Dynamics of Fantasy- Realism Exchange in
the Game of Thrones
A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Award of the Degree of
Master of Philosophy
in
English Studies
by
Jain Mary Sajeev (Reg. No: 1730023)
Under the Supervision of
Arya Aiyappan Assistant Professor
Department of English Studies
CHRIST (Deemed to be University)
BENGALURU, INDIA
December 2018
Approval of Dissertation
Dissertation entitled Dynamics of Fantasy-Realism Exchange in the Game of Thrones, by
Jain Mary Sajeev, Reg. No 1730023, is approved for the award of the degree of Master of
Philosophy in English.
Supervisor: ______
Chairman: ______
General Research Coordinator: ______
Date:
Place: Bengaluru
ii
DECLARATION
I Jain Mary Sajeev hereby declare that the dissertation, titled ‘Dynamics of Fantasy-Realism Exchange in the Game of Thrones’ is a record of original research work undertaken by me for the award of the degree of Master of Philosophy in English. I have completed this study under the supervision of Dr. Arya Aiyappan, Assistant Professor, Department of English.
I also declare that this dissertation has not been submitted for the award of any degree, diploma, associateship, fellowship or other title. I hereby confirm the originality of the work and that there is no plagiarism in any part of the dissertation.
Place: Bengaluru
Date:
Jain Mary Sajeev Reg No: 1730023 Department of English CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bengaluru
iii
CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the dissertation submitted by Jain Mary Sajeev (Reg. No 1730023) titled ‘Dynamics of Fantasy- Realism Exchange in Game of Thrones’ is a record of research work done by her during the academic year 2017-2018 under my supervision in partial fulfillment for the award of Master of Philosophy in English.
This dissertation has not been submitted for the award of any degree, diploma, associateship, fellowship or other title. I hereby confirm the originality of the work and that there is no plagiarism in any part of the dissertation.
Place: Bengaluru
Date:
Dr. Arya Aiyyappan Assistant Professor Department of English CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bengaluru
Head of the Department Department of English CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bengaluru
iv
Acknowledgements
First and foremost I would like to thank Christ (Deemed to be University) for giving me an opportunity to pursue Master of Philosophy. My sincere gratitude goes to all the faculty members of Department of English, for their insightful comments, stimulation and for widening my research perspectives.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Arya Aiyappan for her guidance, encouragement and patience throughout the course of this work. Her insights enlightened me to grow as a researcher and interactions with her were a truly wonderful experience.
My special thanks to my internal examiner, Dr. Anupama Nayar for her valuable and thoughtful comments. Words cannot express how grateful I am to my family who always stood as a supporting pillar in all my endeavors. I would also like to extend my gratitude to my friends who were always a source of encouragement and stimulation.
v
Abstract
George RR Martin’s bestselling novel series A Song of Ice and Fire revived the
interest in the fantasy genre after J.R.R Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. In 2011,
American channel HBO adapted it as a television series entitled Game of Thrones.
This blockbuster show amasses a global audience and is critically acclaimed for its
verisimilitude in representation and gritty realism. The series can be considered as a
modern high fantasy for its alternative world construction and integration of various
motifs of high fantasy. The series draws heavily from Medieval European history
and the pseudo-medieval setting offers a non-fictionality to the series. Unlike other
popular happy ending fantasy narratives, Game of Thrones provides a dystopian and
cynical portrayal of the world we live in. The possibility of one fantasy narrative
being deemed as more realistic and non-fictional requires further thought. The
research attempts to establish the series as a Modern Realistic Fantasy by paying
attention to realism and the six basic motifs of Modern Fantasy. The theoretical
foundation for the research is laid by Modern Fantasy Theory by Linda Lee Madsen
and Jacobs and Tunnels, Representation theory by Stuart Hall and Daniel Chandler,
and Andre Bazin’s Realist Film Theory.
