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Why is GoT so popular yet...


Ser Ironbeard

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Why is GoT so popular yet it is not as popular or mass consumed as other famous franchises such as Star Wars, Star Trek, LotR, Harry Potter and many other franchises that are legendary within pop culture or the general public. Now I know you may have different opinions that may have their merits but what I am saying is that compared to the aforementioned franchises, most people outside of the GoT fandom or fanbase aren't familiar with the world building, history, characters, and in-jokes that are common in GoT related circles. In comparison, I am not a Star Wars fan at any shape or form and only saw 2 movies of the entire franchise yet I know darn well most of the characters (i.e. Luke Skywalker, Jar Jar Binks, Poe Dameron, and even Greedo), I can name some the world building (Tattooine, Hoth, Mos Easley Cantina), the history (clone wars, battle at endor), and many other stuff despite not even being a casual SW fan. Same for Star Trek, Harry Potter, and LotR to some extent (Though I think you have to be a engaged researcher to understand LotR). In GoT and ASOIAF, I would never be able to name any of the characters, world building, history and other stuff without doing basic research and becoming a fan in the process. I wasn't a GoT fan until the 5th season and just bought the books but I became a fan because of me doing research of the series and trying to understand what is so appealing to the franchise to begin with. How is GoT and ASOIAF so popular with a large global fanbase yet we get scant recognition frpm outsiders compared to the other franchises I've mentioned? 

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The Lord of the Rings was published in 1954. Star Trek began airing in 1966. Star Wars began in 1977. The first Harry Potter novel was released in 1997. Game of Thrones only started in 2011.

In addition, all of the other franchises were suitable for children to read/watch. They could grow up with those books or films. GoT is distinctly adults-only, so it doesn't quite have that childhood nostalgia factor working for it. It's also not available on universally-airing platforms in many countries, so there's a little bit of a barrier to watching it for those who don't want to break the law.

But mainly because it's way, way too new to have taken hold of the popular consciousness in that way. It's still doing incredibly well though, there are GoT references on other TV shows, in films, in other books and right across the board and a lot of people will recognise the character names and tropes.

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Yeah, this show's a fucking meme factory - constant quotations in all kinds of contexts (jokes, illustrating points etc.), characters and plot points are named and used as examples for things all the time.

Definitely seems to WAAAAAY outshine other current competitors, such as MCU, new SW, or Hobbit (lol), the new Treks etc. in terms of cultural presence.

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3 hours ago, Werthead said:

The Lord of the Rings was published in 1954. Star Trek began airing in 1966. Star Wars began in 1977. The first Harry Potter novel was released in 1997. Game of Thrones only started in 2011.

In addition, all of the other franchises were suitable for children to read/watch. They could grow up with those books or films. GoT is distinctly adults-only, so it doesn't quite have that childhood nostalgia factor working for it. It's also not available on universally-airing platforms in many countries, so there's a little bit of a barrier to watching it for those who don't want to break the law.

But mainly because it's way, way too new to have taken hold of the popular consciousness in that way. It's still doing incredibly well though, there are GoT references on other TV shows, in films, in other books and right across the board and a lot of people will recognise the character names and tropes.

By Werthead.

But Game of Thrones started in 1996 as the book series not the tv show. So it's a year older than Harry Potter and 30 yrs younger than Star Trek. But even then those other things were catered to families and their kids and were obviously limited to the mature censorship filter of those times. Flash forward into the 2010s, you don't need to cater to families and cookies and creme to make big bucks, you just cater those who are grown up and can deal with realistic scenarios instead of relying on nickelodeon and disney themed G-rated stuff.

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41 minutes ago, Ser Ironbeard said:

By Werthead.

But Game of Thrones started in 1996 as the book series not the tv show. So it's a year older than Harry Potter and 30 yrs younger than Star Trek. But even then those other things were catered to families and their kids and were obviously limited to the mature censorship filter of those times. Flash forward into the 2010s, you don't need to cater to families and cookies and creme to make big bucks, you just cater those who are grown up and can deal with realistic scenarios instead of relying on nickelodeon and disney themed G-rated stuff.

