Why We Care About Who’s Playing Doctor Who
Ncuti Gatwa has been cast as the latest iteration of Doctor Who and we simply could not be more excited. Known for his role on Netflix’s Sex Education, Gatwa will be the first black actor playing the Doctor in the show’s long history, which began in 1963.
A Quick Rundown Of The Show
Merryana Salem, culture writer at Junkee, described it as “a time travelling alien called The Doctor and the show deals with their adventures through time and space and history and alien planets and all of everything that entails”.
Simple enough.
“My favourite thing is that it can be anything. Like it can play around with genre and setting and all of that in a way that other shows really can’t.”
Piers Britton is a Professor of Media and Visual Culture at the University of Redlands over in California. He recently wrote Design for Doctor which dives into visual design of costumes, sets, and graphics of the series.
He noted that comedy is the heart of Doctor Who, despite facing criticism when they veered more funny over serious in the early days of the show.
“It was unfashionable to think that back in the days of the classic series and the more humorous episodes and serials were often frowned upon by fans.
I think that a sense of timing and that sense of fun and delight, but also the capacity to turn into darkness when necessary is what makes the Doctor a distinctive character actually.”
Why Casting Is Important In Doctor Who
We’re well aware of the sheer power of representation in popular media. Seeing characters that look like you on screen is important, especially in a show like Doctor Who and how it explores being a hero.
“It’s gonna be really important for like black kids who watch the show to see like the hero of the show that looks like them and talks like them. Like that’s really important,” said Merry.
This central idea of heroism that the show explores is a big part of the show’s legacy, and why this casting is particularly meaningful. Piers also pointed out how the show probes the longstanding association in our world between heroism and masculinity.
“Obviously the most clear manifestation of that probing was the casting of a female Doctor the last time around, the wonderful Jody Whittaker.
It’s also laid bare some of the assumptions that we make about what constitutes a hero in a way that, for example, the Marvel Cinematic Universe doesn’t really. It tends to leave those things fairly uncomplicated. And it’s been horrendously patriarchal for most of its, you know, decade-and-a-half run at this point.”
Why Diverse Casting Is Bigger Than Just Casting
Diverse casting in mainstream media certainly still needs improvement. Whitewashing, racial tropes, and tokenism are some of the issues that have plagued Hollywood in their efforts to be more diverse.
While Gatwa’s casting as the new Doctor Who is unquestionably good news, it needs to be more than just that, as explained by Merry.
“I have a lot of issues with like colourblind stuff where I’m like, okay you have a person of colour in this role. But are you actually engaging with what that means? I don’t mean I want the Doctor to be constantly experiencing traumatic things, but I just want it to be acknowledged in a meaningful way. “
“Obviously it was wonderful having a couple years ago, the figure of the fugitive Doctor played by Jo Martin, who was the first black actor who was an official Doctor,” said Piers.
But having somebody who is an ongoing presence, not just a guest presence, represents the show’s intent to be inclusive and look hard at cultural assumptions. I think once people are pulled in, they will be intrigued by the ways in which Doctor Who does that cultural work.”