Doctor Who: An Unearthly Child blog tasks

Doctor Who: An Unearthly Child blog tasks

Language and close-textual analysis

Narrative:
Two Teachers are worried about a student by the name of Susan, she performs well in class however her grades slipped and when they find out about her address they find a junk yard that is supposed to be where Susan lives. The teachers follow up through this and decide to investigate and take matters to their own hands.

Character:

Ian Charleston(teacher) , Barbara Wright(teacher) , Susan(student) and The Doctor.

Iconography:

At the beginning of the episode, during the title sequence, there is a series of robotic synthesised sounds for the intro song. As the episode goes along there are many references to time and space such as when they walk into the TARDIS and the shiny silver outfit that Susan is wearing that is associated with space and the future.

Setting:

set in a school which establishes normality after opening title sequence. Also the  Junkyard gives off initial sense of unsettlement as certain strange items are focused on

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.

In 'An Unearthly Child', the equilibrium begins in school when the students are talking to each other and Susan finishes her lesson waiting for her teacher whilst listening to music and dancing. The disruption begins when the teachers are talking about their worry for Susan and how she is living domestically and how she does not know the basics as a teenager should. Then the recognition is when the teachers see Susans grandfather and realise Susan is inside the police box and they enter the TARDIS where they find susan. The reparation is the teachers are trapped inside the TARDIS and the doctor makes a choice of bringing the teachers along with him because he doesn't trust humans . The new equilibrium is when they land the TARDIS lands in the middle of a past time and a caveman is in the corner of the screen

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.

Hero-Susan saves heroines from The Doctor as he traps her as well as the teachter in the TARDIS.
Heroines-The teachers as they are getting abducted.
Villain-Dr who

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.)

The enigma/action codes are that where is this time machine taking them are they going to be safe why is Susan grandfather doing this. is his intentions good or bad. 

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?

Light vs Dark =Inside TARDIS vs outside in Junk yard.
Evil vs good= The Doctor vs Susan and her teachers.

Representations

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

Stereotype of men are reinforced when the Doctor is head of Susan , enforces stereotype of men being in charge of females and connoting that females have a little power-play . The scene was first made In 1963 where women were seen as domesticated at that time .

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

The stereotypes of girls wearing short skirts in the 1960s are reinforced in An Unearthly child as Susan is shown wearing a knee length skirt in the Tardis. This could relate to the audience and get a feel on what Susan’s personality is like. 

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)? Has this changed in more recent series of Doctor Who?

Common media stereotypes of young people in 1963 are that they were quite gossipy and were into things such as going out together with friends. With old people, stereotypes back then were things like old people people grumpy and rude.

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 representation of ethnic minorities at all, no different culture. The ensemble cast are all represented as white individuals in the unearthly child. This is not surprising since in 1963's people of different ethnic groups were not chosen to be in casts yet white people were. This has changed in the most recent series of doctor who because the cast is diverse and they have a female police officer and a friend that is black.

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

Characters in this episode probably belong to a middle-class society. 

Audience
1) Who is the target audience for Doctor Who? Has it changed since 1963?
 The target audience for Doctor Who in the 60s appears to be middle-class Caucasian people, specifically families. Now, Doctor Who is still aimed at a family audience, however it covers a lot more ethnic (and other types of) representation and is aimed more towards the general public in terms of family audiences and it is in colour rather then black and white.

2) What audience psychographic groups might particularly enjoy Doctor Who?
Audience psychographic groups that may enjoy Doctor Who include: the Aspirer and the Mainstream


3) What audience pleasures are offered by 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:
Susan relates to target audience of teenage students.
Personal Relationships:
 Relationship between Susan and her Grandfather.
Diversion (Escapism):
When they find space ship , takes you away from reality and brings you to a fictional environment.

Surveillance (Information / Facts): Certain pieces of historically accurate information given during flashbacks of Susan in her classroom.

4) What additional Uses and Gratifications would this episode provide to a modern 2018 audience?
Show is classic/retro, Whovians in 2018 would see it as a rarity/collectable.

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

Vicarious pleasures can be applied to Doctor Who because the audience (Whovians) can imagine that they are travelling through space in time through the characters of the Doctor and Susan.

Industries
1) What was the television industry like in 1963? How many channels were there?
There was only 2 channels: BBC and ITV.

2) Why is Doctor Who such an important franchise for the BBC? 
It is important Because it is one of the biggest attractions for the BBC and is known worldwide.

3) How does Doctor Who meet the BBC's mission statement to 'inform, educate and entertain'?
 Doctor Who meets the 'inform, educate, entertain' pledge as it offers factual historical information and action/drama/science fiction for the audience.
4) How is the BBC funded?
By TV licence.

5) Who regulates the BBC and what is the watershed?
The BBC was self-regulated until 2017 when OffCom started regulating it.

Social and Historical context
1) How does An Unearthly Child reflect the social and historical contexts of the 1960s?
The narrative that involves The Doctor and his companions travelling 100,000 years into Earth's past to help some caveman discover fire. This also links to many other events that happened in the 1960s for example in 1961- first man in space.

2) How might audiences have felt towards science fiction in the 1960s?
I think most of the  audience might have felt interested and excited towards science fiction in 1960s but the other half of the audience not as enthusiastic because 1960's Britain was an area in change and culture.