Sunday 26 November 2023

Dr Who

 


https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/may/24/im-in-awe-trans-actor-yasmin-finney-on-joining-doctor-who

The 60th anniversary of Dr Who was celebrated over the weekend with a new series. Many Dr Who fans praised the LGBTQ+ representation in the programme.

What does LGBTQ+ stand for?
What is representation? 

There were several scenes featuring non-binary characters. In one scene the Dr meets Meep, an extra-terrestrial character, and assumes their pronouns, referring to them as "he". The character corrects the Dr, saying they prefer to use the definite article the Meep.

Later the Dr revealed their own gender identity saying they are "Male and Female. And neither. And more."

In the episode we met Rose Noble, a new character who identifies as non-binary. Rose is played by trans actor Yasmin Finney who announced in July at a trans pride event that her DR Who character was also trans, "I exist, you know I exist. We all exist and we're not going anywhere."


Earlier this year, Yasmin spoke about her previous character Elle in the Netflix series Heartstopper, Elle is a trans character but her trans identity is barely mentioned in the series. Yasmin said this gave her hope for more visibility in the future; "I would think there's hope - a black trans person on the screen. So young, so authentic, and so natural. You do not understand: the amount of time I've spent searching for representation, clawing for it and trying to find someone I could look up to as an idol, somebody that is a reflection of me."

Yasmin hopes in the future she won't be limited to just playing trans characters, "I will play trans roles for the rest of my life if I have to because I think every trans role is valid. But bring on the next role: trans, cis, alien, whatever!"

- what is non-binary?
- if it's the 60th anniversary, what year was Dr Who first aired?
- How was the UK different in 1963?
- Why does the Dr assume Meep's pronoun?
- Do pronouns matter?
- The Dr says they are "Male and Female. And neither. And more." what is your response?
- The Dr is a made up character on TV, so is this relevant to today? It's all just make-believe?
- Why did Yasmin say, "I exist, you know I exist. We all exist and we're not going anywhere." who is she talking about?
- "a black trans person on the screen. So young, so authentic, and so natural. You do not understand: the amount of time I've spent searching for representation, clawing for it and trying to find someone I could look up to as an idol, somebody that is a reflection of me." what does this mean? What is your response to this quote? 
- "But bring on the next role: trans, cis, alien, whatever!" what is Yasmin saying about actors here?
- Does it matter if characters are trans, non-binary, cis? You could argue  it doesn't matter; why do we need to know who a character is... What do you think?
- What can we learn from Yasmin?
- What do we say in our school about being LGBTQ+?
- Why is this about No Outsiders?


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