Recently, I started watching Game of Thrones on HBO. The first season really blew my mind. Between the plot twists and people dying, I was hooked. I looked past the explicit sex/violence and homoerotic themes, because it was that good–I closed my eyes a lot.
Enter into Season two…Friday night I watched the fourth episode (I think) and that was the end for me. Between the obsessive abuse and sex, not to mention the demonic birthing….I couldn’t do it. And now I’m upset.
I understand programs on HBo tend to go into the mature area, but is all of the above really necessary? Has our society become so desensitized that we can watch someone being beaten for pleasure and not be disgusted? It breaks my heart in a way. I look at my son and wonder what TV will be like twenty years from now. The story itself is brilliant and I don’t know if all the sex/violence is just HBO’s way of getting ratings. I know this isn’t the only TV series like this. Spartacus is pretty brutal also. I stopped watching after the second or third episode.
If any one of you have read the Game of Throne books, tell me, are they filled with all the sex/violence that the TV version has? I’d be happy if they weren’t. The story is very good and I’d love to be able to read what happens.
If any one of you have read the Game of Throne books, tell me, are they filled with all the sex/violence that the TV version has?
I'd say TV is tame compared to the books. There's a lot more violence and sex and naked people in the books, especially in season 1. It's not a very feminist series (although people have tried to argue it, I can't see it).
Wow. Thanks for letting me know!
I have to say I really like Game of Thrones. And I don't especially enjoy violence. I think the point is that the audience is repulsed by those things. It's possible to find just as much violence in documentaries. I for one, couldn't watch The Cove. Maybe the difference is that I know that is a real situation, and the other isn't? But we know Joffrey is a horrible and deeply troubled person. His abuse is just a visual extension of that. I think if you're entertained by it, that's a whole different set of problems. 🙂 But I believe the writer, show, etc, mean to get people to react to it with disgust. And it's more about an expression of human nature and the lengths people will go to survive, get power, etc.
But it's blunt and in your face, rather than abstract or hinted at. So I see your point. I actually have a bigger problem with Mad Men than I do Game of Thrones. I can't even watch that show, despite knowing that women came from this place where men acted (and in some cases still do, or want to) that way. Maybe it's good for us to remind ourselves that we never want to go back there. But I don't think it's very entertaining. Which may be how you feel about Game of Thrones because of the violence.
well said.
I think it's the combo of heavy sex and violence that turn me off.
As the others have already said, the books are far more violent than the TV series. I'm a fan of the books, not for the violence, but for the magnificent world creation and characterization. I was surprised to see them put some of that on TV even if it is HBO.
I think after Spartacus, anything is possible on TV. That is one bloody show!
The books are much more violent and there's more sex in them, but that doesn't stop me from loving them. The author didn"t put the violence scenes so that people can enjoy them but so that they can see the true nature of the caharacters and be repulsed. I'ds say the tv show is pretty tame though they have added some of those scenes on their own, but they've also raised the kids' ages a bit so things wouldn't be even more shocking.
raised the kids ages? lol.The story is good. I'll give him that. I guess it comes down to personal taste. Same reason I won't read horror, or erotica. I'm kind of a Pg-13 type of gal.