elisi | Meta recs.

I've yet to write about the Christmas Special. Partly because I've not quite got my head together, and partly because other people have contributed vast and wonderful metas that you should all read. I have assembled a list:

The Memory of Snow: The Snowmen. by

lonewytch

The Frozen Mirror by

janie_aire

Shameless speculation on Clara by

10littlebullets

Eyes Front, Soldier by

janie_aire

And finally this one (title is spoilery) by

ibishtar which goes into another side of things.

For now I mostly want to pull out this snippet, from the beginning of

janie_aire first essay, because I think it's pretty spot-on, and very much how I see the show:

The first thing to keep in mind is the intent and purpose of Doctor Who at this point in time. I maintain that it's positioning itself as mythology. The functions of mythology are to supply the symbols that represent the collective psyche of a society, to transmit a set of values if not a philosophy pointing the way to a life lived well, and to identify the pitfalls and fantasies that get in the way of our wholeness, if not our happiness -- especially the problems posed by suffering and death.

Most of all, mythology permits a sideways communication between the conscious mind and the subconscious mind. Inscribed upon the Temple of Apollo in Delphi of Ancient Greece were two words: Know Thyself. In the current Revival, there is a question to answer: it's more easily recognized as "Doctor who?" but it is, in fact, "Who are you?" So this is what defines the show's current orientation.

Now this (to me) very much ties in with this amazing quote about the symbols used in religion and language:

Notes on Poetry and Religion

Hopefully at some point I'll manage to turn all this into writing, but for now, this is a glimpse into where my head's at. (My header also gives a good indication... *g*)

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