#doctor who social commentary

[esonetwork]

Woke Who: How Doctor Who has always been woke!! | Earth Station Who

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Woke Who: How Doctor Who has always been woke!! | Earth Station Who

In this live episode of the Earth Station Who Podcast, hosts Mike Faber and Mike Gordon welcome guests Mike Falkner, Dave Chapman, and Melanie Dean as they dive into the evolution of Doctor Who. They explore the show’s approach to diversity and representation, discussing the societal impact and the importance of inclusivity. The panel addresses the challenges of change within the fandom, emphasizing the Doctor’s message of acceptance. They reflect on personal experiences with the series, its cultural shifts, and the role of social media in the fandom.

We want to hear from you! Please write to us at feedback@earthstationwho.com. Also, please subscribe and rate the show on iTunes, Amazon, YouTube, or wherever fine podcasts are found. Feedback is always welcome and much appreciated.

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[vizzyturlough]

“Thank you, Darling”.

GAGGED ISTG THIS MAN IS NOT STRAIGHT

Commentary from Planet Of Fire

[seaweedstarshine]

Late to the game as I’ve kinda been kinda non-here for a minute but I scrolled through the Dot and Bubble tag, and thought I wanted to write this post into existence.

There's this part in Doctor Who Unleashed where RTD says this:

“What we can’t tell is how many people will have worked that out before the ending. Because they’ve seen white person after white person after white person, and television these days is very diverse. I wonder, will you be ten minutes into it, will you be fifteen, will you be twenty, before you start to think, everyone in this community is white. And if you don’t think that — why didn’t you? So, that’s gonna be interesting. I hope it’s one of those pieces of television you see, and always remember.”

And I'm like. Yeah. But the reason this works even as well as it does is largely thanks to the work of the previous showrunner with the previous creative team, which was notably the first era to have any writers of color (amongst other firsts in terms of inclusivity in directors, composer, actors). While Chibnall fumbled whenever he tried to write about race himself, he did have the self-awareness to have Black and South Asian writers writing the episodes where race is the focus (and a female writer for the episode where sexism is a focus; my point is, he seemed to know his shortcomings).

I wonder what the current creative team looks like? (not really, but I wasn't 100% sure for all of them)

To quote RTD:

“...before you start to think, everyone in this community is white.”

This is pretty non-self-aware, right? It's pretty “It is said, and I understand this, there was a history of racism with the original Toymaker, the Celestial Toymaker, who had ‘celestial,’ and I did not know this, but ‘celestial’ can mean of Chinese origin, but in a derogatory way,” right? (from The Giggle Unleashed) It's pretty “and I had problems with that, and a lot of us on the production team had problems with that: associating disability with evil,” right? (from Destination Skaro Unleashed)

—none of which are issues that should be overlooked, but think how much exponentially better they might’ve been addressed if he’d consulted with Chinese writers and wheelchair-using writers before going straight to giving the Toymaker weird fake accents and making Davros walk?

How many Black or non-white people do we think saw the Dot and Bubble script before it landed in Ncuti’s hands?

And this just keeps happening.

And like, from some of the shocked responses I've seen from white viewers to the ending of Dot and Bubble, maybe the episode's unsubtlety was needed? From the way RTD talks about it in Unleashed, the episode was written with a white audience in mind, Baby's First Microaggressions (where of course the microaggressions come from people who are pretty self-admittedly white supremacists). Ricky September, a more seemingly normal depiction of someone in the racist bubble of Finetime, seemed like an interesting element, up until the way he died.

The ending worked for me, because I do think the Doctor's reaction is true to how the Doctor would react. I just keep thinking of how much better the core themes could've been handled by someone with actual lived experience on the subject matter.

[prismartist]

*watching planet of giants* huh, a lot of dead insects. i wonder if this serial is commentary on the ultimately destructive nature of insecticides and the like with a touch of anti-capitalism?

*serial turns out to be commentary on the ultimately destructive nature of insecticides and the like with a touch of anti-capitalism*

ID: a GIF of oprah turning towards the camera with a knowing smug smile and shrugging. End ID.

[oldbookshop]

turn left is always there. over your shoulder .

[nat-20s]

Very very very fucking excited for season 15 of Doccy Whomst. That being said I live in fear every day that Ruby Sunday is gonna have a tiktok account.

[haventacluewhatimdoing]

I'm enjoying the blatant anti-colonial serial from the 1970s

[gen-is-gone]

I mean I don't wanna just be like 'finally, episode I actually liked' about the moffat episode but. like.

finally, an episode I actually liked!

