Doctor Who: Language and Representations

 Language and contexts

1) Write a summary of the notes from our in-class episode analysis. You can use your own notes from the screening in class. 

Camerawork and sound: Low quality camerawork, however, great sound and visual effects.

Mise-en-scene: casual 1960s clothing, sci-fi settings, use of various props.

Narrative and genre: Susan's teachers are curious about what she does after school. They follow her and meet with her in the TARDIS. However, the Doctor doesn't like this and traps them with him. 

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: The Doctor is the villain, and Susan seems to be the protagonist.

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: old vs young with the Doctor and Ian

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

In my opinion, the most important scene is when they are travelling in the TARDIS.

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

Sci-fi. This is because of the use of space and time in the episode.

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

Gender representation and diversity in the episode. The episode was also when the 1960s space race happened.


Representations

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

Barbara comes to Ian for help and Ian leads Barbara into the junkyard. 

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

Susan is very smart at times, but also very dumb. 

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

Adults are represented as curious by the characters of Barbara, Ian, and grumpy by the character of The Doctor. However, young people are represented as social by the teenagers we see at the beginning of the episode.

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 diversity in the episode as it was made in the 1960s. In my opinion, I am not surprised by this.

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

All characters in the episode are middle-class. This isn't surprising as the majority of the Doctor Who audience was middle-class.