Key words: Realism, Modern Fantasy, Game of Thrones, television series, Representation,
Medievalism, gritty realism, dystopian fantasy
vi
CONTENTS
Approval of the dissertation ii
Declaration iii
Certificate iv
Acknowledgements v
Abstract vi
Contents vii
Chapter 1
Introduction 1
Chapter 2
Magic, Fantastic Objects and Special Character Types in Game of Thrones 19
Chapter 3
Alternative World-building, Characterization and Good versus Evil
Motif in Game of Thrones 40
Chapter 4
Conclusion 63
Select Bibliography 73
Appendices i-iv
vii
Chapter 1
Introduction
“The best fantasy is written in the language of dreams. It is alive as dreams are alive, more real than real … for a moment at least … that long magic moment before we wake”
(George RR Martin). Geoffrey Chaucer uses the word “Fantasye” (Stableford i) to describe bizarre events and strange concepts that do not happen in our everyday life. The meaning of this word is exactly same even in the modern context and as a genre, Fantasy generally encompass intriguing worlds and magic systems and demands the boundless creativity and imagination of the author. Fantasy stands in contradiction to the realistic or naturalistic literature as involves an imaginative process where simulacra of rational objects and images are replicated in our mind.
(Stableford xxxv). Manlove explains fantasy as “A fiction evoking wonder and containing a substantial and irreducible element of the supernatural with which mortal characters in the story or the readers become on at least partly familiar terms”. (Manlove 1)
Brian Stableford’s The Historical Dictionary of Fantasy and John Clute’s Encyclopedia of Fantasy tracks the evolution of fantasy from 8th Century B.C to 21st Century paying attention to the key motifs of fantasy, its subgenres, different types and technical terms associated with the fantasy theory and criticism. These works are an intellectual treatise on the subject of fantasy and provides a wonderful overview in a chronological manner. The foundation of modern fantasy theory originated in the form of a lecture in 1938 by Tolkien entitled On Fairy Stories which proposes that the three functions of fantasy as recovery, escape and consolation. Tolkien defines Sajeev 2
fantasy and fairytales and traces the root of fantasy genre to fairytales. He introduced the concept of alternative world which features both magical and internally consistent elements. The imaginative world represented in a fantasy provides ample space for the reader to recover a proper perspective of the real world. Fantasy is escapist in nature as it liberates the viewer from the mundane reality of everyday life. Consolation or a moral fortification happens when the reader witnesses the happy ending present in fantasy stories.
The supernatural and fantasy elements were a part of literature from the beginning. The traditional fantasy tales were transmitted orally and are ingrained to the culture and tradition of a particular land. Fables, fairytales and folklore can be associated with traditional fantasy and it performed a psychological function by stressing on the clear demarcation between good and bad.
In general, fantasy narratives follow a linear pattern and emphasizes mainly on the heroic quest and the struggle between good and bad. It transports the viewer into an imaginative world which totally breaks from our everyday reality. The immersive nature of fantasy thus provides an escape from the mundane reality and also grants the wish fulfillment of the viewer in a fantasy world where moral choices are rewarded and evil deeds are punished.
Modern Fantasy is a much evolved genre which differentiates itself from folktales and children’s fantasy as it is directed towards an adult audience. J.R.R Tolkien is the key exemplar of Modern fantasy through his publication of Lord of the Rings trilogy in the 1950s, thus germinating a new found interest among adults for imagination. After Tolkien, American novelist and short story writer George Raymond Richard Martin renewed the interest in the fantasy genre with his epic fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire. As of now, the book series comprises of seven volumes starting with the book A Game of Thrones published in 1991.
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Martin widened the boundaries of fantasy genre by introducing issues like sexual violence, rape, religious fanaticism and racism and by portraying the brutal realities of the middle ages.
Different critics considered it as an example for grim dark fantasy for his depiction of grittiness in a medieval setting which was absent in his predecessors who always tried to valorize the middle ages. In 2011, the American premium cable channel HBO adapted A Song of Ice and
Fire, to the mini screen under the title Game of Thrones, transforming television as a fitting medium to represent neo-medievalism. This blockbuster television series with a global audience is credited with changing the status of the genre of fantasy from a high brow intellectual culture to the mainstream box office and from a light, happy ending utopian genre to a dystopian and cynical world. The middle ages depicted in the series is grim-dark as it attempted to make a faithful representation of the gender politics, class system, power-mad rulers, sexual violence and racism.
