His Dark Materials: Audience and Industries

 Audience

1) What audience do you think His Dark Materials is aimed at and why? Think about demographic and psychographic groups. You can revise Psychographics here.

2) What audience pleasures are offered by His Dark Materials - The City of Magpies? 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: people who enjoy fantasy would like the show and also a younger audience mainly female.

Personal Relationships: By having lin manuel mirander in the show he would be bring his fans with him meaning that some fans would already have a personal relationship with him  

Diversion (Escapism): diversion is provided through the fantasy genre as people will be seeing things you wouldnt usually see in the real world. 

3) Thinking of the 3 Vs audience pleasures (Visceral, Vicarious and Voyeuristic pleasures), which of these can be applied to His Dark Materials? Refer to specific scenes or moments in the episode to explain your answer. 

visceral: visceral pleasure is provided during the scene where the witch is being torture. the audience gets to experience a sense of anxiety as they wonder whether or not the witch will be saved from Mrs coulter or not.

vicarious: the audience get to feel a sense of vicariousness as they watch the good witch save the witch who is being tortured from Mrs coulter. they get to watch the witches fly through the sky and also get into a fight with the magisterium providing a sense of anticipation.

voyeuristic: the audience get voyeuristic through watching the magisterium meeting and seeing a meeting between such powerful men and seeing a decision be made when they wouldn't usually see it considering the fact that the magisterium represents the government

4) How did fans react to Season 2 of His Dark Materials? What about critic reviews? You can find some possible answers for this in this BBC website article on the critical reception for His Dark Materials and watch the fan reaction video above.

From what was seen on most social media platforms some people thought the show lacked the magic element that was there in season 1 however overall most people enjoyed it.


5) What might be some of the preferred and oppositional readings for His Dark Materials? Why did some fans love it? Why have other people criticised it? 

preferred: most people like it and enjoy the show, they are on lyras side and will carry on watching the show to find out if lyra gets to safety

oppositional: people don't like the show, they think the acting is bad and that the opening episode was boring and lacked the magic element that sci-fi/fantasy should have.

Industries

1) Which companies produced this His Dark Materials series?

bad wold in association with new line cinema for bbc1 and hbo.

2) What were the UK viewing figures for A City of Magpies? How did this compare to season 1 of His Dark Materials?

the launch of the first episode had 4.4 million views and season one episode one had 7.2 million viewers meaning that they lost viewers after season 1.

3) What was American network HBO's role in making His Dark Materials and why is this important? Look at the notes above for more on this.

it allowed the bbc to produce a top quality, high budget fantasy series. by collaborating with an American company gives them the chance to target a wider audience. and get more viewers.

4) What famous stars are in His Dark Materials and why do you think they were selected for the show? Watch the Comic Con panel video in the notes above to see the stars talking about the show.

James McAvoy was selected to be in the series as Lord aisrael. He was the face of a big hit movie names "split" meaning that he already had a fanbase attached to him that he could bring with him to his dark materials. They had Lin-Manuel Miranda who is a songwriter and actor who stared in a hit musical "Hamilton". He was probably picked to

be cast as he has also got a large fan-base and fans that would watch something just because he was in it.

5) Who are Bad Wolf and what do they produce?

They're a British tv production company known for their high end drama series.

Comparison: Doctor Who - An Unearthly Child and His Dark Materials - The City of Magpies

1) How are the technical conventions different between 1963 Doctor Who and 2020 His Dark Materials (e.g. camerawork, editing, sound and mise-en-scene)?

In doctor who the camera work was very slow and clunky. The acting is also very bad. It’s over exaggerated and it’s clear they were on a low budget. In his dark materials you can see the it had a higher budget not just because of the great use of CGI but also because of the well known actors they have got. The difference in sound is also very noticeable as you can clearly hear very word being said in his dark materials whereas in dr who some conversations are unclear.

2) What similarities and differences are there between Doctor Who and His Dark Materials in terms of genre and narrative?

Both shows have aspects of travelling from one universe/town to another. They both follow the journey of a young girl who is seen as clever and strong. They also both have some sport of discover in them: the teachers discovering the TARDIS and Will and Lyra discovering the Spectors. They both have basic aspects of fantasy and genre.


