Analysing A Period Drama - Little Dorrit

A sub-genre of drama is period drama. In period dramas we always see a social group presented and this is usually juxtaposed with another social group. Some examples of period dramas are:
Pride and Prejudice
Forsythe Saga
Ashes to Ashes

When analysing period dramas you should always look at:
Sound
Camera movement
Shot types
Colloquialism
Mise en Scene
Camera angles

Another period drama is Little Dorrit. Little Dorrit was a British period drama series on BBC ONE and set in 1805 - 1826.

Analysing this clip of Little Dorrit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkbIHqwQbHU
(00:00 - 1:30)

Immediately at the start you can tell that Little Dorrit is set in the 1800s because of the Mise en Scene showing old, wooden houses and the style of dress the first character is wearing. The first character we see is called Arthur Clennam spotting a lady in the distance, crying. As soon as he spots her and the camera looks at her, non-diegetic background piano music starts playing in a sad tone. This suggests that something is bad has happened to this lady. We then see Arthur walk fast up to her. Just before he reaches the lady, the camera shows a long shot. This long shot shows Arthur running past a few hanging weaved baskets. This shot helps show part of the Mise en Scene because only in a poor area would a stall like that be on th street.

As Arthur reaches the lady he says "Excu...It's you!" and she replies "Mr Clennam". This language and formality shown here suggests that he is more relaxed although looks well educated and also suggests that she is of lower class and shows respect. We find out that this lady is actually Little Dorrit. Arthur realises that she is mourning the death of somebody and says "Oh, you're in mourning". This language shows further that this period drama is set in the 1880s when they spoke differently to how we speak now. Arthur still calls her "Little Dorrit" even after being friends in the past, this shows that he still thinks of her the same way and hasn't changed. However, Little Dorrit feels differently and tells him to stop it because she isn't a kid anymore.

When they get talking Little Dorrit says "I am a lady now and it is my business to do nothing". Here we can see that the stereotype of women is being shown. The stereotype that women must stay at home. The camera angles here are from the 180 degree rule, using over the shoulder shots. When the camera is looking at Little Dorrit, the camera is looking down and when it is looking at Arthur Clennam, the camera is angling up. This is obvious due to the height difference but at the same time represents the emotional state that they are both in. Arthur Clennam is apparently happy with the way things are going, as we see at the beginning when he uses his arm to swing around a pole to walk up some stairs, and that he has found an old friend. In contrast, Little Dorrit is in mourning because of the death of her brother and father in Venice.