The cultural revolution started by Game of Thrones

[JulianaLeGrand]

I read an article yesterday which described how the show continues to break existing taboos, thus leading to a broad-minded cultural revolution. But the writer also speaks of the ills of this phenomenon with what is at times, gratuitously sexual and violent content. 

 

Here's the link:

https://theironicman.wordpress.com/2015/07/21/breaking-bad-with-game-of-thrones/

 

What are your views?

[A Bong of Ice and Fire]

I don't think the show "breaks taboos" in the sense that is has some revolutionary cultural agenda.  (I think GRRM is way beyond petty ideological concerns.)  It just shows things like they are, of course in a fantasy context.

 

Yes, there was some gratuitous sex, but it didn't detract much.

[A Ghost of Someone]

The show has placed almost every single major and second tier female character into either a nudity scene and or a sexual scene either consenual or rape (Sansa - Season 5) the only one they did not do this to is Lady Stark. In the books, most of the sex is in the second hand recollection of people but it does exist. The show, being a visual medium brings it to our eyes and ears  in order to help capture the attention of the media and audience. Whether we like it or not, whether it is controversial or not.

[Khorkalba]

What I find amusing about all of this is that scenes depicting incestuous rape are now tolerated by mainstream audiences, yet a man with blue hair and a gold mustache is considered too "out there". 

 

Also, it's worth noting that political correctness has reared its ugly head on the show... for example, some characters are being portrayed by black actors seemingly for no other reason than the producers feel they need X amount of black people to be politically correct. That in my opinion is a very backwards, small-minded approach to television; the very opposite of a "broad-minded cultural revolution".

[Khal Boner]

GoT is graphic and does show a lot of the violence that GRRM describes but it's really not groundbreaking. Television in the 70's was more taboo challenging, especially where sex is concerned. I Claudius had incest in it I think. There's been nothing in GoT that hasn't been seen before. In my country, The UK, at least.

[Channel4s-JonSnow]

What I find amusing about all of this is that scenes depicting incestuous rape are now tolerated by mainstream audiences, yet a man with blue hair and a gold mustache is considered too "out there". 

 

Also, it's worth noting that political correctness has reared its ugly head on the show... for example, some characters are being portrayed by black actors seemingly for no other reason than the producers feel they need X amount of black people to be politically correct. That in my opinion is a very backwards, small-minded approach to television; the very opposite of a "broad-minded cultural revolution".

Its political correctness gone mad I tell you.

 

[A Ghost of Someone]

What I find amusing about all of this is that scenes depicting incestuous rape are now tolerated by mainstream audiences, yet a man with blue hair and a gold mustache is considered too "out there". 

 

Also, it's worth noting that political correctness has reared its ugly head on the show... for example, some characters are being portrayed by black actors seemingly for no other reason than the producers feel they need X amount of black people to be politically correct. That in my opinion is a very backwards, small-minded approach to television; the very opposite of a "broad-minded cultural revolution".

the whole Greyworm / Mel lovestory is something I think was added for this reason. It reduces time from important plotlines that are more critical to the political endgame as well as major character's storylines.

[Khal Boner]

 for example, some characters are being portrayed by black actors seemingly for no other reason than the producers feel they need X amount of black people to be politically correct. That in my opinion is a very backwards, small-minded approach to television; the very opposite of a "broad-minded cultural revolution".

Which of the small handful of black actors employed by the show do you think is only there because of political correctness? They all seem pretty good to me. Missandei, Salladar San, Areo, Greyworm.  All good performances.

[Pyat>Daenerys]

Xharo Xhoan Daxos was black instead of Quartheen pale.

[A Ghost of Someone]

Xharo Xhoan Daxos was black instead of Quartheen pale.

Yeah, forgot about that. At least they got Areo Hotah right but then again, the cut Arianne Martell who is half Summer Islander and did not make Trystane, who they kept, half Summer Islander too.

[Khorkalba]

Which of the small handful of black actors employed by the show do you think is only there because of political correctness? They all seem pretty good to me. Missandei, Salladar San, Areo, Greyworm.  All good performances.

When you're making a TV show based on books, the first thing you should do is search for actors that look vaguely the same as a particular character is described in the books. Then you make a choice based on how they perform in an audition.

