Domestic Drama - Audience Appeal

Audience Appeal

Domestic drama tends to appeal to the audience because most of the audience can relate to the events within a domestic drama. The audience is appealed to this style of drama in four ways: empathy, humor, suspense, and resolution of the issues. This group of spectators can emphasize with the domestic drama at hand because the domestic drama touches incidents that are common to the 'ordinary' people. Many playwright use the audience's empathy to manipulate the proposed expression of the show. David Williamson's “Brilliant Lies” uses “domestic unit battling” to create sympathy from the audience as they are confronted with the issue. Humor provides the entertainment value within a domestic drama as these usually touch base with serious matters. The entertainment value of a show keeps the people engaged without having to continually use serious turns of events in order to maintain an audience's interest. Suspense provides “dramatic irony” as the audience indulges itself within the characters' situation and privacy of their backgrounds. Suspense is used in a domestic drama in order for the audience to react with the characters of the show. This “ the audience to feel privileged and therefore involved with the unfolding drama.” As in all shows, an audience expects a resolution to the conflict within a show. Domestic dramas drive the show to its resolution to keep the audience desiring to reach the climax. Domestic dramas use such a technique that is very similar to the style of modern soap operas.