Doctor Who feminist reviews - 'Mighty Kublai Khan'

-Doctor: First

-Companions: Susan (the Doctor's granddaughter), Barbara Wright (Susan's history teacher) and Ian Chesterton (Susan's science teacher).

-Episode: 'Mighty Kublai Khan' (Classic Who, 1964. Season 1 Marco Polo story part 6/7). Only some pictures and the audio narration remain.

My first Classic Who review! And yes, I'm starting with part 6/7 because 1) Timey-wimey stuff xD and 2) I read an article in September's Doctor Who magazine (DWM), which led to me watching-listening to the episode, which led to this review.

Synopsis here. This review contains SPOILERS.

-Sexism, feminist content and the role of women:

• Number of women: 3 - Susan, Barbara and Ping-Cho. Court noblewomen in the background.

• Bechdel test and female bonding: Yes - Susan and Barbara. Susan and Ping-Cho (very briefly, and one-sided, with Ping-Cho saying 'Goodbye, Susan' to a sleeping Susan in the room they share, just as she is ready to escape from the inn).

•  Empowered traits in at least one female character? Susan and Barbara speak out against a sexist arranged marriage and Ping-Cho shows agency when trying to escape said marriage.

• Feminist content in the script:  Criticism of arranged marriages. Susan and Barbara speak out against Ping-Cho’s arranged marriage with a man way older than her, and Barbara says that Ian and the Doctor are against the arranged marriage as well:

"TEGANA: Ah, all their sympathies are with Ping-Cho. They are all against this marriage. 

POLO: Then why did Ian go back to look for her? 

TEGANA: Exactly. 

(Susan and Barbara enter, laughing.) 

TEGANA: I'm glad to see that your humour is not impaired by our misfortune. 

BARBARA: What do you mean? What misfortune? 

TEGANA: Well, your friend Ian has not returned. We can only assume that he's failed to find Ping-Cho. 

BARBARA: Oh, you haven't given him enough time yet. 

SUSAN: Anyway, I'm glad. I hope he doesn't. 

TEGANA: Oh, I see. You want to see her alone, do you? Without friends? She might be kidnapped, murdered. 

SUSAN: Well, that won't happen to her. She's got money. She can buy a safe passage home. 

TEGANA: Money! Are we all sit in fear for her, and her intended husband sits in despair? 

SUSAN: Oh, even you couldn't be so cruel as to want her to marry a man four times her age. 

TEGANA: Even I? I thank you, lady. And this is your opinion too, I suppose? 

BARBARA (snarky): I suppose so. 

POLO: One moment. Are you opposed to Ping-Cho's marriage? 

BARBARA: Look, why are we- 

POLO: Answer my question please. 

BARBARA: Yes I am. Completely opposed to it. 

TEGANA: How very unusual for you and Ian to disagree. 

BARBARA: It isn't unusual at all. We don't agree about everything. And in this case, we're in complete agreement. All of us. 

POLO: This marriage has the Khan's blessing. Am I to understand that you oppose it? Am I? 

BARBARA: Yes. 

POLO: All four of you? 

BARBARA: Yes, all four of us."

You go, girls!

• Role of women in the episode: 

   - Susan fulfills a pretty passive role, being captured by Tegana at the beginning of the episode and threatened before the Doctor, Ian and Barbara in exchange for the TARDIS (damsel in distress trope). She does show assertiveness later in the episode when speaking out alongside Barbara against Ping-Cho's arranged marriage.

    -Although Ian does most of the action, going back for the escaping Ping-Cho, siding with her to search for the stolen TARDIS and confronting Tegana at the end, Barbara also takes some part in the events, speaking to Ian about the need to convince Marco Polo that they’re time travellers in order to recover the TARDIS ('Listen, we need the TARDIS. You must talk to Marco.'). But, although Ian seems to talk with her in a reasonably equal level and actually seems to want for her to try to convince Marco alongside him, Barbara merely advises Ian on what to do, but probably because, thanks to gender roles, Marco would hardly want to listen to her, not because of a lack of assertiveness: Afterwards, Barbara speaks out in a wonderfuly assertive way, alongside Susan, against Ping-Cho’s arranged marriage.

The damsel in distress trope appear twice in this eppisode, but that doesn't prevent all three female characters from showing some assertiveness and agency at least once!