Fig 1: Game of Thrones title sequence (Art of the Title,2011)
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The HBO television series is directed by David Benioff and D.B Weiss. Compared to the filmic rendering, the serialized mode of narration involves increased viewer investment and adds more depth to the plotline. It delivers a modern visual experience via its highly episodic nature, intermeshing subplots, and use of visual effects. Game of thrones has an international fan base and it constructs a trans-medial universe incorporating the book, the television adaptation, comic book series, video games, fan theories and various wikis. The rising viewership of the series from 2.52 million US viewers during the first season to 10.26 million viewers in the seventh season is indicative of the huge popularity of the show.
Game of Thrones is set in the imaginary landscapes of Westeros and Essos and the series follows three primary story arcs. The most central plot revolves around power and political intrigue as it focuses on the conflicts of various noble houses for the Iron Throne. The second plotline depicts a life versus death theme as it involves the fight between the reanimated human corpses called white walkers and the human beings. The third plot sheds light into the life of the last descendent of the realm’s deposed dynasty and her powerful return to recapture the realm.
The novel and the television adaptation had drawn influences from European history in terms of its setting, character and plot. The fictional setting of Westeros resembles medieval Europe from lands and cultures, monarchy, feudalism, castles, knights and chivalry and political intrigue. The alternate land in Game of Thrones rings impeccably with the destabilized and non-western universal order today and it attempts to create a faithful representation of early modern world to the global audience. The time span of this early modern period extends from the voyages of
Columbus and Vasco da Gama in the 15th century to the American and French Revolutions that happened in the 18th century. The series appeal to our contemporary interests and it refracts our
Sajeev 5 own histories and its enormous popularity can be attributed more to its modernity rather than its medieval quality.
A modern fantasy like Game of Thrones estranges itself from other popular fantasy narratives in terms of its underlying realism. Westeros is a grim dark world of gritty realism where all viewer expectations of fantasy genre are shattered. People die when they are stabbed, nations go bankrupt, sexual assaults and rape are prevalent, homosexuality and religious fanaticism are rampant and power mad politicians rule the world. Amidst this pseudo medieval setting, magical elements like dragons, dire wolves, mantichores, and the undead exists, and they are portrayed with depth and meaning by making them appear more realistic visually and otherwise. This series has elevated the status of fantasy genre which was often derided as tales for children to the mainstream box office consisting of mainly adult audience.
Despite the fact that the series has components of fantasy it is set in a more accurate and sensible medieval time period. The War of the Roses between House of York and Lancaster and
The Hundred Years War had turned out to be the primordial motivation for George RR Martin to build the Westerosi world. Such medievalism’s is a miniature impression of a specific era in humanity's history onto which the audience foresees their feelings of fear, wishes, hopes and anxiety. Fantasy elements guarantees a more secure takeoff from this present reality and it works as an apparatus to make value judgments on the present issues in an inconspicuous way.
Game of Thrones being branded as an epic fantasy is extremely convincing and truthful in terms of its representation of medievalism and fantasy elements. In comparison with other major Fantasy films like Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit and Chronicles of Narnia, it is considered as more non fictional and realistic and it requires further contemplation. The thesis attempts to
Sajeev 6 explore the paradoxical mechanism of realism working in a fantasy setting in terms of the basic motifs of modern fantasy and realist film theory.
Medievalism as a branch of study deals with portrayals of middle ages in post-medieval popular culture. Medievalist Shiloh Caroll says that our perceptions of middle ages arise from representations in literature and media. Victorian narratives emphasized on the romantic aspects like chivalry and courtly love. This article helps in understanding how Game of Thrones transformed our outlook on middle ages by making it appear more brutal. Paul B. Sturtevant’s thesis on the Impact of Popular ‘Medieval Film’ on the Public Understanding of the Middle Ages surveys the popular perception about Middle Ages in the contemporary UK audience and how the popular neo-medieval films influences and impact their understanding of the medieval. This work is critical in understanding the reception of medieval films among the contemporary audience and the evolution of medieval fantasy as a part of popular culture. This work also sheds light on the popular imagination of middle ages and its deviation from the real.
