Game of Thrones - Free Essay with a Review of a Television Program

Game of Thrones

Game of Thrones, an HBO's production is among the popular shows that have more than eight million viewers from a global perspective. Its popularity has been on the increase with its seasons. It is perceived to be the best show in the entire television history. The television programs tend to be unique and unpredictable when it comes to the turn of events. Instead of the hero winning a battle and probably winning the girl while the bad guy gets defeated like in most shows, the good guys die while the bad guys continue reigning. The program is also heartless in the sense that it depicts a lot of suffering. It contains beheadings, wars, rape, torture, slavery and punishment through body mutilations. It also depicts women as conquerors in an era dominated by men as leaders. From an analytical perspective, Game of Thrones deserves its high rates because of its realistic depiction of the world and women enlightenment during the Middle Ages.

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The program is based on the multi-volume book A Song of Fire and Ice by George R. R. Martin. The piece can be described to be epic, full of fantasy, political in addition to an immense struggle of power. The plot of the story occurs in the land of Westeros which is sectioned into several sub-kingdoms. Its timeline is the fifteenth century in England that is characterized by the struggle for power. The Northern part of Westeros is occupied by dangerous creatures which are separated from the other parts of the land by a large wall for the creatures not to harm the people. Three families are the major characters of the story. They include the Starks, the Lannisters, and the Targaryens. The Targaryens are former Royals trying to take back their throne. The Starks consist of Ned Stark who is the father, Catelyn Stark who is the mother, and their children, Robb Stark, Sansa Stark, Arya Star, Bran, and Jon Snow (a bastard whom Catelyn does not like). Each child has a dire wolf that are viewed as loyal animals. The Lannisters consist of a queen Cersei who is quite manipulative and in a relationship with her brother, Jamie, with whom they get children. The two also have a brother who is a dwarf, Tyrion. The Targaryens include Viserys and his sister Daenerys. Viserys forcefully marries his sister to Khal Drogo to get an army (Game of Thrones).

Wizards and dragons in Game of Thrones

Game of Thrones deserves its high rates because of its realistic nature in regards to life during the middle ages. It illustrates the struggles that people went through during those ages but includes wizards and dragons to make it more entertaining and full of fantasy. Critics of the program perceive it to be demeaning to women and extremely violent. However, according to George R. R. Martin, history shows that the middle ages were characterized by war, sexual violence in addition to rape (Spillane). Furthermore, eliminating the violence would not support most of the themes present in the book. Instead of violence being orchestrated by demons, orcs or ogres, they are caused by man in the name of acquiring power. Possibly, it shows that the problems that man faces are his own doings and tend to be controllable, but because of his greed, lots of issues arise that may result in loss of lives. Most of the characters are cunning and often develop schemes against each other, betray each other in addition to forming alliances. The Starks who are quite honorable cannot outwit the Lannisters who are manipulative and deceitful apart from Tyrion Lannister (Spillane).

As stated earlier, in most stories, individuals that are perceived to be good, great and powerful, win at the end. However, in the program, people who are not necessarily great win wars and die similarly to any human being. The audience is left in awe since the favorite, and unexpected characters die at unexpected moments. The favorite characters either die or live. Also, if a character survives, he or she might die in the next episode or season (Spillane).

Game of Thrones deserves its high rates because it depicts women as strong characters and quite influential. It shows women as having the capability to lead similarly to men. Nussbaum comments on season 6 of the program where she states, "This season of "Game of Thrones" the first to fully depart from the books' expands that palette, providing a weirdly fascinating array of female conquerors, enough to fit every attitude and ideology" (Nussbaum). Daenerys who is portrayed by Emilia Clarke is a leader who has a large number of followers. She literally walks on fire and is viewed as the mother of dragons. She makes deals for the purpose of restoring back her kingdom and ensuring that there are peace and less bloodshed. She depicts women who have undergone plenty of struggle but still emerge victoriously. She faces a lot of opposition from male leaders such that others even threaten to rape her and kill her. However, she still emerges victorious. She can be perceived to be progressive rather than liberal in regards to her quest for leadership. She also presents the world that is nondiscriminatory when it comes to a race where she has a black lady as her best friend and advisor (Nussbaum).

Sexual immorality and sadistic attitudes

Cersei Lannister who is portrayed by Lena Headey, despite being manipulative and having questionable morals, presents a woman who has control of her life and having the ability to influence a large number of people by her beliefs and rules. However, her sexual immorality and sadistic attitudes lead to public shaming where she needs to be cleansed. Be that as it may, she represents a woman with ambition and a go-getter when it comes to leadership. It is worth noting that both Cersei and Daenerys struggle with being liked as they make most of their decisions based on other people's thoughts and opinions (Nussbaum).

Sansa Stark who is portrayed by Sophie Turner, also exhibits women empowerment and strength, similarly to Daenerys. She survives three betrothals from three ruthless betrothals and wars that caused the death of most of her family members. Arya Stark also depicts the struggle of a woman in a male-dominated a world where at the most time she has to fake her gender and royal identity in order to survive. Other women leaders in the story include Yara Greyjoy who leads her father's army, and Ellaria, who has an army of ladies that protect her territory. From a general perspective, the program depicts women as enlightened and quite aggressive when it comes to leadership (Nussbaum).

As stated earlier, Game of Thrones is highly rated because of its realistic depiction of the world and women enlightenment during the middle ages. It illustrates the violence and struggles for power that took place among men. It also exhibits exuberance such that the audience gets curious on what is likely to happen in the next episode.

Work Cited

Game of Thrones. United States: HBO, 2011. DVD.

Nussbaum, Emily. "The Westeros Wing: The Politics of "Game of Thrones". The New Yorker (2016): n. pag. Web. 4 Apr. 2017.

Spillane, Ryan. "'Game of Thrones' Is the Best Television Show Ever". Odyssey. N.p., 2016. Web. 4 Apr. 2017.