TV: Class - Co-owner of a Lonely Heart blog tasks

Language and close-textual analysis

1)
Narrative:
In Co-owner of a Lonely Heart, there are multiple narratives. One includes the connection between April and Corikinus -  the king of the shadow kin. Another includes flower petals that feed off blood and multiply endlessly. In the Underneath, one of Corakinus' followers tries to cut the link between April and Corakinus but ends up making the bond stronger so he is killed by Corakinus.  April then realizes she can now summon swords like a shadow kin. April has an outburst in class and Ram finds her near her locker after she had broken it in anger.  He takes her home and they end up having sex in April's bedroom. Corakinus is linked to April and so also has sex with Kharrus, one of his subjects who is helping him. April's mum catches them and discusses what had just happened. Ram leaves and April is about to go after him but meets her father outside. Her father had just been let out of prison for nearly killing April and her mum in the car accident/ suicide attempt that had left her mother paralyzed. April becomes mad and two swords appear in her hands. She threatens her father with them in a fit of rage. Ram comes back to calm her down and she lets her father go. Corakinus and Aprils minds connect and she now knows where he is and goes on a quest to find him. The episode ends on an enigma as the audience is unsure whether or not she defeats Corakinus. Ram goes after her. The other narrative revolves more around Ms. Ames, Miss Quill, Charlie, and Matteusz. Charlie shows Mattuesz the 'cabinet of souls'. Later on, he reveals that it can wipe out an entire race and bring back an entire race in the hands of a hero. Miss Quill overhears this and becomes infuriated with Charlie because he was able to wipe out the shadow-kin this whole time. Ms Ames meets with Miss Quill and reveals that she knows her true identity and Charlie's and that she is able to remove the animal in Miss Quill's head that stops her from using a weapon and she warns her about the invasion of the flower petals that have come from a bum hole of space and time and have the capability of wiping out the human race.

Character: 
April is presented to be the hero character type because she goes to the Underneath to fight against Corakinus. Ram is made out to be a false hero as he follows her. Ram and April's romantic relationship is developed through Ram being there to comfort April and their sex scene. Charlie and Matteusz' relationship is tested when Charlie reveals the cabinet of souls to him as Matteusz questions Charlie's morality. April's relationship with her mother is the stereotypical relationship between a teenager and a parent shown in teen dramas. This is shown by April's mum telling her off for having sex with Ram. When April is enraged by her father though, she seems very protective of her mother, switching the traditional roles of a parent and a child. April's dad is presented as a villain in some scenes because he creates the disequilibrium in the episode when April reunites with him outside of Ram's car. However, it is later shown that he only had pure intentions.

Iconography: 
The flower petals on the dead squirrel and April's eyes glowing orange when Corakinus takes over. The flower petals emphasize the horror genre and April's eyes changing color are a convention of Sci-Fi.

setting:
The camera is constantly moving to catch the audience's attention at every moment even though in most scenes there was only a single shot instead of multiple. There is cross-cutting between April and Corakinus in their sex scenes to show the link between them and the effect of sharing a heart with April has on Corakinus.


2)The equilibrium is April sharing a heart with Corakinus because this is a normalized plot point by episode 4. The disruption is when April comes into contact with her father after he has been released from prison because he enrages her. It could also be Charlie introducing Matteusz to the cabinet of souls. It could also be when April's dad returns and she threatens him with swords. The recognition is when April doesn't hurt him. The new equilibrium is not shown but it will be in the second half of the two-parter.


3)Ms. Ames is the father figure character because she gives Miss Quill important information and offers to help her get the animal out of her head. (i wrote more about subversion and reinforcement in question 1).



4)Action codes are created using a variety of diegetic and non-diegetic sound. An example of an action code created by diegetic sound is when April says 'he knows where I am' an example of Action codes with non-diegetic sound would be the dramatic music that is used to increase the suspense and to build up to the next episode. Enigma codes are created by the episode's unanswered questions like whether or not April will get her heart back or if the petals will take over the earth.



5)There is binary opposition -humans v aliens- this is shown between the cross-cutting between April and Corakinus to show that although they share a heart, they are actually very different. Another example of binary opposition would be between adults v teenagers, this is shown when April and her mum are arguing about her relationship with Ram.


Representations
1)Ms. Ames subverts stereotypes as she is a knowledgeable head teacher who informs Miss Quill (who also subverts stereotypes as a strong fighting woman) about the dangers of the flowers and that she can get the animal out of her head. April goes on a quest to save her own heart with her newly obtained power of summoning swords on command without relying on the help of a man to help her therefore also subverting the general female stereotype. The stereotype of men is subverted by Ram and his dad's open and loving relationship.

2)The representation of adults in the media is reinforced by April's mum telling off her daughter for being irresponsible by having sex with Ram. The representation of teenagers is subverted because they are responsible, for example, April doesn't want revenge on her father when she threatens him with swords and fights Corakinus' influence.