Harry Potter was a massive hit from the start though. ASoIaF did well, but nowhere near as well as many other book series until the TV show took off in 2011. If you were a hardcore SFF fan you'd have heard of it, but to the general audience it was obscure. That wasn't really true for anything else you mention, apart from maybe Lord of the Rings (released in 1954-55, relatively successful but not a major phenomenon until around 1966 when it took off with the American paperback edition) and maybe Star Trek (which didn't get really big until it hit syndication in 1970).

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15 hours ago, Ser Ironbeard said:

 How is GoT and ASOIAF so popular with a large global fanbase yet we get scant recognition from outsiders compared to the other franchises I've mentioned? 

While GoT is certainly successful, it's not really in the same league as the others franchises you mention. This last season, the episodes are watched by an average of about 15 million viewers on the first week. Any movie from Star Wars, LOTR or Harry Potter more than doubles that. (and movies tend to have more lasting live than series, I think). So it's only natural that they are not as recongizable.

Besides, as said, the other franchises you mentioned were:

  • Family friendly, and have been devised to reach the whole demographic.
  • Movies. In most markets, movies have much more press and impact than series.
  • Open to the general public, and not limited to subscribers of a particular private platform (or pirates).
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On 3/8/2018 at 0:32 PM, Ser Ironbeard said:

Why is GoT so popular yet it is not as popular or mass consumed as other famous franchises such as Star Wars, Star Trek, LotR, Harry Potter and many other franchises that are legendary within pop culture or the general public. Now I know you may have different opinions that may have their merits but what I am saying is that compared to the aforementioned franchises, most people outside of the GoT fandom or fanbase aren't familiar with the world building, history, characters, and in-jokes that are common in GoT related circles. In comparison, I am not a Star Wars fan at any shape or form and only saw 2 movies of the entire franchise yet I know darn well most of the characters (i.e. Luke Skywalker, Jar Jar Binks, Poe Dameron, and even Greedo), I can name some the world building (Tattooine, Hoth, Mos Easley Cantina), the history (clone wars, battle at endor), and many other stuff despite not even being a casual SW fan. Same for Star Trek, Harry Potter, and LotR to some extent (Though I think you have to be a engaged researcher to understand LotR). In GoT and ASOIAF, I would never be able to name any of the characters, world building, history and other stuff without doing basic research and becoming a fan in the process. I wasn't a GoT fan until the 5th season and just bought the books but I became a fan because of me doing research of the series and trying to understand what is so appealing to the franchise to begin with. How is GoT and ASOIAF so popular with a large global fanbase yet we get scant recognition frpm outsiders compared to the other franchises I've mentioned? 

This is hilarious.

The media constantly compares and references GOT to EVERYTHING and ANYTHING!  Politics, dogs that are bred for cold climates, designers' fashions, every other fantasy whether adult or YA ever published, every television program or movie that is even vaguely set in a past period, even the Victorian era (ya, I saw reviews of the BBC / PBS Victoria reference the politics going on to GOT), you name it they are doing it.  It's particularly crazy in the lead-up to a new season, absolutely insane during it, and continues its staying power for weeks after.  Even now I cannot get through the day reading newspaper, magazines, anything online without references to things GOT.

OTOH, I don't see SW anywhere near as much in these venues -- but then I have and never had anything but zero interest in SW.

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And this just in, via the US Politics thread in the General Chatter Forum here on ASOIAF, by the member with the handle of Pony Queen Jace:

Quote

 

Jake Tapper just made a Red Wedding reference on TV!

Damn, shit's just too mainstream now.

 

 

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I would agree that right now, there isn't really anything else that seems to get referenced as much as GOT. I've seen or heard so many references that i am becoming numb to it. But to try to compare it to SW or some of the others listed in the post makes no sense. The books were no where near same level of popularity of Harry Potter, so when the HP films came out there was a huge built in audience waiting for them. When GOT came out most people had never heard of it, myself included. I read the books after S1 aired, and suffered the same fate as others waiting on GRRM to finish another book! 