No seriously, holy shit my man pulled exactly zero punches that was fucking excellent

[bruceawaynefrfr]

WE ARE SO BACK

[emotinalsupportturtle]

having to physically restrain myself from giving a 2 hour abridged but detailed speech on why doctor who is probably the best show ever and if you think it's too stupid you are incapable of both joy and critical thought, every time someone asks me the innocuous question "do you watch any shows"

[thedreadvampy]

so me and Sam FINALLY watched the last season of Capaldi's Who

and tell me how, after literally over a decade and for perhaps the first time in his fucking career, Steven Moffat wrote a not just tolerable but really actually good two-parter and fully stuck the landing. like the editing and pacing were still a bit off but the storyline was original, fun, interesting and emotionally invested, and most importantly, rather than ending on a damp fart or the most furious autofellatio in history, the final part didn't fumble it and ended in a way that felt emotionally satisfying and like it made sense for the characters. like the last time he successfully wrapped up a multiparter in a way that didn't feel cheap and hollowly disappointing to me was literally The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances, and a) that was in 2005 and b) tbh The Doctor Dances is about a tenth as compelling and memorable as The Empty Child.

so after 12 years of either hackery or great ideas that fall apart in the second act, Steven Moffat writes what I would genuinely consider to be a memorable Good Doctor Who serial. it ends with bittersweet pathos, a solid closer for all the main characters, and sends Moffat's showrunning career out on a genuine high despite failing ratings and budget cuts (and the fact Doctor Who hasn't been consistently good since about 2009). good job Steve. with grudging respect I admit you pulled it out of the bag on this one.

wait what's this there's one more episode left? and it stars Mark Gatiss? and you literally spend the whole episode inexplicably just shitting all over the legacy of Doctor Who by inventing a version of the First Doctor that bears literally no resemblance to the character that William Hartnell actually played, just so you can spend the whole episode saying misogynistic things to run yourself off to how much more Totally Feminist your version was than the version you made up in your head of what Doctor Who was like in the 60s? and it added literally nothing to the season except to take all the wind out of the sails of the actually good finale you already wrote?

even when he writes a good episode this fucker still finds ways to disappoint me.

[mizarchivist]

The bit in dot and bubble where the woman looks at the monster then scrolls her media instead of doing something to save herself is so real right now. My monster is not a monster but US politics and work politics smashing together in my head.

[iphnh]

me when I first heard of Barbie: that sounds like a 2 hour commercial for Barbie

me when I saw the online reaction to the movie: hmm it might be worth watching

me after I watched Barbie: that was a 2 hour commercial for Barbie.

[toweringclam]

The different genres of Doctor Who episode:

The dumbest bullshit you've ever seen. Just absolute baby brain nonsense.

Man, aliens are weird, huh?

Genuine high-concept science fiction serving as biting if heavy-handed social commentary on present issues

*Lisa Simpson voice* Look, Mom! It's Ea-Nasir!

Nightmare fuel that will traumatize a generation of children while adults roll their eyes.

The villain is determined to out-camp every other camp villain combined. There will probably be a needle drop.

The harrowing story of one character's personal hell

Tbe Doctor is sorely tempted to break one of the laws of time and/or one of his firmly held moral boundaries, never mind all the times he's done this without comment.

The Daleks are back, and they're purple now

[leikeliscomet]

(Reposting from twitter)

My POV as a Black fan that thinks Dot and Bubble's racism commentary is trash

Rewatched Dot and Bubble and I'm gonna break down from my POV as a Black fan why this episode didn't work for me & why it's an awful racism commentary. Long arse post incoming:

The whole "You should've noticed the cast was all white except for fifteen ha your bias is showing" doesn't work for a show that's been predominantly white for 60+ years. D&B casting has been the default for most of the show so its not abnormal enough to be a racial litmus test. An example is the Matt Smith era The only reoccurring character of colour in s5 (2+ appearances) is Liz 10. Artie n Angie in s7. 0 in s6. RTD's own era isn't fully safe either. For many eps Martha or Mickey are the *only* Black characters. Most POC are side characters or extras.

White fans should be aware of the predominantly white casting of the show but this late in the game feels cheap. Most of the show has gone through 100% white episodes including fan faves and it was never an issue back then bc it was beneficial. This is so hollow. Representing racists as cartoon caricatures SEVERLY underestimates the danger of white supremacy irl. White supremacy is system designed and constructed and rebranded over centuries. It is not accidental. People aren't racist bc they don't know they're racist because they *do* They know the system that oppresses POC, Black people especially, benefits them socially and financially and that is why they participate. Its not stupidity it's intention. That should've been the Finetime core not Lindy goofing around bc the arrows are gone or some shit.

