Narrative: Alien invasion & explosions.
Character: Bad guys & a hero, aliens & robots.
Iconography: Ships, lasers, guns, UFO's & space suits.
Setting: Space, other planets, other dimensions, other galaxies.
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.
The equilibrium is when the teachers are teaching normal students in a normal school & the disequilibrium would be when they meet a strange new student, Susan Foreman.
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.
By applying Propp's character theory you are able to see that Susan Foreman is seen as the princess because she's a 'damsel in distress' as she's upset because her teachers are trapped, Ian Chesterton can be seen as a hero figure because he takes lead of the situation and tries to find a way to get out of the TARDIS & Doctor Who is the villain because he's the one who had trapped the teachers inside of the TARDIS nad won't let them go. He also electrocutes Ian as he tries to find a way to escape the TARDIS.
The enigma & action codes is about where the time machine is 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?
The stereotype of men reinforced in Doctor Who's An Unearthly Child is that men are stronger than women and that they are see as more important especially when it comes to saving people (mainly women and kids).
2) What stereotypes of women/girls are reinforced and subverted in Doctor Who: An Unearthly Child? How?
The stereotype of women reinforced in Doctor Who's An Unearthly Child is that women are just there on the side lines. They are seen as stupid and people with no power at all, they are the ones who put themselves and others in danger.
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 was 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 were 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's no representation of ethnic minorities at all (no different cultures).
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. 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.
Characters in this episode probably belong to a middle-class society.
1) Who is the target audience for Doctor Who? Has it changed since 1963?
The target audience for Doctor Who in the 1960s appears to be middle-class Caucasian people. But now, Doctor Who covers a wide spread audience from lots of different backgrounds and is more aimed towards the general public in terms of family audiences and is now in colour rather than black & white.
2) What audience psychographic groups might particularly enjoy Doctor Who?
The psychographic groups that may enjoy Doctor Who is the Aspirer & the Mainstream.
An Unearthly Child offers many audience pleasures such as relationships, identity, diversion etc. They offer personal identity because of Susan, our target audience should be able to relate to her because she's a teenage student but surveillance is used because she's smart for her age, for example when Susan reads that book she says "well that isn't right". They also use diversion when they step into the TARDIS and it takes them to a fictional place & the relationships links to Susan and her grandfather.
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?
Visceral Pleasures:
Vicarious Pleasures:
Voyeuristic Pleasures:
Industries
1) What was the television industry like in 1963? How many channels were there?
The TV industry was very small in 1963.
There was only two channels back then, one was the BBC and the other was ITV.
2) Why is Doctor Who such an important franchise for the BBC?
Doctor Who is such an important franchise for the BBC because its been going on for many years which shows that its been a success, this also means that people from all over the world watch it so therefore they sell Doctor Who to lots of countries around the world to accumulate profit. As well as this they make toys and many more products to sell.
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?
The BBC is funded by a licence fee, which is charged by all British households, companies & organisations using any type of equipment to receive or record live television broadcasts and iPlayer catch-ups.
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 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 that 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.
