Game of Thrones tv

[kilroy]

I think I may have been oversold on this a little. I haven't read the books yet, but from what I understand a lot of what makes them so good is that the world is so richly dark-- full of violence, betrayal, grit, sex, and tragedy. It's very much the kind of series that belongs on HBO. The problem for me is that actually seeing someone's guts fall out or two people rutting like minxes snaps me out of the drama pretty much every time. In my imagination it's terrifying and sexy, but on screen I've never seen a severed head that didn't look fake and almost no nudity that didn't feel staged.

The first episode is also very much the flying overview of characters; the cast is enormous and there are a lot of people to introduce. My expectation is that we're going to get a hell of a lot of character development going forward, but it will take time. Like any other series, they're opening with the overture and we'll start getting the individual themes later.

It has the potential to be very, very good. It's extremely well put together television in all respects. But I'm not instantly sold and it wasn't realistic to expect me to be.

Comments

[brigid]

Ahem.

One thing that is helpful with the books is that it has A FUCKING APPENDIX OF PEOPLE AND PLACES. Because there's a lot of people. And places.

I haven't seen the show yet (no cable, toddler running around who screams when the tv is on to anything but trains or babies or possibly (oh glory!) babies riding on trains) but from what I've heard there's EVEN MORE TITS THAN IN THE BOOK (how? how is that possible? THERE ARE MANY TITS IN THE BOOK) and more overt sex acts. And the women (esp Daenerys) have less agency.

[kilroy]

There was a lot more tits/sex than I was expecting. As to the women, we'll have to see; they certainly weren't portrayed as anything other than sexual trading cards, but they also got very little screen time. Like everyone else.

[brigid]

In the books, they have a surprising amount of agency. They do things, they decide things, they matter. They run things. Not All The Things, but enough of the things. Interestingly, and I don't know how much the show will go into it, the ones who act as far outside the rules of the patriarchy (I'm going to make my own decisions! I'm going to declare war! I'm going to learn how to fight with a sword! I'm going to lead my people effectively!) are the ones who are most successful; those who willingly submit to it (I'm gonna be a pretty princess!) find themselves stripped of power, dignity, strength, everything.

I'm not saying the books are a total Feminist Utopia Of Equality And Goodness because several times I'm all in the "awesome fiction" groove and then GRRM does something very male-gaze-centered that pulls me out, makes me go "whhhhhhaaaaaaaaa--?", grosses me out, and makes me question if he's ever actually talked to a woman or been close to a woman. THE DUDE IS MARRIED, YET I QUESTION IF HE HAS EVER SEEN A FEMALE BODY UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL LIKE.