Greetings classmates,
To preface this post, I am a huge fan of Game of Thrones.
That being said, I found this activity to be especially interesting among our assignments this week.
I have chosen to answer the fourth question, namely, to describe in my own words Nussbaum's attitude toward the violence, nudity, and sex scenes in Game of Thrones.
That being said, I believe that Nussbaum's attitude toward these controversial subjects and the way they are presented in Game of Thrones can chiefly be described as that of apathy or indifference. That is, she does necessarily praise them as being something good and noble in and of themselves, but at the same time, she refrains from outrightly condemning them the way other critics might. Within the text she references two other critiques in which the series was severely chastised and dismissed as "boy fiction" and "vileness for voyeurism's sake." What is interesting is that while she never necessarily denies these statements, she does counter them with the fact that Game of Thrones is not the first show of its kind to serve as those things. Indeed, she writes, "Despite the show's Maltese vistas and asymmetrical midriff tops, this was not really an exotic property. To the contrary, Game of Thrones is the latest entry in television's most esteemed category: the sophisticated cable drama about a patriarchal male subculture."
What this means is that regardless of whether or not the criticisms of the show are valid, it is certainly not the first program of its kind to feature explicit violence, sex, and nudity.
Nussbaum proceeds to explain the many different ways how, even within such a context, the show explores many significant themes such as race, class, and gender. To be specific, she writes, "And yet, the undergirding strength of each series is its insight into what it means to be excluded from power: to be a woman, or a bastard, or a 'half-man.'"
This strikes me as a very poignant and fair defense of the series, one that is keen to context and the various nuances surrounding such scenes that a less informed viewer might ignore. Whereas the average person might respond with automatic revulsion, Nussbaum is able to effectively explore the ways in which these scenes might convey a higher purpose worth thinking about.
Even so, I do believe that her otherwise fantastic critique is still lacking in one regard. The approach she takes toward the themes in the series is that of Conflict theory, something I learned about in my sociology class last semester. It is common among left leaning individuals and refers to the tendency to view everything as a sort of conflict between race, gender, and class. While these topics are certainly relevant toward the series, I believe that there are also more topics worth considering.
Namely, that of the people on the top. For not only does Game of Thrones explore what it means to be excluded from power, but I would add that it also explores what it means to be one of the ones who possess and exercise. Having to deal with all of the corruption and betrayal, not being sure who you can trust, the burden of having to make large decisions, and the ethical dilemmas.
The last one is what I really want to focus one. While it is easy to by default condemn everything we see in Game of Thrones as morally atrocious, I believe that we have to consider the context, and that upon doing so, the series is primarily about a universe that is morally gray. What are you supposed to do, for example, when refraining from violence and genocide means that violence and genocide are going to be used against your own people? Or when, in the aftermath of war, there is a large group of displaced women without husbands and no modern welfare state to support them?
The point is that there really is no correct answer in the universe presented by Game of Thrones.
That is where the true strength of the series resides, in addition to Nussbaum's incredibly profound insight into the way its universe explores what it means to be excluded from power.
James.
Hi James,
ReplyDeleteTo begin with, I am also a fan of Games of Thrones and was pleasantly surprised to see this as a topic for discussion. It makes it much easier to read and learn about a subject when you find it interesting and entertaining. In regard to Nussbaum’s attitude toward the violence, nudity, and sex scenes, it could be added that she specifically states that, “Viewed in another light, however, these sex scenes aren’t always so gratuitous. Like “Mad Men,” Game of Thrones” is elementally concerned with the way that meaningful consent dissolves when female bodies are treated as currency. War means raping the enemies women.”
Secondly, reading your blog was not only a pleasure to read but nice to learn something new. For example, you expressed that the author was still lacking in one regard. Something that you learned about in your sociology class, “Conflict Theory” This is something I will look forward to learning more about when I take sociology in the near future. -Thank you
Finally, you shed some light on some issues that are very apparent and important. I felt that these examples in Nussbaum’s article could have been more elaborated on yet, they seem to be lost or forgotten in this article. You are correct, as you stated, “Having to deal with all the corruption and betrayal, not being sure who you can trust, the burden of having to make large decisions, and the ethical dilemmas. In my eyes, all of these examples are the true meaning of Game of Thrones.