Goodreads feminist reviews - Doctor Who audiodramas: The Blazing Hour

 Audio: The Blazing Hour, a Big Finish audiodrama from the 2021 Main Range series, featuring the Fifth Doctor and Turlough.

5/5. Goodreads review also here.  

 This story is a really good take on criticizing capitalism, colonialism and corrupt politicians. Peter Davison and Mark Strickson as Five and Turlough are on top form, with a great dynamic going on, and it's very refreshing that all the supporting cast are poc, with several female characters in varied roles as prime ministers, politicians, scientists and activists.

Representation matters 😃!

+1 In stark contrast to "Kerblam!" (welp), this story handles the criticism of a ruthless capitalist human colony system extremely well throughout. The story also includes a fleshed-out range of greymoral politician and corporate characters ranging from the overtly corrupt, to the incompetent and careless about life, to the more honourable. Unlike "Kerblam!", however, despite the existing 3D characterizations and greymorality amongst the cast, the story criticizes the more corrupt politician and corporate archetypes consistently when it's due, even though they may end up choosing a slightly less amoral and profit-exclusive action from time to time thanks to the influence of the Doctor and (mainly) their own self-survival selfish mindsets. 

For example, when an amoral and corrupt politician decides to sacrifice herself to help save the day, the Doctor, and especially Turlough, highlight the fact that her motivations where still mainly money and profit and her former problematic behaviour was not completely swept under the rug just for a 'redemption in death' trope, which was also refreshing. Meanwhile, anti-capitalist activists who also died in this story and showcased a much more moral and kind mindset throughout the plot's conflict were completely ignored by the final Prime Minister's official eulogy, as Turlough bitterly commented on. This kind of discourse was honestly sorely missed in "Kerblam!", which instead chose to coddle the capitalist higher-ups for making the slightest effort towards a potentially better (but for whom?) system.

I love Thirteen and the Fam, but Kerblam!'s way of tackling capitalism was not it

+1 The topic of profit over human (and alien native) life is repeteadly highlighted amid the social criticism themes of this story, and colonialism and classism are also strongly featured throughout. It's very refreshing that the most honourable politician characters happen to be members of the native species of the colonized planet, and activists against the capitalist system are also given positive characterizations.

+1 The story heavily tackles how a capitalist, colonialist and classist system can often put lives at risk by prioritizing profit, and the plot revolves around a catastrophic accident in an energy plant catalized by the corporate leaders in spite of the misgivings and warnings of the lead scientist of the project. While some have interpreted this plot as an anti-nuclear energy metaphor (the story uses "time energy" xD, but it's a valid comparison), Mark Strickson and the cast in general have spoken in the behind the scenes tracks about environmental factors and the need for green energy, speaking favourably about nuclear power as well. This story was indeed inspired by accidents such as Chernobyl, but, instead of being an anti-nuclear energy story, I personally interpret it as a criticism of how incompetent and amoral corporates in a capitalist society are quickly prone to putting lives in danger by throwing caution and safety to the wind and prioritizing profit, disregardless of the type of energy that the power plant may be using.

The Blazing Hour's excellent supporting cast. From top to bottom, left to right: Lynsey Murrell, Donna Berlin, Rakle Ayola, and Raj Ghatak.

+1 As mentioned above, the diversity representation among the cast is excellent, with a 100% poc supporting cast and women in many different roles, from the lead scientist to the president of the colony, several politicians and a member of the activist groups opposing the capitalist system. The fact that all the supporting cast are either of black or South Asian ethnicity, and that there are so many female characters in varied roles, puts a quick end to any possibility of negative stereotypes associated to either gender or race, in regards to the role, integrity values and personality of each character. As such, we have black actresses in positive roles of a competent and intelligent scientist or a brave activist (both roles very nicely played by Lynsey Murrell), not just as a moderately incompetent prime minister (Donna Berlin) or an amoral, self-serving politician (an excellent Rakle Ayola). Women also take a clear centre stage among the supporting cast, with only two distinct male characters, an incompetent corporate boss and a more principled native local leader, played by the same actor (Raj Ghatak). The voice work and variety of accents used by the supporting cast is so good you don't even realize many play at least two characters because all voices are so distinct.

