The 2026 film “The Drama” asks the questions: Can people change? Should we let people change? These issues are complex, and there could be valid arguments for either side. “The Drama” merely poses the questions, and lets the audience decide the answers for themselves. I believe that people can change and that the capacity for change needs to be allowed for society to continually improve, and UNC students and Greeley residents seem to agree.
“The Drama” centers around Charlie (Robert Pattinson) and Emma (Zendaya), a soon-to-be-married couple whose relationship is thrown into disarray after Emma reveals the worst thing she’s ever done at a dinner with friends. Everyone is shocked by what she says, with one friend cutting her off completely, and her own fiancé struggling to rationalize marrying her in the fallout. From here on, the film and its characters ponder if people can change, if they should be allowed to change and if there is a line too far, a point where change becomes impossible.
While I don’t want to spoil the film, Emma’s revelation provides fertile ground for conversation. Did she go too far in her past? Does being young add an extra degree of leniency when it comes to extreme actions?
I believe society needs to allow space for people to change and to better themselves, as the characters in “The Drama” should have allowed Emma to. When someone is placed in a box by others, their desire to leave that box plummets. For example, if a teenager is labeled as a futureless criminal by everyone around them and told that they cannot change, the teenager may feel like there’s no point in trying to.
Alonso Rodriguez, a Greeley resident who watched “The Drama,” said he believes that by not allowing people to change, the problem gets worse.
“It’s just a negative way about thinking about it,” Rodriguez said. “If you think they can’t change, that’s not going to give them the effort to want to change.”
While change is not guaranteed, space for change must be allowed for the sake of society’s betterment and those within it. However, that does not mean everyone can change, at least not completely. Bennett Wells, a third-year music composition major at UNC, said that while he believes people can change for the better, there are several factors that may dictate otherwise.
“I think there are also certain things that are inherent to certain people’s personalities that you can’t necessarily get rid of…” Wells said. “You can’t completely change yourself to whatever you want, but there’s a range to which I think you can alter or change your personality or behavior.”
Personality type and disorders can make change hard or even impossible for some, but what about those who have the potential to change, but have committed a terrible crime or action? Should they be allowed to change? Should they be granted forgiveness? Is there a limit? Wells said he thinks the line is highly contextual, especially when it comes to violent actions.
“With an action like that, I think it’s less likely that the person is actually going to change,” Wells said. “To commit those actions in the first place, you have to be in a state that’s pretty irredeemable… It would take a lot of work, but I think that if you genuinely repent, and you actually take the time to do that, I think it’s possible.”
The possibility for change is a spectrum, both in one’s ability to change and in society’s ability to allow for change. “The Drama” brings this conflict to the forefront and presses viewers to turn their eyes inwards. Can people change? Do we have the right to dictate others’ chance to change? It’s a complex issue, one that will always differ depending on the case, but it’s a conversation we ought to have so that we might be better for each other.
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