4. In your own words, describe Nussbaum's attitude toward the violence, nudity, and sex scenes in Game of Thrones?
Although Emily Nussbaum admits there is a lot of violence, nudity, and sex scenes in Game of Thrones, she does not mind it too much because it is not over the top. Nussbaum calls the show's genre a sophisticated cable drama and puts it on par with The Sopranos and Mad Men. She goes on to state, "Each of these acclaimed series is a sprawling, multi-character exploration of a closed, often violent hierarchical system. Nussbaum put the show Game of Thrones in high regards even though it contains a lot of mature content. Nussbaum cites, "The show made a radical move: it killed off the protagonists ... It demonstrated, too, a willingness to risk alienating its audience". Nussbaum did not mind death being portrayed in this television program and hinted that that was the right move. Comparing the show to The Sopranos says a lot because to many it is one of the best shows ever. Even though in The Sopranos there were killings every other episode and a lot of nudity. Nussbaum states, " At times, I found myself marveling at the way HBO has solved the riddle of its own existence, merging Hookers at the Point with quasi-Shakespearian narrative". This shows the reader how Nussbaum is more than comfortable with the nudity/sex scenes and even praises HBO on how they do it. Although, there were rare occasions where Nussbaum thought the sex scenes were too much. She claimed, "it is elementally concerned with the way that meaningful consent dissolves when female bodies are treated as currency". Nussbaum shows the reader her discontent on the subject but admits it is necessary for a successful narrative. Nussbaum recalls an Irish actress walking off the stage because she felt she was participating in soft porn. The author pointed out how not everyone strips and not everything is nudity or explicit content. Nussbaum shows how there are some negative things about the nudity, violence, and sex scenes in Game of Thrones, but at the same time, she believes this is necessary for a successful television show. Nussbaum claims, "It helps the narrative equally fascinating by the ways in which women secure authority, and even pleasure, within these structures". The author is stating how the show has really well-developed characters, even though they can cause controversy. Nussbaum points out, "it seemed designed not to turn viewers off, but to confront them with the logical endgame of the pornographic system". Nussbaum shows how the show also has a deeper meaning in its nudity than what is on the surface. The directors use a great platform with millions of viewers to touch on controversial subjects. Throughout the author's body of work, she praises the show Game of Thrones and admires the well-calculated risk the directors take when producing every episode. Nussbaum shows how this would not be possible in a regular channel and merits HBO for creating a show she talks highly about. In the end, the author has more positive feelings for the explicit scenes in the show. The author compares Game of Thrones with other critically acclaimed television shows which speaks for itself.
Although Emily Nussbaum admits there is a lot of violence, nudity, and sex scenes in Game of Thrones, she does not mind it too much because it is not over the top. Nussbaum calls the show's genre a sophisticated cable drama and puts it on par with The Sopranos and Mad Men. She goes on to state, "Each of these acclaimed series is a sprawling, multi-character exploration of a closed, often violent hierarchical system. Nussbaum put the show Game of Thrones in high regards even though it contains a lot of mature content. Nussbaum cites, "The show made a radical move: it killed off the protagonists ... It demonstrated, too, a willingness to risk alienating its audience". Nussbaum did not mind death being portrayed in this television program and hinted that that was the right move. Comparing the show to The Sopranos says a lot because to many it is one of the best shows ever. Even though in The Sopranos there were killings every other episode and a lot of nudity. Nussbaum states, " At times, I found myself marveling at the way HBO has solved the riddle of its own existence, merging Hookers at the Point with quasi-Shakespearian narrative". This shows the reader how Nussbaum is more than comfortable with the nudity/sex scenes and even praises HBO on how they do it. Although, there were rare occasions where Nussbaum thought the sex scenes were too much. She claimed, "it is elementally concerned with the way that meaningful consent dissolves when female bodies are treated as currency". Nussbaum shows the reader her discontent on the subject but admits it is necessary for a successful narrative. Nussbaum recalls an Irish actress walking off the stage because she felt she was participating in soft porn. The author pointed out how not everyone strips and not everything is nudity or explicit content. Nussbaum shows how there are some negative things about the nudity, violence, and sex scenes in Game of Thrones, but at the same time, she believes this is necessary for a successful television show. Nussbaum claims, "It helps the narrative equally fascinating by the ways in which women secure authority, and even pleasure, within these structures". The author is stating how the show has really well-developed characters, even though they can cause controversy. Nussbaum points out, "it seemed designed not to turn viewers off, but to confront them with the logical endgame of the pornographic system". Nussbaum shows how the show also has a deeper meaning in its nudity than what is on the surface. The directors use a great platform with millions of viewers to touch on controversial subjects. Throughout the author's body of work, she praises the show Game of Thrones and admires the well-calculated risk the directors take when producing every episode. Nussbaum shows how this would not be possible in a regular channel and merits HBO for creating a show she talks highly about. In the end, the author has more positive feelings for the explicit scenes in the show. The author compares Game of Thrones with other critically acclaimed television shows which speaks for itself.
Greetings Miguel,
ReplyDeleteWow, your post was very well written and consistently referenced the text. Congratulations on going so in depth. I greatly enjoyed your entry, and in many ways it was similar to my own, particularly in your statement that Nussbaum "does not mind it too much because it is not over the top." Indeed, by referencing other shows such as The Sopranos and Mad Men she was actually defending Game of Thrones from the claim that what it depicted was somehow new or unheard of in television. In short, it was simply just one more show to add to "television's most esteemed category: the sophisticated cable drama about a patriarchal male subculture." That being said, however, I do have to respectfully express disagreement with one of your key points. Namely, that the author's tone was one of praise or that she was speaking positively toward Game of Thrones. Twice you reference her comparison of Game of Thrones with The Sopranos and Mad Men, stating in your own words, "Comparing the show to The Sopranos says a lot because to many it is one of the best shows ever," and "The author compares Game of Thrones with other critically acclaimed television shows which speaks for itself." While it is true, I would agree, that she is certainly defending the show from many of the accusations against it and is able to both respect and even appreciate its good elements, I do not believe that she is necessarily praising the show or intending to do so by comparing it to other shows like The Sopranos and Mad Men. On the contrary, I believe her tone to be primarily one of indifference. Without conceding that it is good, she is simply stating that Game of Thrones is just another entry into the same category that other critically acclaimed shows like The Sopranos fall under. She is not necessarily praising nor condemning this category but simply accepting it for what it is and, in my opinion, adopting a tone of indifference.