 

+1 I also really liked the dynamic of Five and Turlough in this story. This is from the time at the end of Season 21 when they are having adventures alone, and in these audios with them you can clearly see that the bond between them has deepened, with Five being outright distraught and grieving for more than one episode when he is told that Turlough has allegedly died in the explosion caused by the accident, one of these scenes also acting as an additional stab in the feels with the reference to the companions he has formerly lost in this incarnation - most notably, Adric 😭 (a great characterization that is a refreshing change in contrast to the horrid treatment of Turlough's graphic torture and assault and the infuriating resulting emotional disconnect from the Doctor in books such as The King of Terror 😣 Although the Doctor isn't always the best when it comes to comforting and communicating with their companions when they are grieving, traumatized or struggling with mental health, truth be told :S - Tegan really needed that closure scene in Power of the Doctor 😭. So yeah, I really appreciated that Five was much more open emotionally in this respect throughout this audio).

Look at all the wholesome!

 +1 Turlough's dynamic with activist Fionn is also excellent, showing a partnership between a woman and a man that is refreshingly devoid of any sexism (or romance, for a change), and filled with mutual respect. It reminded me a bit of Turlough's dynamic with Norna on 'Frontios' quite a bit, although this one is more fleshed out.

+1 And as final related notes, I also liked the fact that when Turlough's legs get injured by the explosion and Fionn gets him a wheelchair to be able to get out of the building, she asks if he has a problem with it, and he remarks that not at all, as 'some of the best people use wheelchairs', and he's rather more worried about the fact that Fionn would have to wheel him around among the wreckage. 

 I also loved Turlough's characterization in this story, and you can really see his growth. Having evolved from his prior self-survival priorities (stemming greatly from his background and former trauma), he retains his sarcasm and more acerbic wit, but also showcases a greater willingness to make things right and take an active stand in trying to solve the situation, even though he still tends to berate himself for being a coward (which he honestly isn't, hot take. Like the Third Doctor said, bravery isn't about not being afraid, it's about being afraid and doing what you must in spite of it). Also, seeing as he originally comes from a high-class aristocratic family on his planet Trion, I also really liked to see how often and how intensely he criticized the self-serving attitude of the corrupt politician and corporate characters throughout the story, condemning that their one and only motivation seems to be only profit, money and power.

Goodreads feminist reviews - Suffragettes: The Fight for Votes of Women (Joyce Marlow)

5/5. Goodreads review here.

This is a really well-organized and researched book about women's suffrage in Britain from the Victorian times to 1928, when women were finally enfranchised. An anthology which compiles and draws on actual material from the times, it includes excerpts from letters, journals, newspapers, diaries and official documents, as well as sometimes also quoting from other books written about the events. It's organized in a way that I found really engaging and informative, showing the voices of many different women (male suffragists and allies also make an appearance) with different backgrounds and classes, motivations and mindsets. The book also shows the contrasting views of the Antis, not at all dissimilar from our modern MRAs, sexist dudebros and complicit anti-feminist women (no surprises there, we haven't come *that* far). The added notes and appendices by author Joyce Marlow are a plus for this great anthology, organizing all sources in a clear and entertaining way, with dates, names, places and events being easily put into context.

I totally recommend this book to everyone who's interested in the suffrage movement in Britain and would like to know more, especially because of the fresh and informative view that comes with an anthology with so many original, unedited and unquoted source material. Reading all those original sources was definitely a highlight for me, easily making this one of my fave feminist books. I loved delving deeper and learning more about the timeline and events of the suffrage struggle. Kudos to all those brave women!

I liked this book so much I screenshot excerpts from each chapter and began posting them in Instagram story format, including reactions and/or snarky commentary :D xD Still at it on Instagram (@martaluthien, you can find the story highlight here), and will be posting the stories here as well :)

 

'Women Who Dared' Oxford exhibition - Suffrage centenary and women in history

 Last August I went to Oxford to visit the Tolkien exhibition, and, by a lucky chance, there was also a feminist exhibition in honour of the suffrage centenary, called 'Women Who Dared', featuring both suffragette material and original manuscripts and books by and/or about women in history - writers, poetesses, scientists, pirates and soldiers. So I'm back to the blog with a pic spam about the exhibition :D! Enjoy :)

Suffrage-related shop goodies :)

And my Oxford haul, featuring both Tolkien and feminism :D:

Women in history represented in the exhibition:

• Sappho, Ancient Greek poetess:

•  Lady Ise, 9th-10th Century Japanese poetess:

•  Christine de Pizan, the first Medieval European professional female writer (14th-15th Century), with feminist writings:

• Mary Read and Anne Bonny, 17th-18th Century pirates:

  

•  Hannah Snell, 18th Century soldier

• Ada Lovelace, 19th Century mathematician and programming pioneer:

• Mabel Purefoy FitzGerald, 19th-20th Century pathologist:

 

 

Doctor Who feminist reviews - 'Rose'

UPDATED April-May 2016 and August 2020. Added gifs and pics, changed some of my former views and added a lot more text and detail (damn it, perfectionism xD)

My first Whovian feminist review is going to be about the first episode of the new series of Doctor Who ('Rose'). There will be SPOILERS about the plot of this episode.

