GoT vs. Excalibur

[Jojen]

GoT is in many ways, the antithesis of the movie "Excalibur." In the latter, knights in (literally) shining armor ride around and, except for one of them, mostly do the right thing. Their armor is so bright your puny commoner's eyes couldn't take it. The knights are like pieces of the sun, too great to look upon by mortal eyes. Arthur and his knights are the standard by which all other knights are measured.

In contrast, many of GoT's knights both look dirty and act dirty. Except for Loras, I suppose. He looks pretty, which is another example of GRRM going against the stereotype.

Where they are the same is in their portrayal of knights failing to live up to the high expectations and standards of their age--or any other. For instance, Lancelot, like Jaime, looks all shiny, but inside he's flawed. "Excalibur" is, of course, far more hopeful and positive in outlook than GoT, but I enjoy the differences between them. In fact, the more I think about it, the more similar they seem.