GoT is actually disgusting, isn't it?

[Miljah]

In what way can it be described as 'entertainment'?

I seriously, don't understand why people happily sit down to watch the carnage, the immolation, the screaming children.

What is wrong with people?

GoT has become so popular because it is much closer to real history in its characters and events than the modern cliche of "this person is the Goodie and is always Good, this person is the Baddie and is always Bad, and we know that these main characters will never die".

The point of GoT is that all the characters have moments of nobility and moments of utter selfishness, the greater good does not always win out over personal interest, someone can spend a whole series doing intricate political manoeuvring and be killed mid-series by falling off a horse. The person that raped someone last series may show pity in this one, the golden prince may swear to defend the kingdom and then leave the king to die to further his own interests, just as in factual history.

It's fiction!! Many psychologists have tried to prove a link between violent computer games/movies and violent behaviour and have yet to find one. I am over 18 and watch GOT. I will not be getting on my dragon and burning down a city so don't worry OP.

There are programmes that I avoid on tv. It doesn't mean that they are bad programmes- they are just not to my taste. If you want to register your opinion on tv programmes don't watch them and discuss them on the Internet. Ratings and hype has led to 8 series being made.

I have some news for you OP- there are 3 prequels being filmed right now so you might want to move house to avoid them. 😂

if I were to go looking for evil in the world I'd start with those who really seem to enjoy watching gratuitous violence

Pretty much everyone i know watches GOT. We enjoy discussing the plot and the various twists and turns it's taken over the years. Not one of my friends is evil - we're all pretty nice people as i imagine most GOT fans are.

We are intelligent adults who can tell the difference between fact and fiction.

I really enjoy reading and read mainly violent crime novels - does that add to my 'evilness'??

“GoT has become so popular because it is much closer to real history in its characters and events than the modern cliche of "this person is the Goodie and is always Good, this person is the Baddie and is always Bad, and we know that these main characters will never die".”

Can you give an example of that modern cliche? I don’t recognize it!

I can watch things like Ambulance and 24 Hours in.. fine - it's something about the way programmes like GOT pitch their violence to pull on the viewer that really doesn't sit nicely with me

Strangely enough I find those ambulance and emergency programmes much harder to watch because the suffering is real. When the victim of a road accident is moaning in agony while being treated by paramedics I find that very difficult and disturbing because I can so easily imagine me or one of my loved ones in that position.

However, thousands of people being burnt by dragon fire on GoT - well it isn't real is it? It didn't happen and couldn't happen

I think what posters like @Zurisee are missing is that some of the shocking moments are an intrinsic and necessary part of the storytelling; in some cases it spells out what is at stake for the characters and their world.

Arya wouldn't have become the woman she ultimately became if she was just a bit cross with Cersei because she didn't invite the Starks round for tea or something.

The gruesome realities the show sometimes depicts are just that and reflect human society. It wouldn't be believable if the characters weren't vulnerable to being corrupted by power or temptation and all that brings etc

And by the way although I've said the show is made believable we do still know it's fantasy and can therefore swallow the difficult scenes.

Arya was just an example but the realism is fundamental to the whole story and makes it gripping.

BertrandRussell
Really?

OK, take Guardians of the Galaxy. The guardians are the Goodies. In any of the fight scenes, did you really think a ship holding half of the main characters would really be blown up killing them all 1/3 of the way through the film? Do you think that they would ever choose NOT to save the universe just because it would save their love interest? Did your feelings on who the characters were that you were rooting for to win change at any point? As soon as it was obvious that Gamora was the love interest, did you ever really think she wouldn't turn "good" by the end?

There's never any doubt that Han is a hero and the Emperor is a villain. We know that Walter White isn't going to really die of cancer at the end of season 1.

It's a good thing I haven't got a dragon. I can get quite tetchy and fed up with people, and now I've seen what a woman with a dragon and a grudge can do, the world is less safe.

I think this is just one of those things people enjoy feeling superior about tbh.

The violence can be OTT and I haven't watched parts of it (the torture of Theon especially and parts of Sansa's storyline were awful and a mistake on the writer's part IMHO). The sexposition in earlier seasons was annoying. But it's fantasy and I enjoy watching it a lot.

I see far more disturbing things on the news every day. Real things. The case of Joy Worrall has haunted me for the past few days and I have felt very upset and angry about it. So no, I don't think watching what is often a slightly ridiculous fantasy programme has "desensitised" me. If it had, I wouldn't be capable of feeling empathy for a woman I have never met.

I dislike TV gore but it is laughable to suggest that the first place to look for evil is GoT viewers. Millions of very normal, nice, caring men and women watch and then go and get on with their ordinary lives.

Evil people, e.g. terrorists, murderers, child abusers etc may happen to watch GoT but are probably more likely to be spending time on the dark web or plotting evil deeds, or spending time in prison.

Guardians of the Galaxy is a comic. A cartoon with real actors. I am always being told I have to assess GOT as a proper drama because that’s why people watch it.

It's a load of crap isn't it. I watched one episode and there was more female nudity in that episode than in a full series of almost anything else I can think of.

Always female, the nudity. Odd, that.

I see far more disturbing things on the news every day. Real things

I was thinking about that. Why do we so veraciously consume news about murderers and violent events? It's not like knowing about these things helps us or the victims in any way. So... it's just for entertainment?

There is some male nudity but yes, it's usually female when there is some, which certainly isn't all the time.

I don't know about the TV show because I haven't watched it, but I stopped reading the first novel beacuse the detailed description of a young teenager having sex with her much older husband who she'd been forced to marry made me feel very uncomfortable.

I was thinking about that. Why do we so veraciously consume news about murderers and violent events? It's not like knowing about these things helps us or the victims in any way. So... it's just for entertainment?

That's a really interesting point. Why is the news almost always about the bad stuff and not the good stuff? Is it because the bad stuff is more of a thrill to the human psyche?

I think this is just one of those things people enjoy feeling superior about tbh.

Totally agree

Wow some people are so judgemental. If you won't watch anything with violence (of any sort) in it then doesn't that rule out pretty much everything? You can sanitise entertainment because it's a reflection on life and life isn't pleasant all the time.

Always female, the nudity. Odd, that

Plenty of pork swords in Game of Thrones, but the naked female body is much nicer to look at than waving Willie's, which are, let's face it, quite ugly. If you want males to ogle, which is odd if you're watching something like Game of Thrones, Khal Drogo is quite fit.

willys*

Damn You Autocorrect and damn you Uncle Willie

Fucks sake. Willies. WILLIES.

I wish they’d make an edited version, called Nice Game of Thrones or something, so I could adore Khal Drogo without being troubled by all the nasty scenes for days afterwards.

"Fucks sake. Willies. WILLIES."

You surely should get some kind of "peak MN post of the day" certificate for that