Dark Materials

Question 1

Wills personality (HDM)

Answer 1

adult-like:
- knows how to cook
- accepts things easily
- washes himself
- takes risks to account

Question 2

Lyra’s personality

Answer 2

child-like:
- doesn’t use cutlery
- doesn’t tidy messes
- bad cook

Question 3

rep of witches in HDM

Answer 3

subvert stereotypes:
- they are young, beautiful, strong and good
- self sacrificing
- have a moral compass
- can make hard decisions for greater good

Question 4

themes in HDM

Answer 4

Good vs evil
Heroic quest for power and knowledge
Trad vs Change
Individual vs Society
Coming of age
Epic journey
Unlikely hero

Question 5

genre of HDM

Answer 5

Fantasy, mystery, action, scifi

Question 6

Propp’s archetypes of HDM

Answer 6

Hero = lyra
Hero/sidekick = will
Villain = Ms Coulter

Question 7

How is HDM scifi?

Answer 7

new inventions and innovations beyond current
science
characters seeking new realities on other worlds

Question 8

How is HDM horro?r

Answer 8

religious iconography
low key lighting
secluded locaitons
supernatural

Question 9

Lyra representation

Answer 9

Conforms more to hero traits rather than teenage girl traits.

Question 10

Ms Coulter rep

Answer 10

Subverts basically all mother traits and conforms to all villain traits

Question 11

ethnicity in HDM

Answer 11

Book was written with most characters being white. But the show casted a diverse cast to appeal to a larger audience. Representation theory more prominant.

Question 12

how is mise-en-scene, camera, sound and editing used to create meaning? (HDM)

Answer 12

Characters wear diff clothing from diff eras to show they aint from same world and how diff everyone is.
Pathetic fallacy used (sound of wind and grey clouds). Weather isn’t horrible but can create sense of uneasiness.
Town is absent of people, strange, gives an unsettling feel.
Colour palate is warm which is normally used in happy scenes. this creates irony, because despite being abandoned in a town the lighting makes it seem positve.

Question 13

The city of magpies is aimed at niche audiences. how far does an analysis of this extract show to be true?

Answer 13

not that niche, more mainstream. lot of representation in this show with diff ethnicites and ages being casted. increasing audience.
hybrid genre makes it less niche and more palatable
Large budget means it has to targeted towards a larger audience

Question 14

Codes and conventions of Teen Dramas

Answer 14

relationship between teens and between teens and family members or other adults. These relationships, either strongly postiive or negative, drive the narrative forward
breakdown in a parent/teen relationship = staple feature
leading to characters turning the tables on adults or authority figures

Question 15

Teen drama in ‘The city of magpies’

Answer 15

Lyra deals with the impact of Asriel’s Murder of Roger and the consequences by ‘running away’
breakdown of relation shown when Ms Coulter comes across photographs of Lyra in the book, suggesting smth about their relaitonship

Question 16

Fantasy YA in ‘The City of Magpies’

Answer 16

mise-en-scene, similar to Hunger Games
costumes, hair and makeup worn by Lyra and Ms coulter => old-fashioned garments are fantasy orientated
witch robes
witches included, demonstrate their power by flying
talking animal companion, Lyra talking to Pan

Question 17

Sci-fi fantasy in ‘The City of Magpies’

Answer 17

wide angle shots of Asriel’s portal and the fleet of airships
dramatic nature of genre is reinforced with high contrast, low key lighting with blue hues => dominant code in sci-fi
everyday is often juxtaposed with fantastical events => shots of the laboratory and the portal
special effects used, disruption to reality is emphasised by the CGI used for the portal
dominant storyline of a world in chaos, ‘a powerful prophecy.. that could destroy all existance’
voice over, ‘it is time to draw sides’, reminds viewers of a similar device in lord of the rings or star wards
dramatic orchestral soundtrack

Question 18

Narrative features used in ‘The city of magpies’ to grab attention.

Answer 18

beings with dramatic voice over, summarising a disequilibrium which was one of the enigmas set up at the end of the previous season => quickly establishes genre and refreshes A memory on ongoing storylines.
reintroduces MCs in short vignettes (lyra, witches, ms coulter, church representatives) => A see how they interact and how they will deal with threat
TA is rewarded with characters dealing with danger and appearing to be responding to the dramatic situtations presented
characters offer a range of spectating positions to engage
narrative is driven by conflict. brief shot of lyra being awakened by rogers voice reminds them of shocking conclusion and suggest lyra is still dealing with this disruption to her narrative equilibrium
attention held during montage shots showing machines of war and the threat of the portal develops conflict
narrative engima exposed in opening sequences (what will the effect of the portal be? will ms coulter find lyra) many span the lifetime and A gets narrative pleasure from helping solve the puzzles and task set and seeing positive outcomes for the MCs
variation in narrative style, 1st its montage to build excitement and tension reflecting pace and style. cross cutting. snippets of dialogue.
certain archetypes (lyra = hero, pan = helper) appeals to A

Question 19

How may narrative features fail to hold the audiences attention in ‘The city of magpies’

Answer 19

against voice over, doesn’t deal with specifics and refers cryptically to Lyra, may be off-putting
against if characters conform to stereotypes, their function in the narrative is too predictable
against if fav characters aren’t presented in opening sequence
against narrative format, too much effort to engage, too much commitment with multiple characters and storylines over extended period
unwilling to commit their attention and involvement to the degree suggested by the narrative features
against if enigma solutions are too predictable or if enigmas lack credible solutions
though face past is suggest, little action occurs, A will be dissatisfied as action is replaced with voice-over or character development scences
crosscutting may cause confusion, A are uncertain what’s happening
some audience prefer a more conventional or traditional narrative arc (exposiiton, climax, resolution), may not like if disruption drags onto next episode