To watch Game of Thrones?

[AssignedPerfectAtBirth]

Ok, bit of history to this: I started watching the first episode with DH quite some time ago and was extremely put off by the sex/rape scene and stopped watching it.

So many series on, DH still raves about it as do millions of others obviously and I was considering trying it again.

Then this morning I read this:

www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/apr/29/game-of-thrones-racism-sexism-rape?CMP=share_btn_tw

Can I have your thoughts/advice on GoT please. I have to say I'm not keen on watching rape scenes for entertainment but I need a bit of context

Oh God, it's Danielle Henderson. I'd forgotten about her and her hysterical views about Game of Thrones.

The Guardian used to use her as a freelance TV reviewer, which was an odd decision as she didn't seem to like TV or even watch some of the programmes she'd be reviewing.

Her reviews of The Walking Dead were so bad they had a cult following with hundreds of comments pointing out the errors and laughing about how shit she was. In a perverse way, I miss her

Never mind limitedperiodonly

The Walking Dead is back in October (yayy . I do like a bit of zombie v humans) so perhaps Danielle Henderson will resurrect

Not seen GOT so cannot comment on that.

Oh ffs.

GOT is amazing.

It's an incredible show, one of the best on tv (of course the books are better!) so I would definitely recommend it.

Its amazing.
Assume people watch it for the Jon Snow factor not the rape /violence. . .
Watch it guilt free.

It's bloody brilliant

I've only ever watched the first episode too. It sound like it would be huge time investment to catch up!

Id avoid it if i were you

LuLuuuuuuu did you used to read her terrible reviews of TWD in the Guardian? It wasn't just that I disagreed with her opinion, it was that she made so many basic errors that I wondered if she'd been watching the same show.

She once mixed up two characters where the only things they had in common were their sex and their skin colour. That's actually not funny at all.

I'm looking forward to the return of Rick and co too

I think there's less of the 'gratitutious' violence in later seasons. But as a pp said it was also fairly necessary to show what the GoT world is like.

It's not that long ago in our history that fights ended when one died and that woman were totally worthless anyway. We like to pretend our current morals and values are how it's always been but that's not the case.

The women throughout the seasons have become stronger and stronger characters and the online feminists have had to simmer down a bit imo.

I'd watch it. I really enjoy it. It had a bit of cult following vibe but I don't feel like that it's just genuinely entertaining. The white walkers legit terrify me though.

OP, why don't you watch an episode or two and make up your own mind. But whatever you do, don't make any decisions based on what Danielle Henderson thinks. If she said it was raining I'd stick my head out the door to check.

You just stumbled on a 3 year old review?

I remember when the Guardian had decent reviewers, like Nancy Banks-Smith.

She once mixed up two characters where the only things they had in common were their sex and their skin colour. That's actually not funny at all

How odd, especially after all the po-faced lecturing about racism and sexism in that Guardian article

I like Sarah Hughes who does GoT online for the Guardian CockacidalManiac.

She understands that a recap and a review are different things. You'd think that would be fundamental for a TV reviewer, but no. She's knowledgeable, witty, has good theories, never spoils, never indulges that 'books superior, tv show inferior' crap even though it's clear she's read the books inside out, engages with comments. Perfect, really.

I was reading a few weeks ago and thought it wasn't very good. I checked the byline and someone else was standing in for her.

Perhaps the OP should dig up one of her old reviews instead.

How odd, especially after all the po-faced lecturing about racism and sexism in that Guardian article

It did not go unnoticed in the comments section

It's mainly the female characters that I root for and part of this is due to the groundwork laid in those early series. It's definitely not the Jon Snow factor. Sure he's honourable but I find him dull as ditchwater!

No, the show is disgusting.

One question you are asking is whether it's OK to watch something that contains rape scenes for entertainment. Surely, most (all?) drama portrays unsavoury things happening to others (violence, emotional distress, false accusation, loss, ...) and we watch it for entertainment, not that we enjoy seeing others suffer, but for the chance it gives us to experience the lives of others and see how they respond.

If rapists were being portrayed as the good guys that would be a problem. One of the strong things about GoT is that it is not always clear who the "good guy" is - motives and characters are complex. I've just watched an episode where Jon Snow (who generally is the heroic good guy type) personally executed another man - a conventional "Hollywood" portrayal would have probably shown him granting a reprieve at the last moment, showing how merciful he was compared to everyone else.

WiganPierre, care to elaborate?

The trouble is, there's a lot of Mary Whitehouse types out there that love to get outraged about things they know nothing (ha) about. Plenty of other mediums get similar treatment, the GTA game series for example. An intelligent person can see for themselves whether something is truly gratuitous, or if the gratuity is part of a deeper, more complex overall arc (as GoT certainly is).

None of the violence or sex scenes in GoT are gratuitous or for entertainment; they're there because it's part of a story. It's all important.

DadDadDad Jon was absolutely right to do that, as was Ned in S1 (see below); but let's keep any spoilers out of this thread for those that haven't yet watched

The man who passes the sentence should swing the sword. If you would take a man's life, you owe it to him to look into his eyes and hear his final words. And if you cannot bear to do that, then perhaps the man does not deserve to die.

This article is from 2014. If the sex scenes bother you then read the synopsis for the earlier series and skip to the current one as it has barely any sex in it.