Doctor Who: Language and Representation

 Social and Historical context

1) How does An Unearthly Child reflect the social and historical contexts of the 1960s? An Unearthly Child reflect the social contexts of the 1960s by having no representation of race in Doctor Who: An Earthly Child because all the characters are white. This is not surprising because racism was very common and normalised during the 1960s so it would be seen as odd if there wasn't a white person. By also having common stereotypes of old people that are reinforced from 1963 and Doctor Who are old people being shown as grumpy, cruel and not people you can along with which is shown in Doctor Who by making the Doctor be arrogant and rude and ignoring the characters. Whilst common stereotypes of young people that are reinforced from 1963 and Doctor Who are young people being shown as rebelling and immature which is shown by Doctor Who by making the Doctor call Susan "childish" after she argues with the Doctor. Finally by having gender stereotypes reinforced in Doctor Who: An Unearthly Child by in the scenes where Ian and the Doctor grapple each other when the TARDIS opens and when the Doctor electrocutes Ian reinforcing the stereotype of men being aggressive and violent in the 1960s. Also the stereotypes of men being heroes is being reinforced by showing Ian as the hero "saving" Susan who is shown as the `damsel in distress`. Plus the stereotypes of men being in power and superior is being reinforced by the Doctor ignoring Barbra and only talking to Ian.

2) How might audiences have felt towards science fiction in the 1960s? Audiences may have felt excited towards science fiction in the 1960s because it was something new talked about then. Plus audiences may have felt curious about the fascinating things about science fiction (aliens, different dimensions, spaceships and etc..) as people didn't know much about science fiction back then. Whilst some audiences may have felt anxious and frightened by the thought of science fiction in the 1960s because they may have wanted to make things stay normal and as science fiction was something some consumers may have thought as odd and out of the ordinary. 

Language and close-textual analysis

1) Choose three key moments in the episode and write an NCIS analysis for those clips. You can use your notes from the screening in class. Make specific, detailed references using media terminology (e.g. media language - camera shots, diegetic/non-diegetic sound, mise-en-scene etc.)

An Unearthly Child scene analysis: 

Narrative: Clip 1: 0:00-6:40 At the opening scene when the police officer suggests a crime and mystery drama and Doctor Who having mystery as a sub-genre is also shown with the mystery of Susan's address and not knowing where she lives. Enigma code - makes the audience want to keep watching.

Character: Clip 3: 10:00-13:00 Where the Doctor is first introduced he is shown as mysterious and seems to be a villain (Propp's character theory) and he is shown as stereotypical and a misogynistic when he ignores Doctor completely ignores Barbara and speaks only to Ian. This reinforces gender representations of the 1960s when women were seen as inferior to men.

Iconography: Clip 4: 13:00-19:40 Where the TARDIS is shown and White, minimalist, futuristic circles on walls, technology which looks like a spaceship so it links to the space race of the 1960s and with the control console in the middle with lots of levers and buttons. Plus the iconography is emphasised using camerawork (shots of TARDIS, close-ups on switches etc...) and the camera movement to show Ian and Barbara’s confusion.

Setting: Clip 1: 0:00-6:40 The junkyard which is foggy, dark and mysterious at the opening scene suggesting danger and threat. Plus the Science classroom with the blackboard in background and homework written on it and chemicals in classroom suggesting science-fiction genre. Finally the High school setting suggests there may be elements of high school drama or realistic/recognisable settings.

2) How does Todorov's theory of equilibrium apply to An Unearthly Child? Try and use the expanded version of Todorov's theory: Equilibrium - Disruption - Recognition - Reparation - New equilibrium. 

Todorov's theory of equilibrium applies to An Unearthly child by having a equilibrium which is they have solved the mystery of Susan's home; the disequilibrium now being provided by the teachers (Mr Ian Chesterton and Miss Barbra Wright) being trapped in the TARDIS. There isn't a new equilibrium as audiences had to tune in on the following Saturday to see how the show resolves and wait until the disruption is solved.

3) Applying Propp's character theory, what character roles do each of the main characters in An Unearthly Child fit into? Alternatively, you may wish to discuss how characters do not fit Propp's character types. 

Applying Propp's character theory the Doctor first appears mysterious and seems to be the villain; Susan seems to be the `damsel in distress` by seeming as if she is in trouble; Mr Ian Chesterton seeming to be the hero who is here to save Susan with Miss Barbara Wright who is the sidekick/helper.

4) What enigma and action codes (Barthes) can you find in An Unearthly Child? Make specific, detailed reference to the text using media terminology (e.g. media language - camera shots, diegetic/non-diegetic sound, mise-en-scene etc.)  

Near the end both a enigma code and action code is shown when the shadowy figure appears making the audience wonder who or what is the shadowy figure and the producers want the consumers to automatically think the shadow is a threat ready ti attack the TARDIS. Also when they arrive in the strange place threw the TARDIS being an enigma code by making the audience think where the character have gone and what place are the characters are at?

5) What examples of binary opposition (Levi-Strauss) can you find in An Unearthly Child? How do these create narrative or drama for the audience?

Examples of binary oppositions found in An Unearthly Child are Hero being Ian vs villain being the Doctor which creates a narrative for the audience by Ian having to escape from the Doctor and getting back to earth with Barbra and Susan. And old (Doctor) vs young (the teachers and Susan) making drama for the audience by making them wonder who will win the young or the old. 

Representations

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

Stereotypes of men are reinforced in Doctor Who: An Unearthly Child by in the scenes where Ian and the Doctor grapple each other when the TARDIS opens and when the Doctor electrocutes Ian reinforcing the stereotype of men being aggressive and violent in the 1960s. Also the stereotypes of men being heroes is being reinforced by showing Ian as the hero "saving" Susan who is shown as the `damsel in distress`. Plus the stereotypes of men being in power and superior is being reinforced by the Doctor ignoring Barbra and only talking to Ian.

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

Stereotypes of women/girls are reinforced in Doctor Who: An Unearthly Child is by showing women as being inferior to men by having the Doctor completely ignoring Barbra when she speaks and the Doctor only speaking to Ian and the stereotype of women being petrified and timid by having Barbra say "I'm frightened" and Susan being seen as a `damsel in distress` or a person who needs protection and saving from a man. However some stereotypes are being subverted by having Susan saying "I like walking in the dark" showing her as brave rather than weak and terrified.

3) What are common media stereotypes of young people and old people? Do any of the characters or scenarios reinforce or subvert these conventional stereotypes (consider this was 1963)? Common stereotypes of old people that are reinforced from 1963 and Doctor Who are old people being shown as grumpy, cruel and not people you can along with which is shown in Doctor Who by making the Doctor be arrogant and rude and ignoring the characters. Whilst common stereotypes of young people that are reinforced from 1963 and Doctor Who are young people being shown as rebelling and immature which is shown by Doctor Who by making the Doctor call Susan "childish" after she argues with the Doctor.

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 representation of race can not be found in Doctor Who: An Earthly Child because all the characters are white. This is not surprising because racism was very common and normalised during the 1960s so it would be seen as odd if there wasn't a white person. This has changed throughout the series by having characters with different race/ethnicity in Doctor Who. 

5) How is social class represented in An Unearthly Child? Think about how education and knowledge is presented in the episode. Social class represented in An Unearthly Child shown is middle class people being shown as knowledgeable as the characters shown are middle class and are smart which is a stereotype being subverted normally it is shown that rich people are the smart ones.