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His Dark Materials: Language and Representation blog tasks

 

Language and close-textual analysis

1) Camerawork, editing and sound:
The camera work in this episode is very dynamic. The camera tends to focus a lot on the characters, either in a close up shot, over the shoulder or showing their full bodies. It has been done in this way to presumably give more of a focus on their dialogue and actions in a more dramatic and serious sense, as it is a TV drama.

Mise-en-scene:
The scenarios shown in this episode are quite gloomy, historic and lonely. The city, which is the location where the majority of the episode takes place, is quite empty, abandoned and old looking. The characters here also look quite nervous and/or always on alert, considering the setting they're in.

Narrative and genre:
The episode focuses on a city in the sky in which its inhabitants either fled or had their souls stolen by "Spectres", which means the city is very empty and is only really filled with children/teens. The episode also focuses on other worldly creatures which would re-enforce the sci-fi genre which this TV drama is part of. The series tends to focus on a lot of alien creatures and/or technology in different dimensions.

2) It fits the conventions of a typical fantasy TV drama as it features a lot of creatures/objects that are not seen in our world. For example, Lyra has a "Daemon" which is a talking, shape shifting animal. Along with that, this TV drama also focuses on other dimensions that the characters can travel between.

3) Lyra is the heroine, Will is the hero, Lee is the sidekick, and Mrs Coulter is the villain.

4) Multiple enigma and action codes are shown throughout the episode. For example, the mystery behind the city, the discovery of Will, what happened to the town's people, and the town's children trying to survive.

5) The main one would obviously be good vs. evil, but there are also ones like dimensions vs. other dimensions, right vs. wrong, etc.

Representations

1) Gender stereotypes for women are subverted in His Dark Materials. For example, Lyra is shown as a strong, independent and brave young woman, which would subvert gender stereotypes. Along with that, Mrs Coulter is shown to be a ruthless, powerful and evil villain, which would also subvert stereotypes.

2) Gender stereotypes for men are reinforced and also subverted in His Dark Materials. Will is shown as a kind, young gentleman, which reinforces male stereotypes. However, he is seen taking care of Lyra, which subverts gender stereotypes as men are usually the one being taken care of.

3) Age stereotypes are subverted in His Dark Materials. The children are the ones who are running the city, as the grown ups have all either fled or been taken by the Spectres. This subverts stereotypes as it is common to see children rely on others for help, rather than be independent.

4) 

5) The world in His Dark Materials is represented as a strange, fantasy world with creatures and buildings we've never seen before. Despite this, "our world" is represented in His Dark Materials too, as Will comes from our Earth, which is much more realistic and less fantasy oriented.

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