Doctor Who - LIAR: Bog task
1) How can we apply narrative theories to this episode of Doctor Who?
Todorov's Equilibrium:
Equilibrium: Susan is in her class packing up whilst her teachers speak of her inabilities in some subjects but also her impressive abilities in other subjects
Disequilibrium: Her teachers find out about the Doctor and the TARDIS and because they did so the doctor decides to get rid of them and drop them off on Earth during the stone age
New Equilibrium: They all end up in the stone age and now have to work together to fix the TARDIS and return home
Propp's character theory:
Villains: the teachers
Hero's: Susan
False Hero: Doctor
Barthes's enigma and action codes:
Who is the Doctor + the TARDIS travels to the stone age
Levi-Strauss's binary opposition:
The Doctor Vs Susan and her teachers
2) In your opinion, what is the most important scene in the episode and why?
the scene in which the teachers doctor and Susan are in the TARDIS as it shows all the characters together and gives us look at the TARDIS and its abilities for the first time
3) What genre is An Unearthly Child and how can you tell? Make specific reference to aspects of the episode.
Sci-Fi because the Doctor is an alien and the TARDIS is a time machine
4) How does An Unearthly Child reflect the social and historical contexts of the 1960s?
The 1960's was a period during the Cold war defined by especially the Space Race between The Soviet Union and America to see who will be the first ones in space and on the moon
Representations
1) What stereotypes of men are reinforced and subverted in Doctor Who: An Unearthly Child? How?
That men play leading roles such as the doctor but a subvert could be Ian, Susan's teacher who was nosy enough to follow Susan with Ms. Barbara
2) What stereotypes of women/girls are reinforced and subverted in Doctor Who: An Unearthly Child? How?
That women play roles that are below men such as Barbara who follows Ian a subvert of this could be Susan going against the doctors wishes
3) How do the representations of young people and old people in An Unearthly Child reflect the social and historical context of the 1960s?
For one Susan herself as the actress is an adult this is done due to the standards back then being that an old man couldn't be near a child (which is sort of true til this day)
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.
The 1960's was a period during the Cold war defined by especially the Space Race between The Soviet Union and America to see who will be the first ones in space and on the moon
Representations
1) What stereotypes of men are reinforced and subverted in Doctor Who: An Unearthly Child? How?
That men play leading roles such as the doctor but a subvert could be Ian, Susan's teacher who was nosy enough to follow Susan with Ms. Barbara
2) What stereotypes of women/girls are reinforced and subverted in Doctor Who: An Unearthly Child? How?
That women play roles that are below men such as Barbara who follows Ian a subvert of this could be Susan going against the doctors wishes
3) How do the representations of young people and old people in An Unearthly Child reflect the social and historical context of the 1960s?
For one Susan herself as the actress is an adult this is done due to the standards back then being that an old man couldn't be near a child (which is sort of true til this day)
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?
The maincast in mostly white thus highlighting that there was still racism and segregation during the period when referring to the media industry
In the Doctor who episode Education and Knowledge are presented as symbols of strength as the Doctor is a genius and therefore represented as a strong stern key figure
Audience
1) Who is the target audience for Doctor Who? Do you think it has changed since 1963?
Family friendly as both small kids and teens can watch though this has had a slight change as now only kids from 12 and up are allowed to watch
2) What audience pleasures are offered by Doctor Who - An Unearthly Child? Apply Blumler and Katz's Uses and Gratifications theory to the episode. Make sure you provide specific examples from the episode to support your ideas.
1) Who is the target audience for Doctor Who? Do you think it has changed since 1963?
Family friendly as both small kids and teens can watch though this has had a slight change as now only kids from 12 and up are allowed to watch
2) What audience pleasures are offered by Doctor Who - An Unearthly Child? Apply Blumler and Katz's Uses and Gratifications theory to the episode. Make sure you provide specific examples from the episode to support your ideas.
Personal Identity: As a young, modern character Susan acted as a role model for children and younger viewers embodying 1960s youth culture
Diversion (Escapism): The Mystery of what's gonna happen next
3) What additional Uses and Gratifications would this episode provide to a modern 2020s audience?
Fans who have been fans of the series for a while might find pleasure in watching their favourite series during its early stages forming a type of anemoia toward the series
4) Thinking of the 3 Vs audience pleasures (Visceral, Vicarious and Voyeuristic pleasures), which of these can be applied to An Unearthly Child?
Visceral: Excitement from the action and adventure
Vicarious: Experiencing space and time travel through the characters pov
Voyeuristic: observing private interactions like the doctor and Susan arguments
5) What kind of online fan culture does Doctor Who have? Give examples.
the fanbase of Doctor Who are called Whovians who carry fan fic, trailers and merchandise
Industries
1) What was the television industry like in 1963? How many channels were there?
There was only two channels BBC and iTV and everything was in black and white
2) How does An Unearthly Child reflect the level of technology in the TV industry in 1963?
Early use of video tape allowed for 'amazing' effect for its time
3) Why is Doctor Who such an important franchise for the BBC?
5) What kind of online fan culture does Doctor Who have? Give examples.
the fanbase of Doctor Who are called Whovians who carry fan fic, trailers and merchandise
Industries
1) What was the television industry like in 1963? How many channels were there?
There was only two channels BBC and iTV and everything was in black and white
2) How does An Unearthly Child reflect the level of technology in the TV industry in 1963?
Early use of video tape allowed for 'amazing' effect for its time
3) Why is Doctor Who such an important franchise for the BBC?
As it is a vital asset to BBC generating huge income from worldwide exports
4) What other programmes/spin-offs are part of the wider Doctor Who franchise?
The Sarah James adventures
5) Why does the Doctor Who franchise have so much merchandise available? Give examples.
Due to the series having gone by for a very long time for about almost 60 years it has built a big name for itself during this period and thus appeals to both young and older audiences
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?
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?
Read this Guardian feature 'Is Doctor Who doomed?' which contains lots of industry and audience context that will help us reach the top levels in exams.
Read this press statement from Disney+ regarding Doctor Who and their agreement with the BBC. What does this tell you about the global television industry?
Read this Guardian article about Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies and the possible end of the BBC. What does he say about it?
Read this New Statesman feature on Doctor Who as a global phenomenon. What does it suggest about Doctor Who fandom, British identity and the importance of the brand to the BBC?
Read this Guardian feature on the representations of race and ethnicity in Doctor Who over the last 55 years. How has the programme changed in its representations of race and how does this fit the BBC's remit to inform, educate and entertain?
Read this Guardian feature on the representations of race and ethnicity in Doctor Who over the last 55 years. How has the programme changed in its representations of race and how does this fit the BBC's remit to inform, educate and entertain?
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