P1- genre research "The Boggart!"

Urban Drama Genre Research:

Urban Drama is known for a realistic view of society and problems in the society. Urban Drama films are usually seen to be educational and are made to show audiences the issues in society. Urban Drama films became mainstream around the 2000s but were first created in the 1980s-90s. Urban Drama films often show aspects of urban ‘Black culture’ such as; rap, gangs, racism, drugs, violence, profanity, and murder; these films are called ‘hood films’.

In Urban Drama films, the protagonists tend to be a serious or have more common sense then their friends but usually have a negative outlook on life because of their social status. They tend to be in some sort of romantic relationship and /or come from a dysfunctional home. The antagonists in urban drama films is someone that the protagonist knows, usually a traitor or an ex-girlfriend. The reason for the argument is usually caused by something petty.

The environment in Urban genre films is usually quite negative, somewhere for the protagonist to dislike and want to change. Popular settings include; council estates, parks, alleyways, bars/pubs, prison, high-schools, night-clubs or gang territories.  

Coach Carter (2005):

Coach Carter is a film about a basketball coach who suspended his undefeated high school basketball team in order to teach them a lesson about life and the value of their education. This is an example of an urban drama film as it shares many of the same conventions. For example, several of the protagonists have a negative outlook on life because of the low standards of the society they live in. As well as this, it can be shown as an urban drama film through similar locations like a high-school. It also has several aspects of urban culture such as gangs, guns, and racist language.

Poetic Justice (1993):

Poetic Justice is about a young woman called Justice going through depression after the death of her boyfriend. During this depression she develops as a poet and uses her poetry to express herself. This film is shown to be an urban drama through the use of the gun violence that was the cause of her boyfriend's death, as well as other features.

The Ellington Kid (2012):

The Ellington Kid is a short film about a guy who was stabbed and whether the employees of a chicken-and-chip shop killed his attackers as they have been allegedly accused of  doing. This film shows the conventions of urban drama films through the knife crime, and common urban locations like the chicken-and-chip shop and alleyways. As well as the use of slag.