Watching Game of Thrones has become a family pastime, just like Eastenders or The Chase, but with mo
The idea of a family sitting down to watch a graphic sex scene or human bonfire is definitely weird, but it’s even weirder for them to decide which one is more offensive
Somehow, maybe because it has spawned from a popular book series, Game of Thrones has become a programme that the entire family can enjoy (as long as you’re old enough). Usually this kind of entertainment would be viewed in private, either on your laptop or via the box set, which you keep under your bed because you don’t want your parents to know you’re into aggressive sex and decapitation. But now, presumably because of the show’s quality, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about. You can quite comfortably sit down with mum and dad and watch a prostitute fellate a dwarf.
This is a show that has depicted babies being stabbed to death, various head and limb truncations, faces being stoved in by bare hands and children being burnt alive. So while the idea of a family sitting down to watch this kind of material is definitely weird, it seems to me, even weirder that some draw the line at fictional representations of rape. These people are clearly psychopaths.
I suppose an influx of complaints was inevitable as soon as the programme became one of the nation’s favourite pastimes. More viewers means more potential whingers. Not that I’m dismissing the impact of the rape scenes. They’ve all been horrific. Although, isn’t that the point? In the same way Theon Greyjoy getting his knob cut-off was pretty horrific. No? Anyway, the problem lies with these new family types that aren’t used to fantasy, are offended by absolutely everything, and above all, can’t tell the difference between fiction and reality. Come to think of it, has anyone seen Sean Bean since his character died?
It’s as if they’re treating Game of Thrones like Eastenders, demanding explicit content warnings and a helpline at the end of each episode, in case they’ve been affected by the dragons and snow zombies – which are real and hurt people every day.
More astonishingly, certain professional writers and critics seem to share these views. Danielle Henderson of The Guardian, for example, claimed that she stopped watching the programme because there was “too much racism and sexism”. The racism she referred to purportedly being displayed in the episode where Daenerys Targaryen frees all of the slaves in Yunkai and is then carried amongst them “like the bright planet in a constellation of darkness”. Firstly, I have no idea what she’s talking about. It would seem that, in her eyes, any depiction at all of slavery is unacceptable. Just imagine her version of 12 Years A Slave. It’d be shit. Secondly, I once again feel compelled to question why someone would freak out over this, having previously seen scenes of mass murder. Thirdly, the aforementioned scene was shot in Morocco. I doubt Middlesbrough would have had the same effect.
The solution is clear to me. If you’re logically inept and offended by things that happen in a fantasy world, you should just stop watching fiction altogether. You should probably stop thinking too. Just stare at a wall instead. You can blink if you want. Meanwhile, leave fiction to us nerds. Leave it to Nigel who still lives with his parents at 40 and always wears the t-shirt he got from Comic-Con. Leave it to those who take inspiration from it and go on to write the next big thing. Just don’t stifle the art. And it would probably help if families stopped watching it together too.
