tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2066545054697120051.post5687715415667666337..comments2023-04-16T11:41:12.924+01:00Comments on Rude Nasty Girl: Is it OK to show violence against women on TV?Dr Dannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06504925700091862547noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2066545054697120051.post-54443327234649196552013-04-04T15:40:31.013+01:002013-04-04T15:40:31.013+01:00Game of Thrones is a man's world, but that'...Game of Thrones is a man's world, but that's kind of in keeping with the medievalness. It does have strong female characters however. I think if the girls were all wussy and boring I wouldn't enjoy watching it. Joffrey alive and kicking so far.Dr Dannyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06504925700091862547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2066545054697120051.post-63646406094443959642013-04-04T00:38:06.442+01:002013-04-04T00:38:06.442+01:00My approach to GoT has been less sophisticated: I ...My approach to GoT has been less sophisticated: I concluded after season 1 that George R R Martin is a total misogynist!<br /><br />(Though he does describe himself as a feminist - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-life/9959063/Game-of-Throness-George-RR-Martin-Im-a-feminist.html )<br /><br />This had been the main thing putting me off season 2 until reading your blog. Aaaargh. Let me know if Joffrey gets whacked and I might give it a go.AnnaPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06028032618069189750noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2066545054697120051.post-42876812154801699222013-04-02T22:11:15.814+01:002013-04-02T22:11:15.814+01:00I'll warrant Jean Claude and his buddies are f...I'll warrant Jean Claude and his buddies are far more in charge of their violence too. Sex and violence are both used to titilate, but sexual violence is somehow more disturbing. skepticlehttp://twitter.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2066545054697120051.post-5807467988539258882013-04-02T18:20:42.683+01:002013-04-02T18:20:42.683+01:00I think maybe I should have watched a few more Jea...I think maybe I should have watched a few more Jean-Claude Van Damme films! I think there are a lot more examples of sexualised violence done to women than men, but that's probably a reflection of real life. I agree, the fact that it makes me uncomfortable doesn't necessarily mean these scenes shouldn't be shown, but in my opinion it does mean that they should be analysed, and criticised.Dr Dannyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06504925700091862547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2066545054697120051.post-34784850274432224312013-04-02T13:15:03.562+01:002013-04-02T13:15:03.562+01:00I can think of a hundred movie scenes in which a q...I can think of a hundred movie scenes in which a queen/empress/high-power female figure is seen delighting in watching heavily oiled muscle-men in loin cloths fighting to the death for her amusement and titillation...pick any early Jean-Claude Van Damme movie at random and you'll find such a scene. And it makes 'sense' in the same way as does the Game Of Thrones scene you describe.<br /><br />It's a depiction of what happens when you amplify human urges to extreme/psychotic levels, urges we all have to a greater or lesser extent, and can therefore empathise with, however uncomfortable that fact may be. Stabbing someone to death with a biro is something very few of us will ever do, and yet you'd struggle to find an office worker who hasn't thought about it at least once, and would therefore relish such a scene in a movie. What goes on in our heads, the fantasies and aspirations and resentments are a thousand times more extreme than our modern western society will allow, and so we indulge vicariously through the media. I don't think these kind of violent/sexual scenes introduce anything new to our collective psyche, and in fact it takes considerable skill and forethought on the part of a screenwriter to make such things engaging and shocking, desensitised to it as we increasingly are. <br /><br />Actively promoting violence against women is of course intolerable, and I think a movie that did only that would sell very few tickets. But exploring the minds of those who commit or encourage such things, and being unnerved by how even our modern society is only ever a hair's breadth away from such regression towards our baser instincts...that's interesting. That's worth exploring and discussing. Boobs and bodycount do not a blockbuster make, and if that's all you'd seen in that Game Of Thrones episode, I very much doubt you'd have written a blog about it! Bo Davieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16911967637044170886noreply@blogger.com