Interesting feminist analysis of Steven Moffat’s Doctor Who that acknowledges that some fans have problems with what he’s done with Amy but finds a smart way through it. Amanda Marcotte at The American Prospect:
Showrunner Steven Moffat, who also runs the rebooted and modernized Sherlock Holmes series and took over Doctor Who in season five, has doubled down on tinkering with the show to make it more appealing to mainstream audiences. To do so, he decided to turn down the volume on sci-fi cheese and inject more story lines about love, family, and romance. While this idea appeals in the abstract to many feminists who want the world of sci-fi and fantasy to stop being so decidedly dudely, many feminists have strong objections to how Moffat went about it. His strategy was to take the Doctor’s new companion, a character role on the show that is traditionally all about wide-eyed curiosity and boundless courage, and turn her story line into one about getting married and having babies.
Click over to discover why Marcotte doesn’t think this is an insurmountable problem from a feminist perspective. Then come back here and discuss.
I’m not sure I agree with Marcotte. Her analysis is sharp and she’s not factually wrong, but I don’t know that her well-supported conclusion — that Moffat has rendered the Doctor into something akin to the Ponds’ child — is a positive portrayal of the character.
You?
(If you stumble across a cool Doctor Who thing, feel free to email me with a link.)
