Po-faced?

[Lommyism]

Caitlin Moran's review describes fantasy as "whiter, straighter and more patriarchial than satirical BBC2 panel-shows" she also describes it as "po-faced". I'm just curious to know what you all make of that?!

She also calls Ned "Ned Eddard" granted, but what I really was wondering is, are we really all that serious and conservative?! I would like to think not... A Song of Ice and Fire is a bit more complicated than that, but some reviewers like to bring it back to its simplistic elements.

Then again, perhaps the opening episodes are a bit too simplistic and come across as a bit silly? She has only seen the first three, so we shall have to wait and see. Hopefully, these attitudes will be put to bed by a successful series.

Yet another review is reduced to critiquing fantasy as a genre (sigh). But, I am curious to know if you all think we are perhaps a bit too serious?

[Arrogant Bastard]

Caitlin Moran's review describes fantasy as "whiter, straighter and more patriarchial than satirical BBC2 panel-shows" she also describes it as "po-faced". I'm just curious to know what you all make of that?!

She also calls Ned "Ned Eddard" granted, but what I really was wondering is, are we really all that serious and conservative?! I would like to think not... A Song of Ice and Fire is a bit more complicated than that, but some reviewers like to bring it back to its simplistic elements.

Then again, perhaps the opening episodes are a bit too simplistic and come across as a bit silly? She has only seen the first three, so we shall have to wait and see. Hopefully, these attitudes will be put to bed by a successful series.

Yet another review is reduced to critiquing fantasy as a genre (sigh). But, I am curious to know if you all think we are perhaps a bit too serious?

Who do you mean by we, the fans? Not really sure how fans being too serious relates to what you mentioned of her review; granted I have no idea what po-faced means. However, considering this is the reviewer who tweeted naming a character Brandon was ridiculous and apparently believes Ned is called "Ned Eddard" despite "Stark" being used multiple times in the first episode, I think we can disregard her review. People like her, Ginia Bellafante, and that hack writer for slate will never enjoy the series because of the genre, and that's pretty much all there is to it. Probably best to ignore them.

[Ferrum Aeternum]

considering this is the reviewer who tweeted naming a character Brandon was ridiculous and apparently believes Ned is called "Ned Eddard" despite "Stark" being used multiple times in the first episode, I think we can disregard her review.

My 65-year old mother who has never read the books or even heard of them, knew who Ned Stark was and called him by name to me after watching the first episode.

This reviewer is simply another lazy hack whose biases against the Fantasy genre overwhelm all sense of logic or common sense.

[Slick Mongoose]

What's wrong with the name Brandon? It's a real world name.

[reiver]

I suppose it's because it's not a common name in Britain. Someone speculated that it was because her only previous exposure to the name was from the character in the 90210 TV series that she associated with a Californian style person rather than Medieval. Pretty silly imo.

I'm not going to run out and buy a Murdoch rag to read a review that will probably make me spit bile so has nyone got a link to the review online?

[Lommyism]

Po-faced means serious/humourless

I think the books have a lot of humour in them though - I'm just wondering if the TV series didn't show enough of that, so maybe calling it Po-faced kind of has a point?

Then again, that's like saying drama can't be serious - or rather, fantasy can't be serious drama by association. It's a silly argument really, I agree.

You wouldn't write off a drama about say the second world war by describing it as po-faced.

So fantasy according to her is not allowed to be serious drama, but it can be described as po-faced?!

ps. I think the term comes from poker face...

You have to pay to access the Times' website.

[Brienne the Beauty]

Caitlin Moran's review describes fantasy as "whiter, straighter and more patriarchial than satirical BBC2 panel-shows" she also describes it as "po-faced". I'm just curious to know what you all make of that?!

Seems a fair criticism. The show is very much about patriarchy. Most characters are white. There are only a couple of gay male characters and they have not appeared yet - and there was plenty of fanservice for the straight guys in the audience in the first episode..

It is also an extremely serious show. I can see why someone who prefers a genre show like Doctor Who (as I recall she is a big fan) could think it takes itself too seriously. Personally, I have plenty of time for both funny and serious genre shows. But some people think that fantasy is only fun when it acknowledges its own ridiculousness.

