Doctor Who: Language and Representation Blog Tasks

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: The slow clunky camera movement (technology in the 1960s) | hum of TARDIS (helps create science-fiction genre)

Mise-en-scene: School creates personal identity for the audience.

Narrative and genre: Dimensions - Time and space | enigma code: Police box / TARDIS. "It's alive!"

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

Todorov's Equilibrium: It starts off relatively stable and then is disrupted when Ian and Barbara follow Susan to the junkyard, resolution - it ends with a cliff-hanger 

Propp's character theory: Ian is seen as a hero, being the one in charge and investigating with Barbara being the helper, Susan being the Princess.

Barthes's enigma and action codes: 

enigma code: Susan being the one with strange behaviour and knowledge beyond her age which forms suspense 

action: Moments like the discovery of the TARDIS and travelling through space and time

Levi-Strauss's binary opposition: youth vs old - Susan and the Doctor represent a binary opposition

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

The cliff hanger at the end makes the audience more intrigued about the next episode

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

Science Fiction - The episode includes shift in dimensions and travelling through space and time to a different planet

5) How does An Unearthly Child reflect the social and historical contexts of the 1960s?

In the 1960s, we had the space race which made the An Unearthly Child due to the topic being so relevant and popular 

Representations

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

Reinforced: Ian takes a protective role towards Barbara which reinforces the stereotype of men being the protectors of women

Subverted: Ian expresses the depth of emotion and vulnerability which subverts the stereotype of men being emotionless 

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

Reinforced: Susan seems a bit frightened and anxious, reinforcing the stereotype that women are more reactive emotionally in stressful situations

Subverted: Barbara challenges the Doctor's decisions, subverting the stereotype that women are passive to men

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

Young: The number of questions Susan asks can be representative of young people increasingly questioning authority.

Old: The doctor portrays an older, wise and stubborn which is reflective of the old people in 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?

Doctor Who: An Unearthly Child features a lack of diversity/race/ethnicity which is not surprising as others would not be given the opportunity to do something significant like being an actor for a show which is due to society in the 1960s not being diverse and being against other races and ethnicity. In the recent series of Doctor Who, this is not the case as we see that the Doctor himself is now of colour which would not have been possible back then.

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

The middle class and upper is present in this episode whereas the lower is not.

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?