A melodrama is a film that appeals to the emotions of its audience, on a higher level than the simple "drama" genre. Characters in a melodrama are often stereotyped and exaggerated to indicate something about the culture of the time, making their traits illustrations of the writer's thoughts on society. Both A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945) and A Raisin in the Sun (1961) are family melodramas of the classical and postclassical periods, respectively. There are three main elements that were altered, or rather developed, from 1945 to 1961 that change the qualities of the melodrama genre: historical context, conventions, and icons. Therefore, although the general understanding of the genre remains the same, and although the themes within the two films are very similar, the elements change depending on the attitudes of the times and the development of social issues, or even their progressive nature. to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Before analyzing and comparing the genre that links these two films, it is important to note the periods in which they were set and made, and the social constructions behind both their main themes and the actions of their characters. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was made in 1945, the year World War II ended. However, the story is set between the years 1900 and 1918, the last four of which would have occurred during the First World War. Bordwell and Thompson highlight the characteristic features of classical Hollywood cinema. These include characteristics such as “narrative form,” the direction of “focus” on the central character, “a process of change,” psychological motivations, and finally “closure” (Bordwell and Thompson, 98). A tree growing in Booklyn clearly demonstrates all of these characteristics, as discussed later. A Raisin in the Sun was made sixteen years after A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, in 1965, when the classical period was over and the postclassical period was coming to an end. The post-classical era began immediately after World War II and ended in 1962. It was characterized by its experimental and transitory nature, as its position in the chronology of the cinematic period was the next step towards the modernist period. from classical to post-classical was the result of the progression in sophistication of both the “creator and consumer” (Casper, Lecture) of film and the technologies used to create it. According to Casper with Edwards in Introduction to Film Reader, various types of experimentation occurred in this period, such as the use of "genre as vehicle", "nostalgia", "topical adaptation", among others (Casper with Edwards, 308). . Due to the cultural differences in the times in which these films were made, it is not surprising that the way in which the themes of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and A Raisin in the Sun are portrayed, and the genre of melodrama they fall into, are apparently different. In Reality Television, Melodrama, and the Great Recession, Susan Schuyler states that “melodrama adapts fluidly to changing public tastes, borrowing tropes and techniques from different dramatic genres” (Schuyler, 44). The phrase “fluid adapted” supports the idea that melodramas focus on real issues, their characters are caricatures of the men and women of the era in which they are based, a method of commenting on our ever-changing society through 'entertainment. The conflicts in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and A Raisin in the Sun lie in the aspirations of the main characters and in money. The dreams that both Francie Nolan (Peggy Ann Garner) and Walter haveLee Young (Sidney Poitier) are simple dreams. However, the introduction of stronger narratives in the post-classical era changes how the family melodrama genre is portrayed, as social issues are heightened through the character presentations. Francie Nolan is a young girl who aspires to be a writer, and Walter Lee Young is a man who dreams of buying a house he can be proud of. Both of these ambitions are recognizable and would be achievable if these two families were not living in poverty. However, the differences between the dreams can be explained by the cultural context surrounding these two stories. Francie Nolan's dream must be realized with hard work and perseverance against all odds, like her alcoholic father Johnny Nolan (James Dunn) who dies in the prime of his motivation. Francie is not supported by her family until the end of the film as her mother lies in bed and tells her that she regrets not reading her compositions: “I haven't read any of your compositions. It's on my conscience,” (A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, 1945). Francie's situation could have been applied to young people of any culture with a similar class background. In contrast, A Raisin in the Sun pushes the boundaries of the family melodrama genre by providing an alternative culture to the classic Hollywood family depiction, using an African-American family. Thompson and Chappell argue that "In culturally influenced resources, culture is not essential to the underlying message of the film, but has a unique effect on the message and viewers' responses to it... African American culture uniquely influences the messages transmitted" (Thompson and Chappell, 223). The dream dynamic in A Raisin in the Sun is different from that in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn because Francie's ambitions are more personal, while Walter struggles