 

 

                                            New!Who, 2005 series: 'Rose'                  

-Doctor: Ninth 

-Companions: Rose Tyler

-Episode: 'Rose' (New!Who, 2005, Season 1 episode 1)

 Brief summary of the episode in Wikipedia 

      1.   Overall:

• Things I liked:

 -The whole time-travelling idea of Doctor Who, and the TARDIS design.

 -Christopher Eccleston's portrayal of the Ninth Doctor is pretty likeable and sassy.

Fantastic!

 -Rose's proactive traits (initiative, wits and sass). In this episode, she is really the one to stop the Nestene Consciousness, plus she saves the Doctor and outwits him (making him consider his former patronizing mode).

You go girl! Rose smashing gender stereotypes

• Things I didn't quite like:

-The special effects. But then again, their budget wasn't very high, so it's understandable, I am grateful for the return of New!Who disregardless :)  

...Yep

-Sometimes the percussion parts of the soundtrack are too loud and it's hard to hear the dialogue.

-The bin-burp. I personally just don't find that type of humour funny.

• Things I didn't like:

  -Mickey's interaction with his girlfriend in this episode shows a number of questionable traits, some of which can be explained by acquired sexism. 

 

-Disclaimer: In 2021 several allegations of sexual harassment were tied to Noel Clarke, several while working on the set of Doctor Who. I spoke about it here. 

Mickey does have character development later on in the series, and doesn't quite again show this level of sexism (the possessive moment in the car, or the "*slaps ass* 'Kit off'" demeaning comment), so I'm going to assume that the relationship portrayed in this episode is an 'objective' depiction - and even a critical view, explaining why Rose feels rather dissatisfied by it-, and not something that is condoned.

Mickey feeling possessive about his girlfriend being out there talking to other men

-The Doctor's patronizing/xenophobic-speciecist comments which arise from time to time.

Thankfully, his comments are never overly mean, can be explained (even if not justified) by his pos-Time War PSTD, trauma and increased cynicism, and his character develops quite a bit in that respect.

That's enough with the 'humans are stupid apes' nonsense, Doctor!

 -I don't like how they started portraying Rose's mother Jackie, even if thankfully the character got more depth and character development throughout series 1, 2 and 4 (and now I love her). In this episode she's shallow (but I'm not at all against her wish to date people casually - I'll talk about that problematic scene later), self-centered, conventional, and seems pretty careless when it comes to the well-being of her daughter (some careless and kinda demeaning comments, not encouraging her to retake her studies, etc).  As a Whovian and having watched all seasons, I now know Jackie's character got so much better and that she actually cares about Rose *a lot*, so yay about that.

Gossip ahoy!

-I quite like Nine/Rose, friendship and well, yes, also ship - the romantic subtext is very clearly there, and I don't dislike that, even though if we look at this pairing from a feminist pov we also have to note that 1) There's a sizeable age gap (if we only look at Nine's apparent age, it's a 20 year gap), and although that doesn't always mean the relationship is going to be unhealthy or lack equality (I actually think Nine/Rose is way more compatible than Rose/Mickey), a big age gap with a younger woman and an older man crops up repeatedly in the media and in real life, and it does often come with a power imbalance factor, so I am wary of seeing that model promoted too often. And 2) It's also worth noting that, following in the footsteps of the 8th Doctor 1996 movie and the newfound interest for romance in DW, the first companion in New!Who is also a love interest.

I also hate triangle clichés - and in this case, we have Mickey/Rose/Nine, as well as  unnecessary romance plots with crappy guys like Adam that only give Rose grief, and they didn't resolve the Rose/Mickey relationship until mid-series 2, which irks me immensely.  

Apart from the fact that I'm against the portrayal of unresolved, ambiguous relationships and potentially cheating scenarios, because that's not 'liberation' or 'equality' or 'empowerment' (unless we're exploring the topic of forced marriages and the like),  people could also be getting the idea that every time a female character goes off on her own (meaning without her heteronormative boyfriend), she's going to flirt with other people  and end up either cheating on him or breaking her relationship with him. And that's a pretty problematic way to see it  (this scenario will reappear with Amy/Rory - to a lesser extent - and Clara/Danny in future seasons).

