{"id":94519,"date":"2016-06-11T14:00:31","date_gmt":"2016-06-11T12:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/?p=94519"},"modified":"2016-06-11T11:17:48","modified_gmt":"2016-06-11T09:17:48","slug":"this-is-why-we-keep-watching-game-of-thrones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/entertainment\/94519-this-is-why-we-keep-watching-game-of-thrones","title":{"rendered":"This is why we keep watching Game of Thrones"},"content":{"rendered":"

Warning: this article contains spoilers for those not up to date with Game of Thrones season six.<\/em><\/p>\n

Now deep into its sixth season, Game of Thrones<\/a><\/strong> is in full swing with its most watched series<\/a><\/strong> to date.<\/p>\n

Following months of fan speculation and anticipation, the season opened with priestess Melisandre\u2019s magical transformation<\/a><\/strong> into a geriatric crone (after the requisite topless shot).<\/p>\n

And yes, the season remains replete with the now predictably unexpected gore, graphic nudity and violence, epitomised in episode one by Ramsay Bolton\u2019s callous dismissal<\/a><\/strong> of his dead lover\u2019s body: \u201cShe\u2019s good meat, feed her to the hounds.\u201d<\/p>\n

Given the pornographic fusion of violence and sexuality and the deliberate absence of moral standards, Game of Thrones is enthralling.<\/p>\n

But it is also disorientating, leaving many with a sense of unease \u2013 I, at least, keep asking myself why I continue watching. Sex is everywhere, so much so that the series seems to revolve around a mandate whereby sex is ubiquitous and compulsory.<\/p>\n

One reason for the series\u2019 success can undoubtedly be found in this spectacle of violence and sex.<\/p>\n

Set in a world divorced from our own, it satisfies audiences\u2019 needs for heightened sensations, but is unconstrained by a moral compass.<\/p>\n

But more importantly, author George RR Martin\u2019s fantasy speaks to us because it is a poignant social commentary grounded in sexual, economic, cultural and political conditions that reflect contemporary concerns. So despite the fantasy setting, the way in which Game of Thrones engages with social matters such as gender and sexuality is rooted in the here and now.<\/p>\n

In some ways, Game of Thrones\u2019 established formula is emblematic of a wider cultural shift that allows for more open-minded attitudes to sex. Yet, the series also parades a liberal, at times blas\u00e9, attitude towards sexism.<\/p>\n

\"GOT\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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Sexual violence<\/h3>\n

Over the past six seasons, there have been copious graphic portrayals of explicit sex and sadistic torture.<\/p>\n

Violence appears to be entangled with sexual themes as female characters in particular are repeatedly abused and violated. Think of, for example, the torture and murder of the lowborn prostitute Ros at the hands of mad boy-king Joffrey in season three. Or of Sansa Stark\u2019s chilling off-camera rape by her psychopathic husband in season five.<\/p>\n

The lives of most male and female characters are structured around this \u201cgotta fuck\u201d principle that typically posits men as the ones who \u201cfuck\u201d and women as the ones who suffer it. This was elegantly summed up during episode seven, in which the High Sparrow tells Queen Margaery: \u201cCongress does not require desire on a woman\u2019s part, only patience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sexism is overt and undisguised and sex is often depicted as painful, most commonly exercised by men upon women.<\/p>\n

Rape in particular is depicted with complacency and smug indifference as an efficient instrument of power used in times of social unrest and war, but also as a means to cement kinship between men and their families.<\/p>\n

Think back to Daenerys Targaryen\u2019s repeated sexual assaults at the hands of her warrior husband. This was addressed again this season with Khal Moro<\/a><\/strong> threatening: \u201cWe\u2019ll take turns fucking you and then we\u2019ll let our blood-riders fuck you and if there\u2019s anything left of you we\u2019ll give our horses a turn.\u201d<\/p>\n