with his personal dreams and those of his family members, and with the decisions that he must take for his next generation. Because the Young family is African American and subject to prejudice and racism, the decision that Walter ultimately makes is tied to the family's unity against the whites who try to oppress them: “And we decided to move into our house because my father – my father – he earned it brick by brick” (A Raisin in the Sun, 1961). In this way, the family melodrama genre progresses as a stronger narrative is introduced. A narrative is, according to Bordwell and Thompson, “a type of filmic organization in which parts relate to each other through a series of causally related events that unfold in time and space” (Bordwell and Thompson, G-4). A Tree Grows in Brooklyn has a clear plot, a beginning, a middle and an end which all contribute to the Bildungsroman nature of the plot. However, the strongest narrative occurs in The Raisin of the Sun, as the melodrama gains its drama through events linked by the moral question of the house Walter wants to move into. In this way, through the symbol of the house, A Raisin in the Sun comments more on society, and focuses less on individual characters, but instead uses them as a vehicle to enhance its melodramatic qualities. Conventional filmmaking form, techniques, and patterns changed from the 1940s to the 1960s, as presented in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and A Raisin in the Sun. The classic era was known for its studio system, which relied on large studios such as 20th Century Fox Studios for filming locations. As seen in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, the settings of classic-era Hollywood films were elaborate and expensive. It's easy to tell that this movie was shot in a professional studio, thanks to the visible camera angles andto the lighting used in his scenes. For example, shots of the stairs in many scenes would have needed mounted cameras to show the height of the space. This is indicative of the family focus in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. The inclusion of the different floors and levels of the house helps draw attention to the Nolan family as a whole. The three-point lighting used creates beautiful portraits of all the characters, highlighting the importance of individual character development in the plot. In Behind the Silver Screen Series: Cinematography, Keating and Cagle argue that in the Classical period, lighting was used "primarily to suggest three-dimensionality, to differentiate stars, and to provide glamour" (Keating and Cagle, 40). Three-point lighting includes backlight, fill light, and key light that shines directly on the subject – to “get the portrait you want” (Keating and Cagle, 40). The surrounding lights allowed for visual priority of the most important subjects. Keating and Cagle argue that “Paired with an encouraging director and an appropriate script, cinematographers pushed classical limits and experimented with conventions” (Keating and Cagle, 61). This progression and experimentation has been driven by economic and social change. After the post-World War II economic boom in the 1940s, “1947 began a sharp financial decline for the film industry” and “movie studios cut their overheads” (Keating and Cagle, 60). This lack of money is evident in the way A Raisin in the Sun was filmed. The majority of the film takes place in the small apartment of the Young family, who occasionally stray from this location for plot purposes. The simpler whole of this film helps the audience focus more on the historical and social context of its story. Without the elaborate settings and beautiful portraits shown in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, A Raisin in the Sun relies more on the importance of the construction of society in the time in which it was set. According to Keating and Cagle, in the post-classical period, “filmmakers began to mix the visual cues of newsreel authenticity with several stylistic choices that also connoted realism, many of which detracted from the glamour” (Keating and Cagle, 65). This heightened sense of realism can be seen in A Raisin in the Sun as the simplified setting contributes to the realistic nature of the plot. It focuses on the real problem of racism in America in the 1950s, on the struggle of immigrants to advance in society, and on their effort to challenge the seemingly insurmountable immobility of the class system. Because it does not focus as heavily on individual character development, as done in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, A Raisin in the Sun shows the development of the family melodrama genre as it becomes a “bourgeois tragedy, dependent on the awareness of society's existence ” (Keith Grant, 73). The conflict the Young family faces highlights the introduction of their culture into Hollywood films and the unified response of African Americans to feelings of white supremacy. The decision Walter must make between pride and money involves his entire family. The Youngs appear to be an inspirational representation and symbol for African American families in 1950s America as Walter chooses to oppose social normality and oppression. In this way, the iconography of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and A Raisin in the Sun differ in that A Raisin in the Sun strives to create icons from its characters, with the purpose of discussing the aforementioned racism, while the symbolism in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is less, 232).