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Ayn Rand said about the goal of her fiction:
“My basic test for any story is:
Would I want to meet these characters and observe these events in real life?
Is this story an experience worth living through for its own sake?
Is the pleasure of contemplating these characters an end in itself?”
I answer NO to each of these questions regarding GAME OF THRONES.
In the very first episode of the HBO series, GAME OF THRONES,
Daenerys “Dany” Targaryen—one of the series’ most beloved protagonists—
is raped on her wedding night by her husband, Khal Drogo,
to whom she has been “given” as part of a political alliance.
Dany stands on a shoreline, shivering and crying,
while Drogo circles her, assesses her, then rapes her.
In the second episode, he rapes her again.
By the third episode, they’re in love, and oddly enough,
the rapes don’t seem to have at all hampered the evolution of their relationship.
I've been told that one of the appeals of GOT is that it is fantasy with realistic consequences.
Really? Rapes pretty much negate love quickly following them.
And throwing in a few dragons and night walkers does not make GOT a fantasy.
I guess having love following rape would qualify it for fantasy though.
Don't get me talking about "The Bear and the Maiden Fair."
I couldn't take more than a few seconds of the scene on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rk4res-iDKU
And then there is the gory RED WEDDING episode:
It was such an obvious trap that even Shaggy and Scooby-Doo would have avoided it!
Throughout the four seasons,
the show’s creators have added a number of sex scenes that weren’t in the book,
including long, prominent scenes where female prostitutes are raped, tortured or abused
with titillating, porn-like camera framing.
In the United States,
1 in 5 women report having been raped at some time in their lives,
and 97 percent of rapists do not serve any time for their crime.
As a former counselor,
I find the constant sexual violence portrayed in GOT disheartening.
No, I do not watch it. I don't have to.
Some of my co-workers do, and they fill me in on the gory details until I ask them to cease and desist.
Medieval misogyny is no excuse for contemporary misogyny.
Evil always triumphs in GOT. That is as much a cliche as having good always winning.
WHAT DO YOU FEEL ABOUT
GAME OF THRONES?
I don't watch GOT either, but I hear about it from others too. Rape is never acceptable, and seeing it on tv doesn't change that. I am watching Outlander, though, so I knew what to expect there. What was once implied is now shown.
ReplyDeleteI don't watch it, and I haven't read it. Rape is never, ever acceptable. And I cannot accept it as a prelude to love. Or not a love I can accept/understand.
ReplyDeleteSadly television and movies cater not so much for the lowest common denominator, but the meanest and cruelest far too often.
J here, stopping by from the #atozchallenge 2015!
ReplyDelete@JLenniDorner
Must stop petting virtual kitty...must... get tuna...
GoT-
I really love dragons. And the White Walkers are pretty interesting. Arya Stark is my favorite human character.
As for the rape, you make an excellent point. Though a few of the rapist do get killed in some fantastic ways. Not that this justifies the porn aspect in the first case, but at least there are higher odds of a rapist dying in GoT than one even getting a slap on the wrist in the real world.
It's a very serious issue happening in many of the HBO-SHOWTIME-CINEMAX channels, where instead of giving us a story that is strong enough the need to have extra add in violence or rape. As you mentioned, we shouldn't have to peep between our fingers to watch stuff, life gives enough... news gives enough... our imaginations such as television... don't have to burn us to what they want with this violence. more and more is being shoved down our throats where "it's the norm"... it will be allowed and excepted...
ReplyDeletethat being said, I watch GOT, but I like different aspects of it from honor, music and dragons... I love dragons.
I think I went off a little, sorry... but it's like the news when you show or glorify murder, suicides, gun violence all they are doing is making the next person... say I can be famous. Argghhhh!
I always try to bring a lighter side to my life, I hate violence...
Jeremy
I wholeheartedly agree with you on this one. While there are aspects of GOT that I like (the dragons) most of it just appalls me because of things like the rape issue, torture, and just plain violence for the sake of entertainment. Don't get me wrong, I'm not against violence in my books or movies, but it must be believable (you're so right about the wedding, anyone would have seen that coming) and move the plot forward. That said, Martin has made his fortune off feeding a particular audience what they wanted.
ReplyDeleteI found the sex scenes in "Game of Thrones" to be put in for shock value, and not really related to the plot. I don't like others ideology imposed on me when trying to relax watching TV, so I moved on to something lighter but different like "Lillyhammer." When I wanted dark I did "Breaking Bad."
ReplyDeleteD.G.:
ReplyDeleteRape just makes me sad when I see it repeated over and over again in the same show, along with sexual violence, torture, maiming. Who finds pleasure in viewing that? How can Mr. Martin hold those images for the long years it has taken him to write his saga?
Elephant's Child:
I've only watched a snippet or two on YouTube at the urging of co-workers. It is NOT my cup of tea!
Lenni:
In my latest post, I have spotlighted a series with dragons, political intrigue, and world war that has so impressed Peter Jackson that he has bought the movie rights!
Jeremy:
I would recommend you to read the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik. Hopefully, Peter Jackson will now make a movie or an HBO series of it now that he has finished with THE HOBBIT.
Heather:
I agree with you. Most fantasy books have violence in them -- it is just that the sexual violence, the torture, and bare bodies just pull viewers OUT OF THE STORY which is not what good writing does.
It feels like the series is pandering to the sicker, dark impulses of viewers. Sigh.
Walter:
I am like you. They are not helping the story but are only a grab for ratings. Breaking Bad was dark but each dark incident had an arc and propelled the story forward in a necessary way -- though I only watched the first season. I could see that the major arc was going to be the disintergration of the soul of the protagonist.