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Essay on The Crime Drama Genre

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Joseph Straubhaar (2009) stated that television genres continue to develop over time in response to changes in audience tastes and original creative ideas. Indeed, television genres will keep on developing to meet the expectations and satisfaction of the audience. Crime drama series have become one of the most popular television genres within our society. It attracts the audience by dealing with themes and issues relating to the news and current affairs that the viewers are aware of. Crime fiction has various sub-genres including detective fiction such as Monk (2002-2009) where a detective investigates and solves a crime. Furthermore, Law & Order (1990-2010) represents the legal thriller and courtroom drama sub-genres as these crime dramas …show more content…

It is violent, lurid, obscene, profane and controversial. Oz is narrated dramatically by Augustus Hill, an inmate who make discerning observations not just about Oz, but related to the outside world as well. Augustus Hill’s narration often breaks the fourth wall as he addresses the camera therefore the audience. Augustus Hill was shot while killing a cop and now restricted to a wheelchair. Because he’s impotent to be physically brutal anymore, Augustus is very insightful and is used to heighten and clarify themes for the audience. Consequently the audience has sympathy for him since he is handicapped but also because he is harmless compared to the other inmates therefore the viewers wants him to get out of Oz alive and start from fresh. To keep the ratings up, the stories sometimes turns into the unbelievable, but the grit and reality are never gone for long. It deals with homosexuality, racism, drugs, violence, rape, gangs and how the social order handle these difficult situations. There is also some “bent” cops in Oz as they all have some kind of relationship with the prisoners. For example a prison guard called Karl Metzger and the leader of the Aryan Brotherhood Shellinger have made a deal to ambush another prisoner called Beecher to break his legs and arms. It shows that anything can happen inside a prison and you can’t trust anyone.
This brings tension and pleasure within the narrative from the

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