QUOTE OF THE NOW

"Our life evokes our character. You find out more about yourself as you go on. That's why it's good to be able to put yourself in situations that will evoke your higher nature rather than your lower. 'Lead us not into temptation.'" Joseph Campbell

Monday, July 29, 2013

Chicky Game of Thrones

 
I've been marathoning Game of Thrones and man, what a great variety of female characters.

When we talk about the representation of women in entertainment, we're not saying that women have to be represented in a positive way. This is the end goal: Characters as numerous and varied as the male ones. A scheming-s'mothering queen, a plucky-vengeful girl, an ugly supa skilled knight, a victimised princess, a good but tough wannabe queen, a couple kind ex-prostitutes, and so on.

It's not like most shows with a couple token chicks; there's almost as many featured women as men. Martin doesn't fall back on the excuse that when portraying war you're going to have mostly male characters cause they were the fighters and ones in power (in the medieval times most fantasy is set in). He shows all the different ways women were involved in power politics and daily survival.

I'm not recommending the show to just anyone, cause it's grim stuff. Very gorey, graphic sex scenes, rape and so on. But it's definitely one of the best shows I've ever seen in terms of representations of women.

Less so on other fronts--there's this whole storyline of blonde woman as savior of people of color that's only unobnoxious because the chick is so cool. And it isn't a hotbed of LGBT-a-tude. But I feel like finally FINALLY we're getting somewhere. (Plus the sexiest, coolest man in the series is a little person, so that's gotta count for something!)

 

 

5 comments:

Skye said...

I'm glad that Martin put so many different kinds of women in his series. But there is no way I'm reading or watching it. Sooo not my thing. Too violent and I cannot abide to read or watch about rape scenes. My housemates just got the first couple of disks of The Game of Thrones and watched the first of them last night while I was at the other end of the house watching Project Runway on Hulu (much less troubling but perhaps not less dramatic!).

Judy,Judy,Judy. said...

Better representation of women is awesome.
Not going to watch it if it has graphic rape scenes, though.

widdershins said...

It's definitely a step in the right direction. The whole show is, in so many ways.

London Mabel said...

I did wait until I wasn't so depressed anymore before trying to watch it.

I don't remember any on-screen rape. There have been two near misses, and it's threatened A Lot. "And then when they capture you, they'll rape you!"

There is torture, though, including against a couple prostitutes. And of gore, there is TONS. Basically just a brutal environment.

Definitely an Approach With Caution sort of show.

Unknown said...

Game of Thrones Season 7 Wiki
Game of Thrones Season 7 Episode 6

Reading

Hold Me Tight: Seven Conversations for a Lifetime of Love
Les années douces : Volume 1
Back on the Rez
My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey
Stupeur et tremblements
}