His Dark Materials: LIAR blog tasks

 1) How does His Dark Materials fit the conventions of the fantasy TV genre?

It fits the fantasy Genre because it has supernatural being soring through the sky and talking creatures

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

-Will fits into the helper category as he helps lyra throughout her journey

-Lyra is the hero who drives the story

-Ms. Coulter is the villain trying to seize Lyra

-Pan is the donner providing Lyra with advise                                          

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.)

Enigma codes: the portal in-between worlds and the golden compass 

Action codes: the compass activating

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. 

-Will and lyra as Lyra is dominant Will is submissive Will is passive Lyra is active

Representations

1) How are women represented in His Dark Materials? Are gender stereotypes reinforced or subverted? Think about Lyra and Mrs Coulter here.

subverted as both Lyra and Miss Coulter are dominant

2) How are men and masculinity represented in His Dark Materials? Think about Will and Lee Scoresby here.

In his dark materials the men don't look dominant as they take orders from females

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 challenged as the children are the ones living by themselves and the are independent as they search Cizztegaze by themselves whilst the adults rely on heavy machinery to move around

4) How is race and ethnicity represented in His Dark Materials? Are stereotypes reinforced or subverted?

Subverted as one of the main characters is of colour but you can also say reinforced as he is the only one of colour

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.

It is similar to reality as in the the structure but it is in a fantasy settings and it looks like it set in the future as it contains stuff like portals

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.

I think it is aimed at 15 to 25 

I think it applies to the adventure because they are always seeking out new things

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:  

Personal Relationships: 

Diversion (Escapism): 

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. 

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? 

Industries

1) Which companies produced this His Dark Materials series?

HBO+

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)?

Everything is His dark materials is better as the graphics sound quality and storyline was better

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

similarity was

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