Doc Martin Textual Analysis

Season 1 Episode 1

The two regions represented in the Doc Martin extract are the southern and northern regions of England, which juxtapose each other. At the beginning of the scene, the camera is at a low angle on the northern workers, with the southern doctor standing over them. This implies that the doctor has power over the workers. He may have power because he is employing them, but also because he is an educated, middle-class southerner. In the dialogue that follows it is established that the northerners are uneducated and easily distracted, which is played to a comical effect. This conforms to the stereotype of northerners being working-class and uneducated. For the majority of the scene, there are long takes and selective focus on the doctor, connoting that he has the most power, or that he feels he does. The scene is set in a rural village near the ocean, which conforms to the stereotype of northerners leaving only in rural areas. It also suggests that there is a strong sense of community; another stereotype of northerners. Overall, the scene conforms to many stereotypes of southerners and northerners, and establishes the southerner as the superior character on account of his education and upbringing.