Genre
The genre is Period Drama. Genre is important, as it allows audiences to have certain expectations and it gives them an idea if it meets their interest. Genre conventions consist of certain types of: clothing, speech, setting, characters, and narrative events. As a Period Drama we expect to see big country houses, old fashioned clothing, narrative base around social class and often romance (which is all visible in Atonement). These conventions attract people who enjoy period dramas to Atonement.
Narrative
The narrative of a film is the series of elements which are organized in a way to make sense of a story. Atonement has a mainly linear structure, with non linear elements (flashbacks to past). Todorov's theory is also applicable to Atonement, as there is an equilibrium- things are ok and happy at the big country house before the war. Disruption is the rape of lola and false prosecution of the character Robbie. The recognition is when Breily realises what she has actually done wrong, The repair is her writing a book to atone for what she has done. The new equilibrium is that the book is published and she can rest knowing the story/truth has been revealed.
Representation
Representation is the way real life is constructed and presented in a media text. Audiences de construct texts according to their knowledge of the world presented to them and their own experience. Characters, issues, and locations are presented in different ways. Stereotypes are often used as shorthand to represent certain groups of people. Stereotypes are often criticized though, as they can cause labeling and offence. they are often accused of being generalized, superficial and easy to understand.The Audience translates is into something that makes sense to them. There are a lot of stereotypes in Atonement, for example Danny is a working class boy who serves the family. He is represented as foolish an powerless. However, some characters do break the stereotypes you would expect in a period drama, like Cecilia. Generally, in period dramas women are very passive, however Cecilia has a very strong personality and is quite dominant.
Audience