3) How are representations of people, places and groups similar or different in the two shows?

Representations of men are different in both shows. This is clear where Will is the one who is seen to be more calm and collected than Lyra where she acts out and is more aggressive. Will is presented as domesticated and kind unlike the men in dr who who’re controlling and dominant. Women in his dark materials are also represented as strong and capable unlike how in dr who they’re weak and reliable on the protection of men.

Dr who Language and Representations

 Language and contexts

1) Write a summary of the notes from our in-class analysis of the episode. You can use your own notes from the screening in class or this Google document of class notes (you'll need your GHS Google login). 

Camerawork and sound: non-diegetic music, clunky camera work, Tardis hum to create suspense, different camera angles. 

Mise-en-scene: susan is a typical teenager wearing typical 60s clothes and listening to music on a mix tape. setting is a junkyard. Lighting - dark/shadows. Creates mysterious, tense atmosphere. 

Narrative and genre:  Opening title sequence like a rocket taking off - sci-fi genre and links to 1960s space race. Enigma code: Police Box / TARDIS. “It’s alive!” Action code: some kind of conflict/threat linked to TARDIS.

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

Todorov's Equilibrium: everything was fine at the beginning of the episode before they met the doctor and blasted out of earth.

Propp's character theory: the doctor is the villain and Ian is a false hero because he fails to save Susan

Barthes's enigma and action codes: there is an enigma code at the end when the Tardis takes of and the audience is left in suspense to find out where they went and an action code when the teachers go inside the junkyard.

Levi-Strauss's binary opposition: old v young, light v dark, alien v human 

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

the most important scene in the episode is when Susan and the doctor talk about time travel because it confirms the teachers suspicions of Susan being abnormal.

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

An unearthly child is a sci-fi. The genre is reinforced through things like the non-diagetic music that plays when the doctor is around or when the TARDIS is on camera. 

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

Susanne is wearing a typical outfit a girl in the 60s would wear. The TARDIS is also a police box which is appropriate for the time considering how common they were in that era. The acting and camera work in the episode is quite choppy and bad. It shows how low budget the show is representing what it was like to make shows in the 60s

Representations

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

 men are represented as strong and dominant where they take control over situations and handle them. This is clearly shown when the doctor dismisses Barbara and speaks to Ian instead. It’s also shown when they’re driving to Susan’s house and Ian is in the drivers seat which is an old represents an old stereotype that men should be the ones to drive. However in the episode its shown that Susanne is smarter than Ian which comes as a surprise considering that in those times women were less knowledgeable.

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

Susan subverts the stereotype that men are smarter than Walden but the idea that women are weak and need to rely on men is consistently reinforced. It’s clearly shown where in the junkyard Ian protects barbra and Barbara is constantly seeking reassurance from Ian. She’s also perceived as very emotional where Ian is more careless and unbothered. 

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

In the 60s when describing what a grandfather was most people would say a grumpy old man which is exactly what the doctor is made to be in the first episode. Children were also represented as less clever and immature. The teachers also call Susan childish along with her grandfather who tells her to stop acting like a child. 

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 episode there is no sign of any person of colour. This is very unsurprising considering the 1960s was a time where racism was very common. However as the series has progressed they have introduced Ncuti Gatwa as the first Black Doctor. This shows the show is moving forward when it comes to inclusivity.

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

The education looks to be normal as Susan is given homework and borrows books from teachers like a normal student would. Everyone is also middle-class which represents the economy in the 1960s.

Introduction to TV Drama

 1) How does this His Dark Materials trailer meet the conventions of a TV drama series?

it is sci-fi and made to entertain.

2) What genre (or genres) are suggested by this His Dark Materials trailer?

sci-fi, fantasy, adventure.

3) What kind of characters and narratives are introduced in this trailer?

a runaway, villain and hero

4) What settings appear in the trailer?

forests labs and cities

5) Who do you think the target audience for His Dark Materials is? Give reasons for your answer.

 

i think the audience for his dark materials is family because the show comes on at 8pm and the main characters are teenagers