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There was much that was wrong in the era of Eisenhower/Kennedy
but can you imagine audiences watching
Jackass or The Bachelor,
shows which consist of penis jokes or swallowing the sham of 20 women claiming to have a "connection" with a single, Ken-like playboy?
Can you imagine millions of dollars being made by audiences flocking to movies like Saw or Hostel?
Which is worse? Game of Thrones or the culture that adores it?
No, GOT is not realistic.
Yes, rape and torture existed in the truly Dark Ages,
but where are the deaths from influenza, or child birth, or infected gums? -- much less the lack of hygiene or teeth.
Game of Thrones allows the viewer to revel in depravity from afar.
No one likes being called a voyeur, especially a voyeur of human depravity.
Yet, few nobles of Westeros are killed by influenza, alcohol poisoning, or being thrown from their horse.
Every one of Mr. Martin's unmarried female characters is raped (or barely escapes it).
Barbarous and violent as they may be, the Iliad and the early books of the Old Testament present a wider array of emotions and human motivations
than can be found in all of the Song of Ice and Fire books combined.
This is why they are still read all these millenia later.
They capture enough of the human condition to resonate across centuries.
This is an achievement I believe Mr. Martin's shallow world of vice-driven characters can never hope to attain.
Why the audiences of GOT think it is realistic is the great mystery.
Have we reached a point where a story will not be hailed as authentic, deep, and “real” if it is not also dark, gritty, and violent?
Why is a world of grisly barbarity the only setting for moral drama modern audiences find acceptable?
Is that why Atticus Finch being revealed as a bigot after all made SET A WATCHMAN so popular?
Do we want to subconsciously justify our own desire to be shabby this way?
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Hi Roland - couldn't agree more ... I hate following the crowd, or not thinking for myself, or slavishly following something I don't need to see or have or own ... we each need to take responsibility for ourselves and our own life - and through being kind and compassionate and thoughtful reach out to others in the process of our life. Cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteThe line of followers goes around the block -- and, like you, I go my own way -- and it is the way of kindness, curiosity, and finding new friends! Thank you for being my friend :-)
DeleteYeah I guess it is a matter of to each their own. Still Lord of the Rings is read today and that is a book about, if nothing else, hope.
ReplyDeleteI personally love Brandon Sanderson;s writing because it captures the greatness of Epic Fantasy without delving into the Grim/Dark.
I think there is too much darkness out there to spend more time in it than I have to. Glad you think so, too. :-)
DeleteWhat Brandon said.
ReplyDeleteI don't know what it is about Game of Thrones. I don't think it's realistic, but it is compelling.
The new Daredevil is also dark but amazingly well-written and with compelling characters.
I still enjoy the ones with hope. That's why I miss the Stargate shows so much. (Not the third one. That's why it failed - it went for backstabbing and hopeless.)
I miss so many series that sparkled with wonder and mystery and friendship. I agree with you about the last StarGate series. :-(
DeleteI haven't (and won't) watched GOT. I suspect people turn to it, and similar programs as an escape from the ugliness in their own lives/worlds.
ReplyDeleteSad and bad that it can be seen as an escape.
To find release in the rape and torture of others for hours upon hours seems a sad way to find relief. :-(
DeleteI thought I was the only one who didn't buy in the the GOT or, well I won't name them all. I enjoy mysteries, and sitcoms that are funny - like the Big Bang Theory, but for the rest - not gonna pay for continuous brutality. Even some of the current comedians are a bit raw for me - but hey I'm old and out of it. And so glad to be!!!!
ReplyDeleteGood post, great question!
Yes, I am a dinosaur -- but in my last short story I will write, McCord asks how insane to be adjusted to a dysfunctional world?
DeleteGlad we are dinosaurs together. :-)
Aye, "Let Compassion be ones Compass. Ironic how compass and compassION, are derivatives of the other? At least in my dictionary.
DeleteI see decadence rapidly accelerating here in So.Cal, with over 20 Million persons. Life here used to be that where a person could/would look into another's eyes; or simply say "Hello." These days, the vast majority of persons here, do not look another in the eyes. Seems like Fear drives these types of persons, and I see why. Tho' that does not derail my own looking at ones eyes, into their soul, albeit dark or lightness of one's character/personae.
Nothing can permanently derail this big hearted Compassion, tho' its often tested by others.
Sandra taught me that you do not look predators in the eyes lest you trigger their violence. Sadly, most strangers we meet in the larger cities are predators at heart. Sigh.
DeleteI haven't watched Thrones. People are jaded. They go for adrenalin pumping action.
ReplyDeleteThis is a whole series of blog post on instant gratification, patience, shallowness, Times be Changing, whoo doggie.
Yes there is a problem.
Yes, Ann, this has become a culture of instant gratification to the detriment of long range happiness,
DeleteYou haven't missed much by not watching THRONES. I tried to watch a snippet or two on YouTube but couldn't stomach them
Thanks for being my friend. :-)
I was going to start watching GOT soon because I finally got HBO (I'll have to start with Season 1); but if there's as much gore and violence as you say then I'll be fast forwarding thru lots of scenes. That said, I do know people who love the complexity of the politics and alliances, so maybe if I treat it as a Shakespearean play without the sublime language, I'll enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteBut then, I couldn't bring myself to watch the movie Coriolanus because I knew what happened in it. Even in Shakespeare's plays, few people die of pestilence or accidents but instead get offed with swords, daggers, poison or arrows. Or they die of madness.
Damn. Think I'll go watch a couple episodes of Modern Family...
Go to YouTube and watch GOT snippets of THE MAIDEN AND THE BEAR or THE RED WEDDING or the rape of a woman beside the fresh corpse of her son or the mutilation (penis removal) of a prisoner and the subsequent sending of said penis to the father, a visual taunt that the man's line was ended. The prisoner is then kept for mocking, re-named Reek. Sigh.
DeleteRather watch the first four seasons of Dexter or I hear Breaking Bad is well done, but I couldn't bring myself to watch the deterioration of a man's soul over so many seasons.
I like THE BLACKLIST and it doesn't take me having HBO! :-)
Have fun with your HBO. It costs so much, doesn't it? I think I will take up Netflix for LONGMIRE, DAREDEVIL, JESSICA JONES. Have a great mid-week.
Haven't watched GOT, don't like the sound of it...Did not like Go Set a Watchman either, prefer my Finch bigotry-free. A phenomenal reading memory from youth totally (and sadly) shattered.
ReplyDeleteNot really. GO SET A WATCHMAN was the first draft of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD -- Ms. Harper changed Atticus from the bigot to the hero. The Publisher did a callous money grab with WATCHMAN. Atticus as you remember him was the MC Harper wanted not the rough draft version.
Delete