Doctor Who: Language and Representation blog tasks

1) Write a summary of the notes from our in-class analysis of the episode. You can use your own notes from the screening in class or this Google document of class notes (you'll need your GHS Google login). 

Camerawork and sound:

  • Music - theme tune to Doctor Who. Very science-fiction - sets genre from beginning.

  • Graphics on screen: title of show and episode. Simple text/font. 

  • Slow, clunky camera movement (due to technology in 1960s). 

  • Sound: hum of TARDIS (helps create science-fiction genre).


Mise-en-scene:

  • Susan - first introduced dancing and dressed as 1960s teenager (costume). Seems to be both typical teenager and alien.

  • Costume and hair typical of 1960s.

  • School - creates personal identity for audience. 

 
Narrative and genre:

  • Opening title sequence like a rocket taking off - sci-fi genre and links to 1960s space race.

  • Enigma codes: mystery of Susan’s home. French Revolution book - “I’ll have finished it” “That’s not right”... suggests time travel.

 

2) How can we apply narrative theories to this episode of  Doctor Who? 

Todorov's Equilibrium:  They begin with equilibrium, where everything is balanced, progress as something comes along to disrupt that equilibrium, and finally reach a resolution, when a new equilibrium is restored.

Propp's character theory: Hero, Villain, Heroine/Princess, Father, Donor, Helper/Sidekick, False Hero

 

         Barthes's enigma and action codes: 

            Action Codes: anything that suggests something dramatic is about to happen. E.g. when the TARDIS begins to take off or when the shadow appears in the final shot of the episode. 

  
Enigma Codes: a narrative code that creates mystery and gives the audience questions to keep them watching e.g. who is the Doctor and where is he taking them? Will the teachers get home? What is the mysterious shadow in the final scene?

 

Levi-Strauss's binary opposition: Binary opposition is a theory that all narratives are driven by conflict of a series of opposing forces. There are many examples that can be found in this Doctor Who episode e.g. good v evil; young v old; human v alien; dark v light etc.

3) In your opinion, what is the most important scene in the episode and why? 

4) What genre is An Unearthly Child and how can you tell? Make specific reference to aspects of the episode. Dramatic narrative  

5) How does An Unearthly Child reflect the social and historical contexts of the 1960s? 1961: First man in space – Russian Yuri Gagarin.



Representations

1) What stereotypes of men are reinforced and subverted in Doctor Who: An Unearthly Child? How?

2) What stereotypes of women/girls are reinforced and subverted in Doctor Who: An Unearthly Child? How?

3) How do the representations of young people and old people in An Unearthly Child reflect the social and historical context of the 1960s? 

4) What representations of race/ethnicity can be found in Doctor Who: An Earthly Child? Is this surprising or not? Give reasons for your answer and consider historical / cultural context (the 1960s). Has this changed in more recent series of Doctor Who?

5) How is social class represented in An Unearthly Child? Think about how education and knowledge is presented in the episode.


Grade 8/9 extension tasks and reading

Read this Media Magazine article tracing the cultural impact of Doctor Who. What does it suggest regarding the importance of Doctor Who, representations and industry?

Read this Guardian feature on female characters in Doctor Who. What does it suggest regarding the representation of women over time in Doctor Who?

Consider representations of age in Doctor Who. How have representations of age changed over the 50-year history of the show? 



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