Doctor Who CSP:LIAR

 Language and Contexts

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

Todorov's Equilibrium: 

Ian and Barbara are living their normal lives as teachers at Coal Hill Schoo[

 

Propp's character theory: the hero is ian who is the action manas barbara share the protganist mantle

 

Barthes's enigma and action codes:

 

Levi-Strauss's binary opposition: 

 

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

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

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

Representations

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

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

3) How do the representations of young people and old people in An Unearthly Child reflect the social and historical context of 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? In the earthly child episode the representation of race is very limited ,In 1993  in the first episode of doctor who there was no diversity all the actors were white. Now it has been changed and now there is other characters who are no white in the show.

5) How is social class represented in An Unearthly Child? Think about how education and knowledge is presented in the episode .In the episode Unearthly Child Social class is represented through an hierarchy of knowledge and intelligence 

Audience

1) Who is the target audience for Doctor Who? Do you think it has changed since 1963? The target audience for Doctor Who is More of a Mainstream family Audience with broad appeal across ages (Traditionally 10-40+)

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 The viewers can relate to Ian and Barbara as they are ordinary people thrown into a crazy situation

 

Diversion (Escapism):The show offers an escape from the 1960s london

 

3) What additional Uses and Gratifications would this episode provide to a modern 2020s audience?

survelieance 

social interaction

4) Thinking of the 3 Vs audience pleasures (Visceral, Vicarious and Voyeuristic pleasures), which of these can be applied to An Unearthly Child?

voyeuristic-spying on susan and peeping 

5) What kind of online fan culture does Doctor Who have? Give examples.

cosplaying,fan creations,archiving 

Industries

1) What was the television industry like in 1963? How many channels were there?

In the 1963 there was only two channels to watch it was BBC and it was also ITV

2) How does An Unearthly Child reflect the level of technology in the TV industry in 1963?

The use of the tape music and also the stage style play and the handmade effects

3) Why is Doctor Who such an important franchise for the BBC? 

It is a spin off it has multiple copy shows 

4) What other programmes/spin-offs are part of the wider Doctor Who franchise?

-Sarah jane adventures

-class

-tourch wood

5) Why does the Doctor Who franchise have so much merchandise available? Give examples. 

The show has famous monster and gadgets that turn into toys