In Doctor Who women are presented as generally equal to men as their roles and superiority change throughout the extract, however the woman in the red dress is presented as superior to everyone. At first the master, and therefore men, were more powerful and important than women. The master was in control and the only women were the woman in the red dress and Martha’s family, dressed in maid uniforms. This lowered their status. However when Martha was brought in, although she was dragged, she was central in all of the shots and therefore presented as an important character. There were many close-ups matched between the Master and Martha, signifying that they are both important and equal, however as the extract progressed the close-ups on the master began to show his weakness, whereas Martha was shown as powerful. However Martha, at times is presented as weaker than the Master by high-angle shots of her matched with low-angle shots of the Master. High-angle shots of all of the other characters are also used in conjunction with low-angle shots of the Master, and the woman in the red dress, showing that they are more important or powerful than the other characters.
Throughout Martha’s speech, where she explains her plans to defeat the Master high-angle close-ups of her are juxtaposed with a clear sense of authority. Martha is also presented as powerful as she is wearing dark, military-esque clothing and has her hair tied back. This indicates that she is prepared for action and is able to defend herself, however these traits are sometimes associated with men, and are deemed manly. As Martha is speaking the music begins to build up and become louder and more intense. This indicates that Martha is powerful as the music is on her side, and as the music is very powerful and hopeful sounding, it shows that she is good, therefore denoting that women are generally good and powerful as a group. After Martha’s speech the master is obviously very weak and frightened, showing that he may be defeated by a woman. However the music becomes much more intense as the Doctor becomes more powerful, indicating that he is more important than Martha. The importance and power levels of male and female characters are constantly being reversed throughout this extract, therefore representing both genders as equal.
Although the woman in the red dress has a frightened expression and is standing behind the railing as if she has been put on a shelf by the man, the shots are composed so that she is higher up than the man, suggesting that she is more important. She looks as if she is looking down on the events and seeing them from a god-like perspective. This is partly due to the woman's costume. Her hair is styled in a casually coiffed fashion, and she is wearing little make-up, the style of her dress is almost Greek goddess-like, with a modern seductive twist. The red of her nails and dress connotes power and possibly evil. She looks out of place in the scene as she is the only colorful thing there, and she is not simplistically dressed. The master is dressed in a simple black and white tuxedo, which shows he is rich, however he looks untidy in comparison to the woman and their environment. He consistently holds a fairly casual posture, and looks relaxed until he is challenged by Martha. Where the woman is standing straight and powerfully, he is slouching informally and this ridicules him slightly. He looks as if he is comfortable in this environment, possibly because he thinks that he is in control, and is possessive towards the woman, however she holds a passive and strong position and is higher up, so may feel that she knows she is more important than the man.
Their surroundings are simplistically decorated with modern natural wood furnishings. However there are also high-tech scientific diagrams on the walls, and unnatural lighting. The wooden furnishings therefore seem pretentious. The ceiling is large and black, this looks intimidating and gives an underlying effect of tension and makes the scene seem more dangerous. There is unnatural white lighting coming from the left onto the background and the man, the fact that it is not natural connotes that his power is superficial. However the lighting on the woman is coming from the right side, and is an unnatural pink/red light. This could show that she is a much-loved possession of the man, but also that she is seductive, powerful and/or evil.
There is a point in the narrative of this extract where all of the characters, except for the Master, repeat the word “Doctor” over and over again. The woman in the red dress also joins in with this, despite apparently being on the Master’s side. This shows that she is intelligent and morally sound, possibly representative of woman as a stereotype. There is a high-angle shot of her as she says this. This shows that all of the characters, and therefore genders are equal in their bid to destroy the Master and restore the Doctor. It also denotes that all of these characters are less important than the Doctor, who is male. When the Doctor is restored to his original form, he emanates an ethereal light and floats towards the Master in a powerful way. The Master and the Doctor are against each other, and the Master tries to kill the doctor by use of a sonic screwdriver, however the Doctor is more powerful, and takes the screwdriver from him. The Male protagonist and antagonist are therefore presented as cooler. They are the characters which are involved in the action and are therefore more important. While this happens Martha is shown running and hugging her family, who are dressed as maids. This shows that they are equal, however Captain Jack, and other male characters are also in the same position as Martha and her family. This signifies that gender is not intentionally reflected on in the Master and Doctor’s battle. There are also close-ups of a countdown timer, consistently placed throughout the extract. This could signify that the operation underway is more important than any of the characters, male or female.
In general women and men are presented fairly equally, as their importance and power statuses are reversed constantly throughout this extract. However the main female characters in this extract are presented as much more intelligent than the Master or the Doctor, both men. The Master and the Doctor are both presented as much more action-based characters who despite being important and more physically strong than the women, are not as powerful as Martha or the woman in the Red dress. All of the characters shown in the outside world after the Master’s defeat are shown celebrating together, male or female. Therefore connoting equality between males and females in this extract.
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