As we all know, there’s a new lady Doctor who is a female-type woman person played by Jodie Whittaker, herself a woman. At Comic-Con we got our first look at the Thirteenth Doctor outside of her regeneration scene.
“So if I asked really, really nicely… Would you be my new best friends?” is a really great line to introduce the new Doctor on, I kind of love it. And Jodie Whittaker is just a great actress, which anyone who watched Broadchurch can tell you.
If we’re worried about toxic masculinity, and we should be, then shouldn’t young boys have a role model to tell them to never be cruel and never be cowardly, to laugh hard, run fast and be kind? And also to never eat pears.
There is still an air of controversy with Doctor Who fans around Whittaker’s 13 being a woman for the first time in the long history of the franchise. Some people are very happy with the decision, some people aren’t, and people have been making it know how they felt for an entire year without any idea as to what Whittaker’s Doctor will be like.
Me, I’m of two minds about it. I’m an adult Doctor Who fan who has been watching the show since the 1996 Fox TV movie where Paul McGann played The Doctor. Just as a fan, I’m excited for a number of reasons, number one among them being that Clara Oswald isn’t on the show anymore. But also because Jodie Whittaker looks amazing as The Doctor and new showrunner Chris Chibnall earned a lot of good will from me for his last series, Broadchurch, that just so happened to star former Doctor David Tennant alongside incumbent Doctor Jodie Whittaker. As a fan, I have no reservations about the fact that I’m going to get a TV series I enjoy watching.
On the other hand, The Doctor is the kind of role model that is short supply for young men but is desperately needed. If we’re worried about toxic masculinity, and we should be, then shouldn’t young boys have a role model to tell them to never be cruel and never be cowardly, to laugh hard, run fast and be kind? And also to never eat pears.
And you might be saying “That’s true, but don’t little girls deserve to have a role model like The Doctor as well?” and they do, but girls also have a lot of role models like The Doctor in other shows and movies. There’s no shortage of media teaching girls they can be strong, clever leaders. Shows and movies from Wonder Woman to Frozen to Glitter Force/Pretty Cure feature exactly that kind of character.
Heroes for boys all tend to put brawn over brains, or, at the very least, are celebrated primarily for their physical strength. Even the better than it has any right to be Netflix series Trollhunters, which does present a softer, more empathetic and emotionally healthy character, ends with victory won through physical strength and combat. That’s fine, but young boys and men should see at least some alternatives to that presented to them. If there were more characters like The Doctor for boys to emulate, it wouldn’t bother me a bit.
Back at Comic-Con, we also got our first look at The Doctor’s new sonic screwdriver.
New Doctor, New Sonic Screwdriver. #DoctorWho pic.twitter.com/ThXlmJLKer
— Doctor Who (@bbcdoctorwho) July 19, 2018
If you recall, Peter Capaldi’s Doctor ditched his screwdriver in favor of sonic sunglasses, so it kind of feels like another old friend has come back to the show along with The Doctor herself. Of course, people on social media were quick to point out that the screwdriver’s unique curvature made it look like something else a female Doctor might have in her purse.
Jodie Whittaker's sonic screwdriver pic.twitter.com/zeudlAZRk9
— Cap E Tan (@Firing69) July 19, 2018
Man, you people and your minds. It’s a children’s show about a time-travelling alien being chased down corridors by killer salt cellars, let’s keep it clean.
Doctor Who returns on BBC One and BBC America this fall.
Wow an even handed discussion on this topic. Who knew that was even possible on the internet?