Gender Stereotypes in Contemporary British Historical Period Drama Series. Comparative Analysis of Downton Abbey and Mr Selfridge.

The diploma thesis named Gender Stereotypes in Contemporary British Period Drama. The Comparative Analysis of Downton Abbey and Mr Selfridge compares the marks of gender stereotypes and conservative principles in British period drama series. The analysis of their clash with progress in society and technology during the first two decades of the 20th century is performed on the method of qualitative content analysis of two examples of popular contemporary British costume drama Downton Abbey and Mr Selfridge. The theoretical framework of the thesis is based on the concept regarding history in film. The main category of research is the work with female characters and their social roles in Edwardian Britain which is characterized by unprecedented social change. The objective of the thesis is to analyze the way a female character reflects stereotypes and conservative principles that are usually believed to be characteristic features of period drama series. Additional objective is to examine how the 21st century society is mirrored in manipulation with stereotypes and social values in the series. The content analysis is based on the three criteria most interconnected wih position and social change of women of that era. These refer to property and proprietorship, sexuality, and emancipation of women in..