Television: His Dark Materials - Language and Representation

 The CSP episode is Season 2, Episode 1 but don't worry if you haven't seen the first series - there are plenty of clips online to learn the background to the storyline. 

Remember, TV is an in-depth study which means we need to analyse the products in terms of media language, industries, audience and representation. Television will be examined in Paper 2 with a short clip to analyse - either from Doctor Who - An Unearthly Child or His Dark Materials. 

Notes from the lessons: His Dark Materials

Language

Reminder - TV drama conventions: 

• Dramatic narrative, usually linear (with continuity across episodes.) This is called narrative arc.
• Ensemble cast (a range of characters with own storylines). Sometimes an episode will focus more on one character than another.
• Specific technical codes e.g. realistic lighting and editing for dramas set in the present day to keep it gritty.
• Use of stereotypical characters to get messages across quickly.
• Common use of flashback, point of view shots, dialogue and voice over, enigma and action codes throughout. 
• Hybridity: Two genres or media types combined e.g. Stranger Things is a science fiction / horror television drama. 
• Multi-strand: when a narrative is made up of lots of different storylines.

Fantasy TV genre codes and conventions

• Emotive, often quest-based narratives
• Political narrative themes or social commentary
• Iconography including magic, mystical creatures or similar
• Often set in imagined worlds or time periods

In addition, the following often apply to fantasy TV series:

• Younger target audience or family audience
• Dedicated fanbase; fandom groups and online communities
• Big budgets and high production values 

His Dark Materials: background information

Season 1 recap:

Recap YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J44E6BiLPtc 

His Dark Materials is available on iPlayer here.

His Dark Materials is a fantasy drama television series based on the novel series of the same name by Philip Pullman. It is produced by Bad Wolf and New Line Productions for BBC One and HBO, with HBO handling international distribution.

Plot summary

His Dark Materials is set in a multi-world reality, with the action moving from one world to another. The series is based on Philip Pullman's trilogy of the same name. It begins in an alternative world where all humans' souls manifest as animal companions called daemons. The series follows the life of a young girl named Lyra who is an orphan living with the scholars at Jordan College, Oxford, in a world governed by the Magisterium, a religious and political body. Lyra discovers a dangerous secret that involves Lord Asriel and Marisa Coulter, and is the subject of a witches prophecy that she will change the world. In her search for a missing friend, Lyra also uncovers a series of kidnappings and its link to a mysterious substance called Dust, which leads her on a journey of epic proportions and ultimately to other worlds. The witches' prophecy also links Lyra's destiny to Will, a teenager from our world, who is himself being pursued by mysterious figures connected to his vanished father.

Source: His Dark Materials Wiki

Main character names

• Lyra Belacqua 
• Mrs. Coulter
• Lord Asriel Belacqua
• Lee Scoresby
• Will Parry

You can find out more about the characters on the BBC His Dark Materials website here.

Season 2, Episode 1: The City of Magpies

Episode analysis

The show is a fantasy television series based on fantasy novels. It was produced by BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation - same company who made Doctor Who) and HBO (American company). It is set in a multi-world reality with action moving between worlds. Lyra, the main character, has grown up an orphan who discovers that there is a prophecy that foretells that she will change the world. Will is a fugitive (runaway) from ‘our world’ where he killed someone in self-defence. They meet in a third world called Cittagazze which is run down and neglected. They learn from some kids there that all the adults (and kids when they come of age) are hunted and drained of their energy and basically changed into zombies by evil black clouds called ‘Spectres’. Meanwhile, an evil villain called Mrs Coulter is on board a ship with the Magisterium (male Priests in authority roles - like politicians.) She tortures a witch for information regarding Lyra and mysterious ‘dust’ but the witch is put out of her misery by her fellow witch Ruta Skardi who sets her free by killing her to stop the pain. Skardi also seriously injures the head of the Magisterium and Mrs Coulter offers a deal to his deputy: in exchange for more power and freedom, she will kill the head priest and say he died of his injuries from the witch.

You can read a good episode recap from the website 25 Years Later here or alternatively this episode recap from the Daily Bruin is quite critical which gives an interesting perspective. 

 

Key names, words and spellings:

• Magisterium: the authority group of male priests (religious men) from Lyra’s world. It is a patriarchal society (ruled by men).
• Daemon: the name given to the shape-shifting animal that is part of your soul (in Lyra’s world). Everyone has one in her world. 
• Lyra Silvertongue: protagonist (main character, hero) who is on the run from her world due to being hunted. She is the subject of a prophecy (fortune) that says she will change the world.
• Dust: magic particles that open portals to other worlds. Some people believe they represent sin.
• Will Parry: a human child from ‘our world’ who has never seen a daemon before. 
• Mrs Coulter: an evil villain who wants to find Lyra and control the world. She tortures a witch nearly to death and then she prepares to kill the head of the Magisterium so she can gain more control. 
• Ruta Skardi: the witch who, when her fellow witches did not take action, saved the prisoner witch by killing her and attacked the members of the magisterium on her own, escaping afterwards. 
• Cittàgazze: the name of the city in the third world where Will and Lyra meet.
• Alethiometer: the gadget that looks like a clock which Lyra consults and it gives her ‘truth’ - answers to her questions.

