In the past I’ve raged against some cable exclusives distinguished (even if on occasion rightly) for being “good” TV like The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones because they endorse a really anti-social understanding of human relationships.1 These texts discuss an “inevitable” and desperate microsociety in the context of the world’s end (in the case of the former), or the … Continue reading A Garbage Wanderer’s Guide to the Apocalypse
Violence is paramount to maintaining fantasy fiction and disembodied violence is a pillar of the fantasy genre. Disembodied violence is the celebration of violent power, or the expression of violent power against unthinking but vaguely human-shaped antagonists; it’s the kind of violence that isn’t really violent because it doesn’t take place against another person. Take Iron Man 2: in … Continue reading Imagine the Power: Disembodied Violence in Fantasy Traditions
I have mixed feelings on Game of Thrones. After watching the first season I wavered back and forth before ultimately deciding I liked it. The book was about 600 pages too long and it lacks the flow and coherence of the show, but what George R.R. Martin couldn’t do on his own, HBO managed to … Continue reading The Dark Ages and the Unromance of Game of Thrones
[Originally posted on PopMatters] After two seasons on the air, Game of Thrones has captured the hearts of everyone on the internet. The books may have been popular, but it was HBO’s series that made it into the phenomenon that it is. Since the adaptation hit the airwaves it has been ripe for gamification. Games … Continue reading Cable TV of Thrones: Why Game of Thrones Does Not Work as a Game
bigtallwords 