I think there needs to be a distinction between Drama and Tragedy, I feel this video doesn't understand very well where the line is between them.
Not all dramas need to have a 20-minutes happy build-up in order to seem sad later. You can empathize with the character even if you didn't SEE him experience happy times. Evocation and memories or flashbacks can go a long way to making you understand why that character is sad. This obviously depends on how well the character is made.
This is a simpleminded way of seeing things that would make games, movies and books very very boring. 20 minutes happy, 80 minutes sad => boom drama.
No, it shouldn't be like that. That's the exact replica of a cheap horror movie; first they show you a few happy teenagers then some psycho starts killing everyone. Does that make it more horror for you? Do you NEED those 20 minutes?