3)The stereotypes of race are subverted because Ram's dad is an Indian Sikh man and he has a trusting relationship with his son. Matteusz is a Polish man and subverts stereotypes because he is against Charlie using violence to bring back the Rhodians.



4)Matteusz and Charlie are in a homosexual relationship which is regarded as completely ordinary by the other characters, this reflects the diverse nature of modern-day Britain. Also because Matteusz is gay and his family are overly Christian and do not accept him.


5)April's mum is paralyzed from the waist down and uses a wheelchair but she is portrayed as a stereotypical parent when she is scolding April. This is also emphasized by her saying "Don't let this chair fool you, if you hurt her, I will kill you." This shows that her protective maternal instincts are still there although her disability hinders her slightly. Disabled people are under-represented and one of BBC3's mottos is to reflect modern-day Britain which is a diverse place so Class addresses this by having a disabled character.



Audience
1)Less than 5% of the TV audience watched Class when it aired. It did badly because it was created for an audience that doesn't exist. It is a Dr. Who spin-off, Dr. Who is aimed at a family audience so adults over 30 and children under 13. Class has explicit, violent and sexual content that Dr. Who's family audience could not watch. It aired at 11.30 pm on weekdays on BBCOne when their teenage audience would be asleep to prepare for school.

2)Reformers may enjoy Class because it has representations of groups that are often underrepresented or misrepresented in the media. 

3)
Personal Identity:
There are lockers that are a representation of American school lockers to appeal to the American audience. There is a normal school setting which the Whovians can relate to because the target audience is 15-22 so they are either still in school or have recently left it. 

Personal relationships:
More is revealed about April's background so the audience may gain an attachment to her character because they may empathize with having parents that are not together or having a bad relationship with one of their parents and so they may gain a relationship for her character. 

Diversion (Escapism):
The world of the Underneath, the Shadow Kin, the Rhodians, and the Quill and travel into space and time that is created in Class is a completely immersive world that can help the audience escape from the boredom of everyday life.


4)There are visceral pleasures created when April summons the shadow swords because it creates an action code (Barthes enigma and action codes).


5)The Whovians did not react well to Class because Dr. Who has on an episodic narrative that is ended at the end of the episode or the two-parter so even casual fans can enjoy an episode. This episode of Class, however, has a multi-strand narrative where some narratives take priority over others. The Cabinet of Souls and Matteusz questioning Charlie's morality and the killer flowers are all sidelined by April trying to win back her heart from Corakinus.



Industries
1)To inform, educate and entertain its young audience.


2)BBC3's target audience - 15-34-year-olds - do not watch live or traditional television anymore. They watch things on demand via streaming services like Netflix and Prime.


3)'Class' is a diverse programme, in episode 4, we learn more about April's mum's paralysis but we also learn that it doesn't change who she is which shows the audience about the lives of people with disabilities. 'Class' has little educational value but it does provide the audience pleasure of diversion or entertainment because the world of the underneath, killer flowers and the cabinet of souls are totally indoctrinating. 



5)The trailer pushed the link with the Whoniverse which did not feature heavily in Class (excluding the Doctor's appearance in the pilot and few references to the Doctor throughout the series). 

TV: Doctor Who - An Unearthly Child blog tasks

Language and close-textual analysis

An Unearthly Child

Narrative:

Doctor Who: An Unearthly Child, at the start, follows a police narrative enigma with flashbacks of unusual situations that the character of Susan gets into. There are repeated references to the police when the teachers, Ian and Barbara, meet the Doctor and believe that he has kidnapped their student Susan who had recently walked into the junkyard. When they all enter the TARDIS ( Time And Relative Dimensions In Space)there is a use of dialogue to create a division between the Doctor and Susan- who are aliens- and Ian and Barbara- who are humans- to show how Susan and the Doctor have a higher intelligence and understanding of life and the universe than Ian and Barbara. The episode ends on a cliffhanger possibly foreshadowing time-travel in the next episode.

Character:
There are only 4 named characters in this episode: Doctor Who, an alien scientist who looks like a human, Susan the alien scientist's granddaughter who also looks like a human, Ian a human scientist teacher and Barbara a human history teacher. In this episode Doctor Who seems to be the anti-hero as he is shown to deliberately harm the teacher and is thought by the teachers to have kidnapped Susan.

Iconography: At the beginning of the episode, during the title sequence, there is a series of robotic synthesized 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: The beginning of the episode is set in a normal school but then moves into a junkyard as this is possibly a reference to the horror genre. Most of the scenes in the school were set in the science lab which is a feature of sci-fi. The TARDIS is then the next location which defies physics as it's bigger on the inside and has a lot of new looking technology which are features of the sci-fi genre. We finally end up in a new deserted setting possibly foreshadowing time-travel in the next episode. 


2) Equilibrium- In school normality is evident with normal teachers and a brilliant student

Disruption- When the teachers the Doctor and it seems as though Susan has been kidnapped

Recognition-When the teachers realize that Susan is in the TARDIS in the junkyard

Reparation-When the teachers enter the TARDIS and realize it is not a kidnapping

New Equilibrium- There is no new equilibrium.