 

With certain characters, like Xharo Xhoan Daxos, it seems like they've deliberately gone against the book descriptions and made the decision before even meeting any actors that the character should be black.

[Khal Boner]

When you're making a TV show based on books, the first thing you should do is search for actors that look vaguely the same as a particular character is described in the books. Then you make a choice based on how they perform in an audition.

 

 

So which actor do you think shouldn't have been given their role because they are the wrong colour for this fictional world?  I grant it would be pretty strange if the Starks had been played by black actors but I don't see the problem where many other characters are concerned. Planetos is multi cultural.

[Channel4s-JonSnow]

Its clearly political correctness. Thats the only answer here. Reverse Racism.

[Khorkalba]

 

So which actor do you think shouldn't have been given their role because they are the wrong colour for this fictional world?  I grant it would be pretty strange if the Starks had been played by black actors but I don't see the problem where many other characters are concerned. Planetos is multi cultural.

 

I'm not saying the actors in question shouldn't be allowed to have a role on the show because they're black. Please stop trying to twist my words.

 

The issue is simply that they're playing characters with specific physical descriptions in the books... and it seems as though the producers have deliberately gone against those descriptions because they feel it would be politically correct for them to have a certain amount of black characters on screen a lot.

[Channel4s-JonSnow]

When you're making a TV show based on books, the first thing you should do is search for actors that look vaguely the same as a particular character is described in the books. Then you make a choice based on how they perform in an audition.

 

With certain characters, like Xharo Xhoan Daxos, it seems like they've deliberately gone against the book descriptions and made the decision before even meeting any actors that the character should be black.

Not really, first you search for actors who would best fit the role. Whether they absolutely physically look like them or not is less important. I would say that almost all of the casting has been spot on.. except Greyworm who I think looks like a weedy kid who smokes too much weed.

[Khal Boner]

 

I'm not saying the actors in question shouldn't be allowed to have a role on the show because they're black. Please stop trying to twist my words.

 

The issue is simply that they're playing characters with specific physical descriptions in the books... and it seems as though the producers have deliberately gone against those descriptions because they feel it would be politically correct for them to have a certain amount of black characters on screen a lot.

 

Sounds like you are accusing the show of deliberate positive discrimination or having a quota mentality. I think that's highly offensive to the actors cast and totally incorrect. There isn't a single character that doesn't work perfectly well with the black actor in the role.

[Khorkalba]

 

Sounds like you are accusing the show of deliberate positive discrimination or having a quota mentality. I think that's highly offensive to the actors cast and totally incorrect. There isn't a single character that doesn't work perfectly well with the black actor in the role.

Again, i'm not criticising the performances of the black actors. Going back to the Xaro Xhoan Daxos example, I thought Nonso Anozie's performance as that character was perfectly adequate. However I think you're being very naive if you believe that the show producers decided to reinvent that character just to have Nonso involved because they thought he was a fantastic 'must have' actor.

 

There absolutely is a quota mentality behind the show, and it's more offensive to viewers than to any of the handsomely paid cast members involved.

[Channel4s-JonSnow]

There might be certain characters where there is no reason why they wouldn't be black and so a black actor is cast. I might go as far as to suggest that the producers wouldn't want to be seen to only cast white people either, however I highly doubt they would pick someone because they had a certain number of black people that need to be in the show.


I mean this isn't The Walking Dead, where the only way to have another black character appear is for another to die. 

[Cashless Society]

Yeah, forgot about that. At least they got Areo Hotah right but then again, the cut Arianne Martell who is half Summer Islander and did not make Trystane, who they kept, half Summer Islander too.

Sarella is the only Martell offspring who is half Summer Islander.

[protar]

What I find amusing about all of this is that scenes depicting incestuous rape are now tolerated by mainstream audiences, yet a man with blue hair and a gold mustache is considered too "out there". 

 

Also, it's worth noting that political correctness has reared its ugly head on the show... for example, some characters are being portrayed by black actors seemingly for no other reason than the producers feel they need X amount of black people to be politically correct. That in my opinion is a very backwards, small-minded approach to television; the very opposite of a "broad-minded cultural revolution".

 

While I'm all for race changing characters where there is room for it, I think it's...interesting to note, that despite the large amount of race changed, essosi characters in the show, all of the minority characters from the books have (to my memory) been cut.