By Danny Nicol
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| First woman Doctor? Clara Oswald tries to convince a Cyberman that she is the Time Lord. |
In a celebrated article published
in 2004 entitled “Is Doctor Who
political?” Professor Alan McKee argued that Doctor Who’s “old show” (1963-89) was not political because fans whom
he surveyed did not see it as political – at least, not in the sense of
traditional, state-level politics. ((2004)
7 European Journal of Cultural Studies 201). McKee’s argument seemed to contain the
suggestion that scholars should deprioritise interpreting the politics of Doctor Who themselves, and should
instead focus their attentions more on soliciting the opinions of fans on the
matter.
Say something nice
This blog post will resist the
temptation of critiquing McKee’s stance.
But it will observe that – a decade on - McKee does not seem to have
carried the day. In the last four years
in particular, a significant scholarly literature has emerged interpreting Doctor Who, including political aspects. Academics have declined to “shut up, shut up,
shut uppity up”.
Moreover Doctor Who’s recent series finale “Dark Water”/“Death in Heaven”
(2014), suggests that Doctor Who is
indeed political. No fewer than three political themes pervade it.
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| "Missy. Short for Mistress. Well...I couldn't very well keep calling myself the Master, could I?" |
First, feminism. The series
as a whole repeatedly reflected – or perhaps satirised - the growing clamour
that the Doctor be played by a woman. In
the series finale, therefore, the mysterious Missy turns out to be the newly regenerated,
regendered Master, a long-time opponent of the Doctor; and companion Clara Oswald
identifies herself to the Cybermen as the Doctor, with the opening titles being
changed to give Jenna Coleman, who plays Clara, the billing usually reserved for the man who plays the
Doctor. For good measure, at the end of
the adventure, the Doctor and Clara joke about the Doctor becoming Queen of
Gallifrey. In his article, McKee
contends that “gender politics” is different from “traditional state-level
politics”, but such a sharp demarcation is pernicious. It serves to marginalise feminism. The question of why women – the majority of
the population – do not form majorities in Parliaments and Cabinets, is both a
matter of gender politics and a
matter of state-level politics. And the
Doctor is a political figure – not least in this adventure, where he fleetingly becomes President of Earth.
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| Missy implores the Doctor to accept her gift: a Cyberman army |
Secondly, the question of whether the Doctor is a “good man”. It is arguable indeed that the series
offered us a de-legalised version of the “Trial of a Time Lord” story arc of
1986, when the Time Lords place the Doctor on trial for his incorrigible
meddling with other peoples and planets.
Throughout the series the Doctor has been expressing his misgivings
about whether he is a good man. This theme has been part and parcel of the new show since it began in 2005 and has shadowed Britain's controversial interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan. The
series finale culminates with Missy offering the Doctor “an indestructible army to
range across the Universe” so that he can enforce his version of what is “right”. The Doctor rejects the offer. Human companions are army enough for
him. But does this make him a good
man? Doesn't the Doctor, like Britain
Thirdly, the power of corporations.
In “Dark Water”/“Death in Heaven”, a mighty company called 3W is
using the bodies of dead people to create Cybermen. It does so under the guise of giving "more life" to the dead. The Doctor detects the stench of
profiteering: “fakery, all of it; it’s a con, it’s a racket!” The corporate domination of Britain
