The document analyzes how camera angles and editing are used in Doctor Who to represent gender dynamics and power relationships. It discusses several shots that portray the male villain looking down on the female character Martha, suggesting she is inferior. However, as the scene progresses, the shots begin to level the playing field and present Martha as rebellious and fighting for equality. By the end, the shots put the villain in a position of disadvantage and imply that those who assert dominance and superiority will ultimately find themselves alone.

1. A reverse storyboard of
Doctor Who
How camera angles and editing represent gender:

2. Next, we are shown a still, low angle shot. This was
potentially done to emulate Martha’s point of view; she
looks up to the male villain- the could suggest that this
is what women are expected to do in society. The lack
of movement suggests that this point of view is unlikely
to move/change. The characters’ heads, in a way, follow
the golden ratio which leads us to look to each
character consecutively.
This shot, framed using the rule of thirds, is a moving
shot. Mounted on a dolly, the camera is then used to
follow Martha’s movements. As it is tracking her from
the front and moving backwards, the audience feels like
she is being watched carefully (potentially by the
audience themselves.) As the director has angled the
camera slightly downwards, he implies that someone is
looking down on her/sees her as inferior.

3. This low angle shot is used to show that the male
character is in the position of power. As a result, it
connotes that he is high in the power hierarchy and it
implies that males are powerful in our society too.
However, another woman is up there with him too but
she is Caucasian as well- perhaps they are implying that
women can be powerful too but not if they’re people of
colour. The slightly canted angle could potentially be
interpreted as Martha’s inner confusion.
A high angle shot has been used here to put the
audience in the shoes of the villain. He is looking down
on her so therefore the audience is too- this point-of-
view camera angle helps to immerse the audience in
the scene. The way it implies that the man is looking
down on her suggests that she isn’t seen as an equal
but rather as inferior. The rule of thirds comes into play
here as she only fills up 2/3s of the shot perhaps
showing she isn’t important enough to fill it up.

4. This wide shot has been used to show the full extent of
the power he has over Martha. She is made to kneel at
his feet alone. In a way, this shows what men may
expect women to do in everyday life: submit to them so
that they are under the males’ control. The rule of
thirds is used to divide up the scene but the canted
angle makes it less obvious. The canted angle can
suggest Martha is confused which could lead us to infer
that she doesn’t agree with her current position- this
leads her to be represented as rebellious.
The lack of an angled shot suggests that the villain and
Martha are on equal footing now. This presents her as
being rebellious as she is fighting to be an equal. The
close-up allows the audience to see his discomfort at
the shift in power. As a result, we can infer that this
particular male is only comfortable at the top of the
power chain- he is presented as dominative with
superiority issues. Also, one third of the screen is
empty- this could suggest that more information is to
be revealed.

5. The fact that the villain does not occupy the full length
of the frame could suggest that he does not have as
much power as he once did. This notion is supported by
the space above his head which could be seen as
connoting that he should be looking up to the (rising)
Doctor and that he isn’t the superior character now.
This presents his evil male character as inferior to his
heroic counterparts and also suggests that if they are in
a position of power, they will not be so for long.
The high angle shot is obviously used here to connote a
PoV shot (from the Doctor’s position)- this not only
immerses the audience in the scene, but it shows the
shift in power. Before, this was used to show how
Martha was inferior in comparison to the villain, but
now it is used to show how he is the one at a
disadvantage. He is framed in the middle of the shot to
show how he is alone. This can be put in the context
that the villains (regardless of gender) will find
themselves alone in the end.