[onion]

Some choice quotes from the article:

The channel that brought you all those urban, upscale, award-winning dramas - Sex in the City, The Sopranos, The Wire - has now rolled its 27-sided die of broadcasting and entered the lands of wizards, swords and sexy maidens being violated by orcs that look, on closer inspection, just a little bit like the guy that the author George R. R. Martin might have been bullied by on a youth-hostelling trip when he was 15

As the most po-faced of all genres, fantasy is often hysterically, yet unintentionally, hilarious

As always, Bean is playing Aragorn from the Lord of the Rings... This time Aragorn is called Lord Ned Eddard of Winterfell

(Emphasis mine)

I was raised in a house with dragon windchimes - I am fantasy positive. But, as a genre, fantasy's pitfalls are enormous

Apparently these were written by the "Critic of the Year", although I can't imagine how she possibly came by that award. <_<

[Brienne the Beauty]

She thinks there are orcs in it? :shocked: Sigh. Well, I guess the design for the Others looks a bit LOTR orc-y.

Sean Bean played Aragorn? This woman needs a proof reader.

[LugaJetboyGirl]

Can someone provide a link to the article?

[mormont]

The Times is behind a paywall, so it wouldn't be as helpful as you think. ;)

[Balefont]

GRRM showed me that fantasy can be something special, and thanks to his work, I am reading Malazan, and planning on reading Prince of Nothing and Joe Abercrombie books.

Oh wow, that is so fucking awesome to hear. :D

[NW Deserter]

The fact that she calls the Dothraki 'orcs' completely invalidates anything this woman has to say.

Why would anyone read something written by this hack? :shocked: :shocked: :shocked:

[Arrogant Bastard]

I've never watched it, but was Sex and the City a drama? I always thought it was a comedy. These quotes of hers just reinforce that she's a lazy hack who probably watched the show while surfing the web. I mean really, Lord Ned Eddard? What a moron. Sounds like she's using her review to try and be a comedienne, with that late lame line about GRRM and bullying. So, I wouldn't take her review seriously, and so far I haven't felt as though the show was trying to be too serious.

[Ran]

She was definitely tweeting while she watched it.

[Xenophon]

"Po-faced"? That's a new one for me. I dunno about fantasy being serious--wasn't Xena the most successful fantasy TV-show to date?--but, yeah, fantasy as a genre is pretty whitewashed, and it usually gets even whiter on the screen. Here's a good article that someone linked to in the GoT in the News race thread. It says pretty much everything I think on the subject.

[Brienne the Beauty]

"Po-faced"? That's a new one for me. I dunno about fantasy being serious--wasn't Xena the most successful fantasy TV-show to date?

I think that's the key. Most fantasy on TV is fairly light-hearted, or even entirely humorous. A dead-serious drama series in the fantasy genre might cause cognitive dissonance in people who are used to watching Buffy, Xena, or Doctor Who.

[Lommyism]

Oh wow, that is so fucking awesome to hear. :D

For myself, Mr Martin lead me to Gene Wolfe and Jack Vance - the other two modern fantasy Gods that complete the trilogy in my view :)

[O'san'gar's Razor]

My first thought was that po-faced is how someone looks while eating a delicious po' boy, but that would only apply to True Blood (or Treme). And Game of Thrones can't be anymore serious than The Wire.

[Lommyism]

I think that's the key. Most fantasy on TV is fairly light-hearted, or even entirely humorous. A dead-serious drama series in the fantasy genre might cause cognitive dissonance in people who are used to watching Buffy, Xena, or Doctor Who.

Well, I watched Dr Who tonight and wasn't very impressed...it was just another alien of the week... I also watched ten minutes of The girl with the dragon tattoo and it was so serious I couldn't help but laugh, especially when the girl got into a knife fight when she bumped into someone on the street... It's easier to suspend disbelief in a fantasy world where you know little value is put on life. I've never got into a knife fight when I bumped into someone on the street so that's probably why I burst into laughter! It's not what you expect when you go down to the shops!

Whereas, I KNOW that arranged marriages were commonplace in the middle ages, so I'm more than prepared to accept it. It wasn't even considered rape back then.

So how is it possible that I find people knifing each other funny, whereas I take Game of Thrones seriously? Personal taste I guess. It's not that I don't appreciate that sense of humour, I think it's great. Oh well, you can't please everyone.

Also, I think the pitfalls of fantasy are more exposed in a TV medium because, for instance exposition tends to take place in dialogue, which can often sound forced, stilted, false, whatever you want to call it. And perhaps in realistic real world settings you can get away with sloppy dialogue more. But in a fantasy world where you are describing some mythological event from the past, it can send you into hysterics! Certain lines that weren't in the books are a bit like that...