by Jared Free
Shows like the Emmy’s and the Oscars are fun. They celebrate the work that goes into making film and television, while indulging in the glamour that defines Hollywood. They also give the industry a chance to control their narrative – and in 2018, that means balancing urgent political issues like #blacklivesmatter and #metoo while also maintaining a broad appeal. The balancing act is tough, but awards bodies can use the shows they honor to make bolder political claims than they could have otherwise.
When Game of Thrones won Best Drama series again this year, it was a sign of many things – HBO’s continued dominance in prestige television, science fiction and fantasy staking out a foothold in the modern contemporary climate, among others, but, what I want to look at is the relationship it has to current events.
GoT is unique in that it has almost nothing to do with real history, yet people talk about it like it does. “Well, back in the time Game of Thrones would’ve happened,” “in the times like GoT,” etc. The design team eschews direct historical coherence for a collage-like approach, mixing visual influences from different eras to create a vibrant and eye catching design. This plays on our ideas about medieval times to conjure the image of a fully lived in world (in addition to some accomplished writing and acting, of course). And Game of Thrones is particularly interesting because it uses the manipulation of historical influences to change our feelings about the past.
If someone were to describe to you the basic premise of Game of Thrones, you would probably be able to guess that women are not treated with the most respect within the show. But viewers tuned in anyway, and were treated to surprising instances of flipping traditional narratives about women. Daneyrs is the perfect example of this – she is placed into arguably one of the oldest narratives about young women being exploited by the people around her, and over the course of a few seasons turns into an able ruler, and a fan favorite. By playing against our expectations of what she will be capable of, the team that writes Game of Thrones can transform our perception of antiquity from one of oppression and pain to one imbued with a sense of hope.
Of course, the problem with readings such as the above is that oftentimes certain negative perceptions of an era are doubled down on in order for characters like Daenyrs to achieve “freedom.” In Game of Thrones, there’s a notable absence of people of color – outside of the slaves that, in one of the series most iconic moments, almost worship Daenyrs.
I don’t mean to say that characters like Daenyrs and shows like game of Thrones aren’t uniquely powerful, but I do think that it’s worth looking at what gets pushed aside when our favorite characters are centered. And when a show like Game of Thrones is honored, what kind of narrative is Hollywood trying to create around itself? I’d argue that most of us could stand to do more thinking on either topic.
