His Dark Materials: LIAR blog tasks

Language and close-textual analysis

1) How does His Dark Materials fit the conventions of the fantasy TV genre?
It has Daemons in it and also has multiple worlds in it which goes against reality.

2) Applying Propp's character theory, what character roles do some of the main characters in His Dark Materials fit into? 

Lyra Belacqua- Heroine

Mrs.Coulter- Villian

Lord Asriel Belacqua- Dispatcher

Lee Scoresby- Donor

Will Parry- Helper

3) What enigma and action codes (Barthes) can you find in His Dark Materials? Make specific, detailed reference to the text using media terminology (e.g. media language - camera shots, diegetic/non-diegetic sound, mise-en-scene etc.)
Mise-en-ecene is used when the Witches have ragged and black clothing to present them as evil.

4) What examples of binary opposition (Levi-Strauss) can you find in His Dark Materials? How do these create narrative or drama for the audience? You can find reminder notes on all these narrative theories here - just scroll down to narrative. 
Good and evil. Humans and Witches. Young and old

Representations

1) How are women represented in His Dark Materials? Are gender stereotypes reinforced or subverted? Think about Lyra and Mrs Coulter here.
Woman are represented as strong and powerful. This is a subverted stereotype because women are usually presented as weak and more reliant on men.

2) How are men and masculinity represented in His Dark Materials? Think about Will and Lee Scoresby here.
Men are shown as wise but more weaker the women. This is proven as Will and Lee are more of side characters in the series.

3) How is age (e.g. teenagers; adults) represented in His Dark Materials? Does the show reinforce or challenge stereotypes about young people? Think about Lyra and Will plus the abandoned children they meet. Also think about Mrs Coulter and other adults.
The older people such as the Withes and Mrs.Coutler are more violent and destructive whereas the younger generation are more thoughtful and carefree.

4) How is race and ethnicity represented in His Dark Materials? Are stereotypes reinforced or subverted?
Race and ethnicity is presented as equal.

5) What representations of the world can you find in the episode - is it like real life? A fantasy world? Something from the past or future? Give examples from the episode.
The world is not like real life as it is abandoned and has Daemons in it. The fantasy world is most likely set in the past.

Audience

1) What audience do you think His Dark Materials is aimed at and why? Think about demographic and psychographic groups. You can revise Pyschographics here.
His Dark Materials is mainly targeted to 12-17 year old as it has a moderate amount of violence while still having a plot that could be understood by teens. The psychographics would probably be people who enjoy fantasy.

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: Havin a pet could be like having a Daemon

Personal Relationships: The audience may be intrigued as to what what would happen to Lyra. Will she survive?

Diversion (Escapism): Fantasy world where you can have own little Damon that can talk to you.

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- When an intense scene happens, your heartbeat could start pacing up.

Vicarious- The scene where the Witch was being tortured creates a thrilling sensation.

Voyeuristic- The audience gets to see different world that aren't known to the people in the series.

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.
It improved in pacing and intimacy towards the characters. It also received 85% on rotten tomatoes which exceeds average.

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? 
The preferred reading is 

Industries

1) Which companies produced this His Dark Materials series?

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

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.

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.

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

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)?

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

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