Period Drama

Above is a trailer for a period drama film. A period drama is a TV or cinematic production set in a particular historical period, in which the actors wear costumes typical of that period. It is a work of art set in, or reminiscent of an earlier time period. A film film is a film that attempts to faithfully depict a specific time time period. They do not just include literary adaptions although these do account for a substantial part of the sub-genre.

It needs to have a 'contemporary impact'. This can be achieved simply by reproducing a period drama but looking at a different aspect of the story or character to be able to make connections with the modern times.

Period dramas come in all types, ranging from the peaceful, romantic sagas focusing n family life, such as the Jane Austen dramas, to the violent, action stories of Shakespeare's kings. A number of period dramas will have a 'feel-good' and happy ending. The typical happy ending for a period drama consists of everyone happily marrying the person they love.

Recently the BBC have decided to focus on 20th century historical dramas for example, they have been showing; Lady Chatterley's Lover, Cider With Rosie, The Go-Between and An Inspector Calls.

In making period dramas, people tend to foreground the writer's specific interpretation. This causes a lot of controversy between writers and historians although on a positive this tends to lead to good publicity. The set, costumes and props must all be reflective of the time. This therefore makes period drams extremely expensive to produce. Everything must appear to be a great quality and value and so can never be cheap. Mise En Scene is one of the main elements of period dramas. Costume is extremely important as it helps to show the role and class of each character and can tell us something about the life they lead. Another reason why it is so expensive to produce a period drama is because the outside and inside locations both have to present the time that the TV show/film is set in. 

The typical story-lines  for a period drama consist of family, love and torture. 

Period dramas show the enormous gulf that existed between the rich and the poor - The rich are all powerful and the poor bereft of any semblance of justice. Seeing these things can cause people to feel thankful for medical advances, health and legal systems in the modern world.

As many of the story-lines are not relevant for modern society, it provides a form of escapism. Life was a lot less complicated in those times than it is now. This is key to period dramas' appeal. 

Many people watch period drama for entertainment and they enjoy looking back towards simplicity. This relaxes them.