Historically, the well known TV show, Doctor Who, has strictly casted a male to play the lead role. However, after 55 years, they have finally chosen a female as the lead role of the doctor.
Actress Jodie Whittaker plays the character, “the doctor”, in Series 11 that began airing on October 7th.
Doctor Who is a show about a time lord called “the doctor” who travels through space and time. The character fights aliens and battles injustice across the universe. He/she travels via TARDIS—time and relative dimension in space. He/she has the power to regenerate as a start of a new cycle. Because of the time lords regeneration, the personalities of the doctor are ever changing.
Doctor Who first ran for 26 seasons, starting in 1963 and ending in 1989. It was then relaunched in 2005 and is still running to this day. Their fanbase has been very passionate of the show, especially leading up to the release of the 13th doctor. However, once news broke that the upcoming doctor was female, the fans were in an uproar.
Many Whovians (Doctor who fans) felt that it was only right for the Doctor to be male and it was “dumb” to change its gender. Whovians were so used to having a male doctor that it seemed like the writers were betraying the story.
While the majority were against this decision, there were several that supported this idea. Some fans were open to the idea of having a new portrayal of the doctor. Gender was irrelevant to them, and people were excited to finally have a new source of inspiration for little girls.
“I think this is a positive change that will show how girls can be powerful as well,” said sophomore Kavya Elango.
It’s about time that we finally have a female to play a strong, inspiring lead. The controversy surrounding this decision was unnecessary. It’s 2018 and diversity shouldn’t have to be forced upon the entertainment industry; it should already be implemented. 55 years is more than enough time to introduce diversity and by today it is expected that fans would be prepared.
Women should not be relegated to playing the role of assistant or nurse and the role of the time lord should not be reserved for only males. However, it’s pertinent that there is more diversity in the upcoming seasons. All the doctors thus far have been caucasian, and it would be nice to see a person of color play the lead for once.
“I feel the change was necessary and important due to the fact that there is finally starting to be a change in the social construct of our society,” said sophomore Liam Crowley. “It would also be nice to see a doctor that is not predominantly Caucasian as this would be another major change in the show, as well as our society.”