His Dark Materials: LIAR
Blog tasks
- Lyra Belacqua - main protagonist
- Mrs. Coulter - the villain
- Lord Asriel Belacqua - another villain(?)
- Lee Scoresby - related to protagonist
- Will Parry - side character
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.)
one example is the complexity and difference between Ms coulter and lyra's lifestyle
Representations
1) How are women represented in His Dark Materials? Are gender stereotypes reinforced or subverted? Think about Lyra and Mrs Coulter here.
they are shown to be strong, brave and clever with high ranking positions. this subverts the gender stereotypes
2) How are men and masculinity represented in His Dark Materials? Think about Will and Lee Scoresby here.
men are shown to be more responsible, kinder and somewhat inferior despite their high rankings. this somewhat subverts the stereotypes
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.
age is shown through the maturity based on how old they are ( lyra acts more quickly and is usually a bit more emotional than the others. Ms Coulter is more calm and collected and has a colder personality than the others
4) How is race and ethnicity represented in His Dark Materials? Are stereotypes reinforced or subverted?
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.
they aim for audiences around 15- 40 in age that are interested in fantasy - action genres
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: lyra finding out more about her family and pastPersonal Relationships: her new friend she made, her daemon
Diversion (Escapism): fantasy world with supernatural elements
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- offer thrilling and tension heavy plots for the audience to connect to
Vicarious- getting to experience some of the characters' personal problems second hand
Voyeuristic- getting a peek in lyra's life and how she deals with issues in the world around her
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.
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?
due to ambitiously controversial topics, His Dark Materials faced an extreme amount of backlash for the audience. few of the major controversies were the representation of religion and the portrayal of god.
Industries
1) Which companies produced this His Dark Materials series?
by the HBO and the BBCs
2) What were the UK viewing figures for A City of Magpies? How did this compare to season 1 of His Dark Materials?
the episode of 'City of Magpies' reached around 4.4 million views in the UK
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.
they were in charge of aspects such as the co- production and funding and global distribution.
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
the producers selected highly recognisable actors such as Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ruth Wilson and James McAvoy
5) Who are Bad Wolf and what do they produce?
an acclaimed, Cardiff-based television production company founded in 2015 by former BBC executives Jane Tranter and Julie Gardner. some major productions they have been a part of was Doctor Who and His Dark Materials
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)?
1963 Doctor Who shot on bulky studio cameras, the camerawork is strictly functional and static whereas 2020 His Dark Materials utilizes single-camera setups and high-end digital cinematography. The camera is highly fluid, using Steadicams, drones, and jib arms.
2) What similarities and differences are there between Doctor Who and His Dark Materials in terms of genre and narrative?
Doctor Who is an episodic sci-fi series with a constantly changing lead, whereas His Dark Materials is a serialized coming-of-age fantasy epic with a fixed, overarching narrative
3) How are representations of people, places and groups similar or different in the two shows?
Both Doctor Who and His Dark Materials explore the complexities of humanity, authority, and diverse worlds. However, while Doctor Who relies on episodic, time-traveling shifts to celebrate infinite diversity, His Dark Materials grounds its representations in the metaphor of the "daemon" which is an external soul that visibly manifests human identity and morality
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