   - Ping-Cho shows agency when trying to escape her arranged marriage with an older man by fleeing Marco’s caravan and attempting to join another, but is also portrayed as naïve (being tricked by the false caravan member - Kuiju, Tegana's accomplice-, who robs her) and her position in that society is, as expected, one of little power (for example, the man at the Cheng-Ting way station, Wang Lo, grabs hold of her and prevents her escape when he finds out she has run away, and Ian has to come to her rescue - another damsel in distress trope). She continues showing agency when siding with Ian, though. She also confronts Kuiju at the end of the episode, helping to disarm him and asking for her money back.

"IAN: Ping-Cho, why did you do it? 

PING-CHO: The key. And I can't marry a man old enough to be my grandfather. I can't. Please don't take me back. Please."

• Level of sexism: Women are viewed as inferior in that society and time, as can be expected.

- Patronizing attitudes towards Susan and Barbara from characters such as Marco Polo, Mongol warlord Tegana and Kublai Khan (patriarchal chivalry in the latter's case: 'These gracious ladies also accompany you, Marco?').

- Male characters, such as Kuiju and Wang Lo, call Ping-Cho ‘little one’ and 'foolish child'/'silly child' in a patronizing and demeaning way.   In contrast, Ian treats Ping-Cho in a more equal (or at least respectful) way, and ultimately includes her in his plans to retrieve the stolen TARDIS and sides with her in order to confront Kuiju. 

Ian gains points by including Ping-Cho's in his plans to regain the TARDIS

-The Doctor also addresses Susan in a gruff manner in one occassion ('Oh, do be quiet, child.'). He seems to be like that with everyone from time to time, though, and he shows concern for Susan's safety and affection towards her at the beginning of the episode, handing over the TARDIS key to Tegana and Marco Polo immediately ('Tell that man to take his hands off my grandchild! (...) So long as you're safe, Susan. That's all that matters.').

-Racial issues: Many of the actors portraying Oriental characters are Caucasian or have non-Asian ethnicities. This is addressed by the episode's director, Waris Hussein, in DWM 485: "Waris is relieved to see a few Oriental-sounding names. "Can you imagine! Today they'd be rioting in the streets if we cast all these people as Orientals. I mean, Derren Nesbitt as Tegana. And Kublai Khan was played by Martin Miller, a nice little Jewish guy from Hampstead." "

In the story proper, though, "[Marco Polo's story] showed a mixed-ethnic group rather than a stereotypical collection of one race." (Source)

-Class issues:  

The Doctor opposes the Khan’s order to kneel and humble himself before him, and I loved that part, not only because of the Doctor's snark, but also because I choose to read it as a potential criticism of the classism and ridiculous snobbish attitudes of the 'royalty' sector, and not only as a humourous moment where the Doctor can't kneel down because of his sore back and ends up bonding with the Khan over their shared ailments.

"VIZIER: When great Kublai Khan appears, you will make your obeisance to him. so that he may look kindly upon you, and spare your worthless lives. 

DOCTOR: Pray then, what am I supposed to do, sir? 

VIZIER: Kow-tow. Kneel upon the ground and touch your forehead upon the floor three times. 

DOCTOR: I shall do no such thing! 

VIZIER: Kublai Khan is the mightiest man the world has ever seen. Not to pay him homage will cost you your head. 

DOCTOR: Well, if it breaks my back, then he can take all of me. So why waste time on small items?

(...)

(Everyone kneels down except the Doctor)" 

Bonus Doctor snark:

"KHAN: Doctor? Oh, is he? Are you, perchance, a physician? 

DOCTOR: I am not a doctor of medicine, sire, otherwise I should be able to cure these pains."

-Morals, empathy and integrity: The Doctor doesn't hesitate to hand over the TARDIS key to Marco and Tegana in order to save Susan. Susan, Barbara, Ian and the Doctor express their opposition and distaste about Ping-Cho's arranged marriage. Ian refuses to kill Kiuju ("IAN: I'll kill him. TEGANA: Do so. He is of no importance. (Ian pushes Kiuju away)").

Overall:

• Things I liked: 

 -Susan and Barbara critisizing arranged marriages.

-The Doctor's snark and his refusal to kneel before the Khan.

-Ian's conversation with Marco about them being time-travellers.

"IAN: I come from another time. Our caravan, it not only covers distance, it can cross time. 

POLO: Travel into the past and the future? 

IAN: Yes. I know it's difficult to believe, but it's the truth."

Can't really judge about the episode in general (acting, cinematography, etc) without being able to see it, unfortunately, so that ends today's review. As to 'things I didn't like', I guess I'd include everything under the 'level of sexism' section (which is objective historical sexism which was to be expected and can be critisized), plus Tegana's character in general.