Narrative: multi-strand narrative

There are a number of narrative strands running through this episode.  They include:

• Lyra and Will explore a new world and the city of Cittàgazze.
• Mrs Coulter tries to find answers for the Magisterium then offers power to Father MacPhail by letting the head of the Magisterium die.
• Lyra and Will meet abandoned children in the city of Cittàgazze and find that the adults have all left due to the Spectres stealing their souls.
• Lee Scoresby goes on a mission for an object that can protect Lyra. The council of witches supports his plan.

Representations

His Dark Materials - Subverting stereotypes 

Men and women

Many characters in this episode of His Dark Materials subvert stereotypes. Lyra is a strong, independent female character who doesn't need or want help from anyone on her dangerous quest across different worlds. She can't cook, isn't bothered by her appearance and takes what she wants. Mrs Coulter also subverts female stereotypes as a cold hearted villain. She is actually Lyra's mother but displays none of the maternal stereotypes the media usually presents as typically female.

Meanwhile, Will subverts male or masculine stereotypes. He is kind, welcoming and wants to help Lyra. He cooks her food and makes up beds for them to sleep in. Not all characters subvert stereotypes though - Lee Scoresby is in many ways a classic masculine man on a mission to help Lyra.
 
Race, ethnicity and social class 

The actors in His Dark Materials are from a range of ethnic and social class backgrounds and the character of Will subverts stereotypes of race and ethnicity as well as gender. However, some stereotypes are reinforced - the abandoned children in Cittàgazze are presented as working class in a very stereotypical way. 

Age

Most of the main characters in this series and episode are children and they are shown not to need adults or help from older people. The abandoned children of Cittàgazze also demonstrate they can live without adults - which subverts typical stereotypes. Mrs Coulter also shows how stereotypes are subverted as a parent who does not care for her child.

His Dark Materials: Language and Representation blog tasks

Create a new blogpost called 'His Dark Materials: Language and Representation blog tasks' and work through the following tasks:

Language and close-textual analysis

1) Write an analysis of the episode - using your notes from the screening in class. Make specific, detailed reference to moments in the text using media terminology (e.g. media language - camera shots and movement, editing, diegetic/non-diegetic sound, mise-en-scene etc.) Between 3.00 and 6.00 the scene opens with orchestral music to set the atmosphere and allude to the genre of the series. The low angle camera shot of Lyra makes her seem like a powerful protagonist which subverts expectations as she's a child and a girl. The editing includes talking animals and an unearthly backdrop which emphasises the unearthly setting of the series.

You can currently watch His Dark Materials on BBC iPlayer here.

Camerawork, editing and sound:  low angles, non-diegetic, diegetic dialogue, thunder sfx, medium, close up and high angle.

Mise-en-scene: settings such as the 'City in the sky'

Narrative and genre: Fantasy, adventure. This is reflected in the narrative which includes other worlds and daemons.

You can access our notes from the close-textual analysis in a previous class here - you'll need your Greenford Google login to open this.

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

There is a lot of newly introduced constructs that are unrelated to our reality, this includes other worlds, daemons, witches and magic. All these concepts are common tropes that are commonly present in media that falls under the fantasy genre. This alongside the settings, such as the caves, oceans and waterfall's point to the more adventurous aspect of the series and 'The City in The Sky' leans it back into the Fantasy allusion.

3) Applying Propp's character theory, what character roles do some of the main characters in His Dark Materials fit into? Lyra is the hero, Will is potentially a donor or sidekick, the witch is the one in distress, Mrs Coulter is the villain.

4) 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 are presented when the characters mention that they come from different worlds which prompts the audience to want to see where they came from, action codes relate to the witches fighting as they escape the lair of the main story villain.

5) 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. Binary oppositions include: good vs evil (Mrs coulter and the witch), young vs old (Lyra who ia the protagonist is a young character and the villains are either adults or older people), Light vs Dark (the protagonists are in a lighter setting as opposed to the villains who are in the dark.


Representations

1) How are women represented in His Dark Materials? Are gender stereotypes reinforced or subverted? Think about Lyra and Mrs Coulter here. Women are presented as strong and subverting of gender expectations as Lyra is the decision maker, Mrs Coulter a cold and calculating villain and the witch as a strong character as she takes down quite a few opponents when escaping the ship.

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

Men also subvert gender stereotypes as Will takes on the role of a caregiver towards Lyra however Lee Scoresby reinforces some gender stereotypes by being an independent pilot of his own ship(?) which is a typically masculine role that has been portrayed by men throughout the ages.

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 show simultaneously challenges and supports stereotypes related to age by making older men ignorant and conservative towards their beliefs and making younger characters more rowdy and energetic however also being thoughtful and self-sufficient.

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

Race and ethnicity is empowered throughout the show as one of the main characters is mixed and the witch who aids another is a black woman that is shown to be good-willed and strong.

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 the characters are in id a fantasy world, this is solidified by the introduction of daemons, witches, other worlds and magic ( shown when the witch was flying through the thunderstorm.)