3) In this episode, the Doctor is an anti-hero character because he is made unlikable by not co-operating with Ian and Barbara and looks down on everyone as though they were inferior. Susan is the princess character as she seems as though she needs to be saved from the Doctor when the teachers think that she is being kidnapped. Barbara is the helper/ sidekick character as she is sidelined by the Doctor but does assist Ian in saving Susan, this plays into the stereotypical gender roles of the 60s. Ian is the hero character as he is the one who wants to save Susan.  


4) Susan has a shiny silver vest and trousers, this shows that she is from the future as she is wearing a stereotypically male costume in a time with very traditional gender expectations (girls wear only skirts and dresses while boys wear trousers). When the doctor is introduced, there are low angled shots to make him seem more powerful.

5) Young and old is an example of binary opposition in Doctor Who: An Unearthly Child. This is shown with Susan and the Doctor. Susan is only worried about whether or not she will still be able to attend school however the doctor is concerned about Ian and Barbara spreading their identities. Another example of this is gender. Male and female are shown by Barbara and Ian, while Ian is physically confronting the issue the way a stereotypical man would, Barbara goes inside the TARDIS to look for Susan.



Representation

 1) Men are presented as brave and strong through the character of Ian, who is desperately trying to save Susan. Men are also presented as intelligent, this is evident when the Doctor states that Ian and Barbara could never understand the wonders of space and time. It is also evident when we find out that Ian is a science teacher.

2) The characters of Barbara and Susan are treated as though they were ignorant and inferior. The Doctor only refers to Ian, using the term 'young man' to show that he didn't even consider Barbara as being any sort of threat to him at all. At the beginning of the episode, Susan seems to be the focus of the narrative but later on, she is being told off by her grandfather and made to look powerless. When explaining space and time, the doctor seemed to be the main fountain of knowledge and Susan was only his underling. However, from the short flashbacks, it is clear to see that Susan is really intelligent which subverts female stereotypes of that time alongside Barabara being a History teacher.


3) The stereotype of young people at the time was that they were interested in current trends which are reinforced by Susan's character as she is fashion-forward, wearing trousers in some scenes and is listening to pop music in the classroom. However, the stereotypes of old people of that time were that they were wise and insightful while being angry and hostile. This is reinforced through the character of the Doctor.


4) All of the actors in An Unearthly Child are white, this is not surprising as there were not many acting opportunities for people of a diverse background in the 60s. Gender roles are very binary as Ian is the main hero and Barbara just helps him and is sidelined in most exchanges with the Doctor through the repeated phrase of 'Young man' used by Hartnell.


5) Education is an important middle-class value, the fact that Susan dreams of an education when her grandfather tries to stop her from going. Her teachers also admire her genius and are willing to help her so that she can make something of herself which is also an important middle-class value - to get a future through education rather than labour work.



Audience

1) I believe that the target audience for Doctor Who was and always will be a mainstream family audience. In 1963, there were only 2 channels available, the BBC and ITV so Doctor Who had to attend to a wide audience. Nowadays, although some episodes have elements of the horror genre, there is no explicit sexual content in Doctor Who or gory violence so viewing times for Doctor Who are before the watershed and so children can watch it along with their parents.


2) Mainstreamers, as it can be watched by the entire family and explorers because in the 60s Science Fiction was a relatively new genre and may not have gone down well initially by everyone because people are often standoffish when it comes to change.

3) Personal Identity: A normal school setting is used because everyone is either experiencing or has experienced school life.

Personal Relationships: The Doctor is made to be an unlikable character so the audience may love to hate him, Susan is an innocent child who is being mistreated by her grandfather so the audience may feel sympathy and keep watching to see what happens to her.

Diversion (Escapism): Living in a fictional world with the TARDIS and time travel is far more interesting than the normality and routine nature of everyday life.

Surveillance (Information / Facts): The decimal system is mentioned along with other historical developments. Barbara is also a history teacher and time travel is hinted at by the cliffhanger at the end.

4) Nostalgia could be part of the uses and Gratifications as our parents or grandparents may remember the initial release of this episode.

5) 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) There were only 2 TV channels in England in 63 which were ITV and the BBC.


2) Doctor Who brings together different kinds of BBC fans, different ages because it is a long-running family show so both younger and older people would have an attachment to it and different demographic groups because it is aimed at a mainstream audience.


3)  When the Doctor and his companions travel back in time, they educate the audience about the past. Doctor Who is an entertaining franchise because it gives the audience pleasure of diversion as living in a world of the TARDIS and travel in space and time is something people use to escape their everyday lives.

4) The BBC is funded by the annual TV license in which every TV owner has to pay for the right to watch TV in England without being fined or imprisoned.



5) The BBC was self-regulated until 2017 when OffCom started regulating it. The watershed is that, after 9:00pm, there can be more uncensored and sexually explicit content to protect children when they are channel surfing.