-Feminism:
   About the Bechdel test, I think that it isn't that exhaustive in terms of feminism. There are films with empowered female characters who don't happen to interact with other women a lot. Are we going to compare a film with really empowered female role-models who don't really talk with other women with a film where two women (not necessarily awesome role-models or anything) happen to have a few lines of conversation together about something other than men? Not that I don't appreciate that people are beginning to worry about female representation, female communication, female bonding and female friendship (I think all of these are really important), but the test is a bit flawed, imo.

•    Number of female charactes: 3 - Rose Tyler, Jackie Tyler, Caroline (Clive's wife). Main role for Rose, secondary role for Jackie and a minor role for Caroline. All three white and heterosexual (although Rose might actually be bi, because Billie Piper claimed she would also be in love with the 13th Doctor were she to meet her).

•    Empowered traits in at least one female character? Rose is active, inquisitive, and shows agency in this episode (deducing where the Nestene Consciousness is and actively saving the Ninth Doctor).

•    Level of sexism:  Mickey shows quite a lot of sexism and entitlement in his interactions with his girlfriend Rose (I'll be talking about that later). Also some stereotypical sexist aspects in the portrayal of Jackie.

•    Bechdel Test and female bonding: Yes - Rose and Jackie talk together about the explosion incident, plus jobs and other trivia. Mother-daughter relationship and interactions (even though this dynamic isn't at its best in this episode).

-This Tumblr post also addresses this episode from a feminist point of view. We agree on most points.

-Other intersectional issues:

•    Race/ethnicity. Speciesism: 

-Appearance of a black character, Mickey. Interracial relationship between Rose and Mickey. Mickey's character gets fleshed out and developed throughout series 1, 2 and 4, and it's never treated like a racial stereotype. While it's totally legit to criticize him for his entitlement and sexist behaviour when it arises, it can be also worth commenting that the fact that he will be basically reduced to 'Mickey the Idiot' in series 1 and 2 and treated in a pretty crappy way by the Doctor, while being the only recurring black character in the show, can rightfully rub people the wrong way :S

                                          

-Some patronizing comments from the Doctor about  humans, which can be seen as speciecism resulting from increased misanthrophy after the Time War. Rose is open-minded when it comes to class and race/species, though, and she doesn't mind that the Doctor is an alien (Rose: "Are you alien?" Doctor: "Yes. Is that all right?" Rose: "Yeah"). Mickey does have prejudices about it: "Don't. He's an alien. He's a thing."

•    LGBTIQA+: The Doctor is canonically a genderfluid alien. Rose Tyler might be canonically bisexual, but there's no explicit mention of that in the series.  And I think the Doctor is being descriptive rather than offensive when saying "That won't last. He's gay and she's an alien".

•   Social class: The first companion in New!Who is a woman from a middle-low working class. Even though she shares Rose's class status, Jackie questions Rose's ability to get a good job due to her upbringing and (lack of) education, showing some internalized classism when suggesting that she find a job at the butchers because the shop was giving her "airs and graces".

-Integrity and ethics: Substantial-to-high. 

-The Doctor doesn't seem to show as much empathy as in other episodes, being rather dismissive of humans, but he still tries to stop the Nestene Consciousness in order to save humanity, and his current gruffness and closed-off manner can be explained by the fact that he's more or less recently regenerated after the end of the Time War and it's traumatized and guilt-ridden by it. 

-Rose saves the Doctor (and humanity). 

-Rose worries about Mickey being in danger and the possibility that he was killed. 
-Rose is sickened to hear that Wilson was killed ("That's just not funny. That's sick!").

-The Doctor helps Rose escape the mannequins. 

-Rose phones her mother to warn her about the mannequins. 

-When Rose is assimilating all the information about the TARDIS and Mickey being attacked by aliens and she breaks down, the Doctor says "That's okay. Culture shock. Happens to the best of us".

- The Doctor, following his pacifist and anti-genocide oriented mindset (especially after he thinks he commited double genocide in the war), also tries to negotiate with the Nestene Consciousness instead of killing it outright ("I'm not here to kill it. I've got to give it a chance"). 

     2. Character analysis, from a feminist point of view:
  (All the transcript quotes come from this site)