The thing I am wondering about is will the new prequel(s) be just as violent and sexual as GOT or will HBO dial it back a bit? If the new series is a hit then you could start talking about the longer lasting success comparing to the aforementioned shows and books. Also, does anyone think Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring book sales will be hurt because the tv series concludes before GRRM gets to publish his ending? I know hardcore fans will read the books no matter what, but will the millions of fans who may have bought a book to get ahead of the series now not bother? (i'm probably not wording this like I intend)

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dbunting for your last point, I think he will sell a lot of books, but I think you are right that there are some people who will not buy it now. But I don't think it will make a huge difference. He will also sell more books because of people who wouldn't have bought them at all had there never been a tv show.

Game of Thrones is pretty popular, to the point that people who don't watch identify themselves as someone who doesn't watch Game of Thrones. But as others have said, it won't get as big because it isn't for children.

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For a lot of reasons, I'm pretty sure GRRM will never finish the series.

Which is something those who propose to turn the Kingkiller series into tv should think about too, as for a lot of reasons it seems even more unlikely Rothfuss will finish his.

For better or worse, D&D's HBO version will be GOT going into the future -- if there is a future, of course.  Winter's almost here.

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

because the others are movies and this is a tv show, so the movies are universal in being anyone can go see them of any age well with parental guidance, the tv show is aimed at an older audience. it's kids and teens that quote things and discuss in school etc... start trends. Adults tend to watch discuss a little then move on.

There is also way more main characters on game of thrones that share the limelight than those others mentioned that focus a lot more on specific characters so your bound to hear of those focused on characters from the movies.

 

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On 3/8/2018 at 1:10 PM, Werthead said:

 

In addition, all of the other franchises were suitable for children to read/watch. They could grow up with those books or films. GoT is distinctly adults-only, so it doesn't quite have that childhood nostalgia factor working for it. It's also not available on universally-airing platforms in many countries, so there's a little bit of a barrier to watching it for those who don't want to break the law.

This.

Harry Potter, Star Wars, LOTR are all PG.  I think Star wars was even "G" in some markets when it was first released.  GOT is a very hard "R"and I'm sure some episodes would be NC-17 if they were rated by the film board in the U.S.  Even for a lot of adults, the level of profanity, violence and nudity make it something they'd give a pass.

Also, with the possible exception of Harry Potter, SW and LOTR were both released at a time when there was less competition for peoples entertainment dollars.  When Star Wars & Star Trek came out, you had 3 or 4 channels on regular TV and maybe a dozen with cable.  There was no internet, no streaming video, only very basic gaming.  The VCR wouldn't really become a common household item until the early '80s.  When LOTR (books) were published, most people didn't even have televisions.

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The show is not suitable for children. And even for many adults, the level of violence and the amoral atmosphere are uncomfortable. This is not an easy story. Some lack the investment for understanding it. And there was no movie, to reach very large populations. Some reasons why some adore. But not a huge base of uncommitted viewers.

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I think that something that is often overlooked is how much the other franchises you mentioned were groundbreaking.  Star Trek broke TV ground by exploring racial and gender equality as well as other topics, right up to the nature of God.  Star Wars was unlike any other Sci-Fi franchise we had ever seen.  I think you had to have seen it at the time to truly understand what it was like. King Arthur examines the nature of sin and are we doomed by fate.In LoTR Tolkein attempted to create an entire Mythology.  In contrast GoT and ASOIAF are really pretty run of the mill fantasy.  

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Most people who I know that don't watch the show is either because they don't have HBO or are unwilling to commit to watching a show that has so many characters. Unless they pay attention, they cannot keep up. A friend stopped watching because of the violence. Pregnant talisa being stabbed repeatedly was too much for her. 

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  • 4 weeks later...

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