During my search, I found a lot of information on theory, but little on history. So, my main concern moving forward is to find more on the history of the genre. Most of what I was able to discover was rather contemporary, though there was one major exception to that which I will get into in a moment.
On the subject of theory, much of what I found related to the idea of using court drama and such similar criminal and legal drama as a vehicle for social commentary. I was surprised to find that modern court drama has had a global effect on how people view court proceedings, in a very literal sense, in addition to the idea of what justice is and how it should be dispensed. Moving forward, I will be trying to discover any additional theories or methods to court drama, though this seems to be the most prevalent of its interpretations from what I have seen thus far.
Several of the works I looked at examined modern court drama, several more specifically American court drama, which was interesting because at least one of the articles was written from the perspective of the effect of American court drama on Germany, in the adults as well as the youth. A stunning number of people stated that much of what they know of court proceedings comes out of such works, so while it is not a theory per se, I would definitely say that an effect that these works have is to inform the audience of the logistics of court proceedings, though it is easy to see how this could be pushed to the wayside in order to drive a more compelling narrative or suggest a more intriguing or biting commentary.
I mentioned that I had found little on the history of court drama, though the one bit of history I did find on it is rather intriguing. It would seem the genre dates back at least to the Yuan Dynasty in China, which was founded by the Mongolians in the late 13th century. The interesting aspect of this is that, at least from what I have read, the plays and works associated with the genre from this time period appear to have the same underlying concept, the same theory as those today; they use a very specific formula as a backdrop for political or social commentary. So, I can say for certain that while the primary intent of these works - as with any work of fiction - is to entertain, in this case with sometimes sensational or exaggerated plots or characters, this genre also pays close attention to the court as a stand-in for real-world quandaries and debates, using it’s exaggerated or grim plots to highlight and criticize aspects of society and “justice” that perhaps need to be re-examined.
I think your genre in particular seems to be very focused on the effects on an audience and thus while the lack of historical research might be a bit in the way of giving an overall view of the subgenre, the research you have already found seems quite interesting. It might be interesting to look at how responses to the dramas have changed over time in the realm of changing social and political standards.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting how contemporary this genre is and how prevalent it is on our lives today. I would like to compare notes about what critiques believe the literary merit is of these types of works. Farce, a subgenre which critics have deemed amateur and escapist is structurally very different from court dramas, but still evokes discussion about social commentary. The intrigue surrounding court dramas and their effects across the world seem to hint that what it, too, lacks in literary merit, it makes up for in audience.
ReplyDeleteYour research reminds me of contemporary crime dramas. It seems that all of these have their issue of the week episode in which the detectives or lawyers or whoever get to comment on issues which society is dealing with. It is strange to think that Law and Order might be continuing a tradition which extends thousands of years into the past. I'm not sure if this is exactly in the scope of our card game, but have you found any instances of law bending to the consensus of popular media. It would be an interesting example of life imitating art.
ReplyDeleteYour genre really interests me as I have always been fascinated by legal systems around the world, and trial is always a dynamic/entertaining aspect of these systems. What I thought was interesting about your post was the fact that these genres can be used "as a vehicle for social commentary". It is interesting that through these fictionalized accounts, people say that they are able to "learn" about legal systems and justice as if they are forgetting that a lot of these stories are heavily exaggerated. However, although not entirely true, I think that this genre is vital in bringing important social issues to light. I'm excited to read your post about primary sources so I can find out/read books that fall into this genre!
ReplyDeleteIn revision, I must state that I was originally mistaken in my genre research, and the intention was for me to research English court drama of the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. This type of drama focuses on the royal court of England as well as other similarly monarchical countries from the time period. However, one thing is still correct, and that is the idea of court drama being for social commentary. Instead of the legal system, however, these dramas analyzed the court’s interaction with the populace at large, as well as within itself, with a critical lens. They would typically have themes of medieval morality plays, but further into their development they began to focus more on personal responsibility, at least when looking at the courtiers themselves. There were many court comedies as well as farces and satires, but there were also tragedies and other more critical works. In all, learning about this was more interesting to me than courtroom drama had been, as it was something I am not familiar with.
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