Psychological Drama Genre Research

Our chosen genre is a mix up of two sub-genres, Drama and Psychological Thriller. Because drama can be easily interlaced with other genres, such as comedy and romance, we felt that the only way to describe our chosen film idea would be through mixing it with another, more sinister, genre. Above are typical code and conventions of both genres we are infusing, which include some similarities and a balanced amount of differences.

Types of Characters:

The following characters are found in both genres:

• The Protagonist - The main character tends to slowly be introduced into the themes of the film. They begin with a generally normal life, attending school or work, having friends and a family, but during the middle of the film, this tends to change dramatically. Wether the people they care about are endangered, or themselves, they have to fight to gain normality.
• The Problem - This character may not even be a character, it could be an event or an item, but it will cause the majority of the problems. From groups of girls in a school, to psychopaths stealing a family member, or even fantasy creatures attacking the city, the Protagonist has to overcome this character/subject to achieve something.
• Family Members - Including the protagonist's family helps to create a sense of normalcy, be it parents, a sibling or even a pet. It also helps to be more relatable to the audience, and any problems that occur allow anyone watching to place themselves into that situation.
• Therapist/Social Worker - This character is a problem solver. They tend to help the main character open up, and almost narrate the story or their background information to the audience, making the plot more understandable. They also help humanise the character, by giving them a realistic background. This character can be the protagonist.

Typical Storylines:

• Finding Yourself - A man suffers memory loss, and has to rediscover himself.
• Manipulation - A teenager is manipulated into doing things he regrets, and has to escape the puppeteer.
• Lost - A group of people are trapped in an unknown location, and have to fight to escape. 

Themes:
Psychological dramas tend to tackle subjects that can be reinterpreted into the modern world, in extreme ways. Examples of themes that can be addressed in psychological dramas are: 

• Purpose
• Existence
• Identity
• Death
• Imprisonment (Mind/Physical)
• Emotion 

Mise-en-scene:

• Costumes: Within any drama that has elements of reality in them, the outfits and costumes are rather normal, with the exception of anything supernatural based. Again, how different characters dress will make it obvious to the audience what their characteristics are, such as in a school based drama, the geeky character will most likely be wearing glasses, braces and the correct uniform, where as the popular characters will be bending the school's wishes, with make up, short skirts, and incorrect uniform. Drama films tend to stick closely to stereotypes, unless something extremely strange is about to happen. Period dramas will wear old fashioned clothing ...
• Props - These are dependant on what happens in the film. Psychological Dramas tend to include some sort of weapon, drugs, mobile devices, guns and alcohol, however without using these stereotypical items, the genre can still be distinguished.
• Settings - Non-specific. When asked to assume a stereotypical setting for a Psychological Drama, there are no clear stand outs, but cities, schools and office blocks do spring to mind, along side woodland, forest and similar scenery.

Iconography: