening within the narrative that the opening titles is attempting to denote.

Settings that are typical for Drama genres are usually set in places that are communal also were the characters within the show are close due to this close society. How different characters interact with each other in these areas are usually through in a park, or the local pub, and basically just areas where you go to socialise, whether that also consist of house parties within the narrative of the show. Drama TV Shows are usually set in towns that are quite urban. For example, we have My Mad Fat Diary, which is a drama series of a young girl called Rae who is battling depression, but makes new friends and slowly gains happiness and is on the road to recovery- the whole point of this friendship group she has made in the narrative throughout the show is to socialise at which she does that by going to house parties, the pub, and drives, which reveal the settings of the area.

The technical codes in a drama genre are typical in the sense of camera shots and the use of close ups which enable the audience to create a relationship with the characters and also, they could actually relate to the characters in ways that are relevant in the audience member's lives. For example, in episodes of ITV Drama, Broadchurch, the use of close-ups are common and used a lot for this reason exactly, which is typical of the Drama genre. The editing that is most frequent in dramas, from my own personal experience of watching Dramas are montages of the different character within the show and their lives when separate from each other. 

Typical characters in the Drama genre from stereotypes and archetypes are, "The Victim" which is the character that is the one who is dealing with an issue within the narrative, for example we have Effy from Skins battling psychotic depression, which lands her in a mental hospital and in that role she is the victim. Another example is Danny Latimar on Broadchurch and his death and in that respect, that is his character being the victim as they try to find his killer.
Functions of the people in the show are basically "the guiders" in Drama genres as there is always a recognition of disruption in Drama TV Shows as there is mostly always a resolution. How certain groups are represented within the show are based from stereotypes of the Status Quo of society at the time, which reflects on negative topics, however it could also be that they are based from positive topics that are happening in today's reality in society.
Characters are an important element in TV Shows as they have to be there to make a connection with the audience even if an audience member doesn't have anything in common at all with the character(s), there will be certain characteristics at which are linked to an audience member, whether that be the character personally or the situation that the character is in. What does make a good character in this genre however, is the character that actually makes the whole show possible in a sense, as they are the key to either the disruption of the narrative or the resolution to it. An example of a good character in the Drama genre is Rae from My Mad Fat Diary. She is a troubled teenager that has made plenty of friends since getting out of a mental hospital, however she is the character within the narrative that disrupts it (which in this case for her, she relapses on her mental condition, causing her friends to find out and leads to a chain of events throughout the narrative- which denotes my reasoning of certain characters making a show possible), however the character is then the resolver in the narrative to make things better, which for me is vital in this particular genre of Drama in TV Shows.

Active Audiences are widely expected in the genre Drama, as in these particular shows, audiences are more likely to have their own theories and also ideologies of what way the narrative is going or going to go. An example of this is Broad church and it's forever long lasting like build-up to find out who Danny Latimar's killer was. Even after the resolution and the New Equilibrium of the narrative in Drama shows, audiences from my personal experience with the genre, are still having and making theories of the shows narrative by taking an Oppositional Reading to the whole resolution within the narrative.
Action/Enigma Codes in Drama TV Shows are most definitely the most important element within the narrative as it adds to the suspense that comes along with the genre in particular, for example the cliff hangers which encourage and attract audiences to continue watching that particular show to find out what is going to or about to happen, examples of this are Skins and the series 4 finale where Cook and the Dr fight as Cook finds out that the doctor has killed Freddie (one of his best friends) and it abruptly stops, which leaves audiences in ore and wanting to continue watching the show and feel the anticipation of the next series.
Dramas in general and their narrative's all depend on what type of drama that it is specifically as there a bunch of sub-genres for the Drama category, such as: Crime Drama, Historial Drama, Horror Drama, Docudrama, Psychodrama, Comedy Drama, Melodrama, and Romantic Dramas.
Finally, themes, Ideologies and Binary Oppositions in the Drama genre often tell us about the world that Friendship is a key factor as in most Drama TV Shows, there is always an involvement in friendship, which provides teamwork in resolving the actual drama in the narrative of the show. A Binary Opposition for the Drama genre is Bad vs Good, as there is always the villain character type in Dramas and there is always the hero character(s). What is valued by the genre Drama, is that in my opinion, it is one of the most relatable genres to a mainstream audience as they always battle real-life situations and suggest ways in which they can be resolved.