Drama and comedy were the earliest genres of cinema, and they're still the most popular genres today. Comedies entertain us by making us laugh, but dramas entertain us by telling interesting stories. A good drama does more than just tell a good story, however. It makes us care about the characters and feel many emotions. If something good happens we feel like smiling, if something sad happens we feel like crying, and if something bad is done to a character we like we might even feel angry. If we feel emotions like these we'll get involved in the story and find it more entertaining. But dramas can do even more than this. They can also make us think about important issues and teach us important lessons about life and how to live.

There are many different genres of drama and one of the most popular is the mystery genre. In this genre, suspense keeps us anxious while we watch what happens. A classic example is Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window in which a photographer sees something suspicious through a neighbour's window and then tries to discover what's happened. In many mysteries a private detective is hired to help a client who's in trouble, as in The Long Goodbyeand Chinatown. A similar genre is the police drama in which crimes are often investigated by police detectives. Two good examples are In The Heat of the Night about an African American detective who faces racism while investigating a murder, and Mystic River in which something terrible happens while police are trying to solve a serious crime.

Not all police dramas are mysteries, however. Some are about important issues like police brutality and corruption. The 2013 drama Fruitvale Station is based on the true story of an innocent young man who's beaten and then shot dead by rogue police officers on a train platform in San Francisco. Academy Award-winning police drama L.A. Confidential is based on a fictional story by crime writer James Ellroy about police corruption in Los Angeles. Many political dramas are also about corruption. For example All The President's Men is about corruption in American politics and the 2014 drama Leviathan is about a corrupt mayor in a small Russian town.

entertain [,entə´tein]   vt.招待；娱乐；使高兴   (初中英语单词)

character [´kæriktə]   n.特性；性质；人物；字   (初中英语单词)

anxious [´æŋkʃəs]   a.担忧的；渴望的   (初中英语单词)

detective [di´tektiv]   n.侦探 a.侦探的   (初中英语单词)

innocent [´inəsənt]   a.无罪的；单纯的   (初中英语单词)

beaten [´bi:tn]   beat 的过去分词   (初中英语单词)

platform [´plætfɔ:m]   n.(平)台；讲台；站台   (初中英语单词)

academy [ə´kædəmi]   n.专科学校；学会；协会   (初中英语单词)

writer [´raitə]   n.作者；作家   (初中英语单词)

politics [´pɔlitiks]   n.政治(学)；政治活动   (初中英语单词)

comedy [´kɔmidi]   n.喜剧；喜剧场面   (高中英语单词)

classic [´klæsik]   a.第一流的 n.杰作   (高中英语单词)

client [´klaiənt]   n.委托人；顾客   (高中英语单词)

corrupt [kə´rʌpt]   a.腐败的 v.败坏；贿赂   (高中英语单词)

trying [´traiiŋ]   a.难堪的；费劲的   (英语四级单词)

corruption [kə´rʌpʃən]   n.腐化；贪污；贿赂   (英语四级单词)