Doctor Who: Language and Representation blog tasks

Language and contexts

1) Write a summary of the notes from our in-class analysis of the episode.

 

Camerawork and sound: In the opening intro for the show the pitch in the music gradually increases whilst it shows the the logo of the film

Mise-en-scene: People were wearing cloths from around the late 50's to 60's. The female students had a full face of make up whilst the male students looked like they were wearing work cloths

Narrative and genre: This is a science-fictional tv show which is about traveling through time with the help of the Tardis

 

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

Todorov's Equilibrium: At the beginning there was a disequilibrium when the teachers noticed that Susan was acting a bit strange, which led them to find out where she lived and they found the answers they were looking for.

Propp's character theory: The teachers are portrayed as the 

hero's & the doctor is seen as the "villain" which is odd since in the later episodes as seasons the doctor would be mandated to be the "hero" 

Barthes's enigma and action codes: the scene when the teachers are stuck in the Tardis  is an action code as they were trying to break out. an enigma code would be when Susan tells them about where her and the doctor really came from

 

Levi-Strauss's binary opposition: this happens when Susan and the teacher have An argument about whether the Tardis is real 

 

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

the most important scene in the episode is when the teacher exclaims to the doctor that "I walked all around it, you saw me". This is because it shows the confusion in the teacher since they will just not be able to understand or even comprehend what is going on. 

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

An Unearthly Child to me seems like a sci-fi tv show as it has elements of history however with some things such as multiple worlds and time travelling which connotes to me that this is a sci-fi show.

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

An unearthly child Reflects the social & historical contexts as white people having dominance over everyone else and children are known to be not smart enough to handle adult things well.

Representations

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

the stereotypes that are reinforced are that Men are smarter and can understand more things than women can in the 1960s. The stereotypes that are being subverted are that men are allowed to do whatever they want.

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

The rebelling teenagers stereotype is reinforced here as Susan has a tantrum about leaving the doctor but also Barbara seems so subvert some part of the stereotype that women were uneducated as she has a successful job as a teacher.

 

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

In 1963 older people were respected a lot and were seen to be wiser than the youth. And when the young people rebelled (which they didn't a lot) it was frowned upon. 

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?

There is no other race/ethnicity except for white people whereas now in Doctor who there are multiples races and also a woman doctor which shows how diverse the world is now.

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

Social class is represented ass men being the leaders and are dominant this is shown when the doctor pulls aside Ian to talk to him as he doesn't think Barbra could understand what he is trying to explain to them. Everyone in the episode is of the colour white which shows that here isn't much diversity in the casting choices at the time and people of colour didn't get picked over people that are white.