Human Nature showed us racist young people that exercised this power bc they knew this. They may be children but they are still dangerous bc of their views. Martha knew this. The silly tech obsessed gen z angle erases this danger and that of actual gen z white supremacy

Instead of the camp goofy tone we could've gotten a serious focused episode. The slugs and millenial/gen z social media silly distracts from what could've been the main theme of colonisation instead of saving it for 10 mins of exposition at the end & scattering microaggressions. Saving Fifteen's racism scene for a goofy episode was a horrid idea. Spending 30 mins on representing racism as silliness then giving a dramatic dangerous score is the definition of tonal whiplash. Representing his oppressor as a blonde bimbo again does not take this seriously. Fifteen went to 1960s BRITAIN & got through it unscathed. Finetime is a fictional futuristic land but the racism of 1960s Britain was real. If anytime was right it could've been Devil's Chord. Distancing yourself from a panto villain is easy but addressing your history is hard.

The scene itself is incredibly performed so I'll give Ncuti his flowers but what he used this skill for could've been so much more. Having his FIRST SCENE begging to save a racist is disgusting. It isn't Black people's responsibility to show compassion to people that want us dead. Yes the Doctor helps the baddies bc they care. But they're aren't ignorant to prejudice. The liberal anti racism of who is so jarring and why I still think Thin Ice is performative. When white people are angry at injustice it's radical. When it's Black people we're aggressive.

Respectability politics is a tool of white supremacy. That if one pleads and is nice enough they can earn liberation. What would white fans think of Fifteen if he DIDN'T beg Lindy? If your allyship with Black people depends on showing kindness to racists you are NOT an ally.

Next up is Ricky. It was established ALL Finetime citizens have white supremacist views yet Ricky September stans refuse to see him in any negative light. Just like Joan Redfern white dw fans refuse to see racism if a character is likeable. If nice guy Ricky's a racist, then anyone no matter the niceness can be racist too and that's a pill white fans aren't ready to swallow. If racism is systemic and not about individual character, then what's keeping them safe? What happens when YOU are under the microscope.

THIS is why we NEED Black writers in Doctor Who. The nuances, depth and complexity of the Black experience can only be told at it's best by Black creatives and not guessed, assumed or spoken over by white fans and white writers. It's okay to put ego aside and say you don't get it.

"Im white but I loved the Doctor's reaction" "I'm white and i thought the racism commentary was great" "I'm white but i-" Yet again, we have to sit through another round of white and non Black fans of colour dictating Black representation for us. I'm so fucking tired man. AGAIN IM YELLING FROM MY HILLTOP TO WATCH SHOWS BY BLACK WRITERS. Almost EVERY single theme in Dot and Bubble and frankly most of the show has been done WAY better in other media. RTD is not the authority on Black stories. We are. Always have been and always will.

Tl;dr Dot and Bubble is an unserious and tacky racism commentary. It's core message is drowned by more RTD Who camp. Don't tell me this episode was good at representating my own experience. It wasn't. S15 having Black writers isn't a need it's a must. Goodbye.

Reblog this version pls

[spirantization]

me five minutes into kerblam!: oh i see, this is a commentary on how giant corporations exploit and dehumanize their workforce with extensive surveillance, unachievable work targets, poor compensation, micromanaging social interactions, etc while slowly replacing them with automation

kerblam! five minutes to the end: explosive bubble wrap actually

kerblam! five minutes to the end: the real villain all along was *looks at smudged writing on hand* the working class wanting the dignity of honest work and not wanting to be replaced by automation

the doctor at the end of kerblam!: "the systems aren't the problem! how people use and exploit the system, that's the problem. people like you" [who want to work and not be replaced by robots]

the worst part is that the first half of the episode is a somewhat cogent criticism of amazon's warehouse labour practices. i assume someone higher up got their grubby hands on the script and forced a rewrite of the ending. but now there are artifacts of that previous story in the end product, so you see everyone getting fitted with ankle monitor trackers, and how management treats the workers poorly, and how coworkers aren't allowed to socialize during their shift, and all these moments of reflection about the system by ryan & graham & yaz as they interact with other workers that come directly from their own working class experiences. and because the episode lands on "the system is fine, actually" as the take home message, all of these very clear instances of warehouse workers being treated horribly just get folded in.

nine would kill thirteen on sight as a class traitor.