Laura Miller provides a brief overview of George RR Martin’s magnum opus A Song of
Ice and Fire and looks into Martin’s work as a deviant form of fantasy compared to other fantasy literatures. This work is critical because it talks about how Martin is deeply influenced by other fantasy fiction authors like Tolkien for his construction of Westeros and how he alienates himself from his influences. Game of Thrones versus History: Written in Blood looks at how Game of
Thrones resembles and deviate from real historical events, characters and popular beliefs. The author examines the plot, characterization and setting and exposes the likeness of middle ages reflected in Westeros. Brian A Pavloc and Michael Livingston also focus on the medieval aspect of Game of Thrones which reflect and refract our own contemporary interests and histories.
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Riccardo Fachini examines a few medieval ideals which influenced the production of the series. The series dismisses the glorification of middle ages and projects this time period as disillusionment. All the aforementioned articles figure out the resemblances and deviations of
Game of Thrones with the real middle ages and establish it as a medieval saga. Ryan Vu uses
Martin’s Game of Thrones as an example to depict the paradigmatic shift in the fantasy genre which has moved from the niche markets of fantasy fiction to a hegemonic cultural norm. The article distinguishes fantasy from other nonrealistic genres like science fiction and horror and talks about how the modern viewers connect to events happening in a fantasy setting. Tereza
Havirova discusses the fairytale elements in Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter which coincides with the genre of fantasy fiction. This critical work helped in defining Fantasy and to figure out various tropes in fantasy fiction.
Shiloh Caroll’s article reconfirms the notion that Game of Thrones is realistic, both historically and sociologically, compared to the Fantasy literature of JRR Tolkien. She also talks about how Martin purposefully built the popular tropes of princess and the knight to create viewer expectations to destroy it, finally making the series more complex and uncertain. She demonstrates various examples of neo-medievalism and the juncture between the contemporary and medieval ideals in popular films. This article explains what is medievalism and neo- medievalism and also looks at present-day fantasy authors’ usage of medieval themes for their alternative world construction and characterization.
Michael O Tunnel and James S. Jacobs have recorded the six basic motifs of modern fantasy in their work Children’s Literature Briefly. Their speculations are based on Linda Lee
Madsen’s 1976 thesis, Fantasy in Children's Literature: A Generic Study. The most central motif of a modern fantasy is magic. A magical system has its own set of rules, and it may or may not
Sajeev 8 abide by the natural laws of our primary world and it further helps in explaining the unexplainable and to regulate the magical effects produced in the imaginary world. A multifarious web concerning magic is exemplified in a fantasy narrative and different varieties of magic like witchcraft, dark arts, alchemy and mysticism are depicted. The functioning of magic is possible in a fantasy setting and the magical terrain strongly influences the plot. In C.S Lewis’
Alice in Wonderland, the protagonist Alice is transported to an alternative world where the impossible functions as a norm, and towards the end of the narrative, she is taken aback to the primary world of mundane reality. Magical powers are multi-directional in a fantasy and can be used for both good and bad.
The second motif is Secondary or other worlds in which a special universe or unique geographical setting is established where magic can freely operate. Even though it is an imaginary construction, it is recognizable as the world we live and possesses a different set of governing rules. Such imaginative landscapes are visible in C.S Lewis’ Narnia in The Lion, The
Witch and the Wardrobe, Middle Earth in Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, Oz in
L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and Neverland in J.M Barrie’s Peter Pan.
Modern fantasies are constructed out of a powerful mythological foundation and mostly myths focuses on the age old pattern concerning the struggle between good and bad which establishes itself as the third motif. The Evil characters eject from their dim coverts or grounds, eagerly trying to devour the Good but the victory always rests within the hands of morally good characters. This dynamic opposition is crucial to a fantasy and in most cases it limits the characterization to a bunch of stock characters who can be recognized as either good or bad even from the very beginning of the narrative.
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The hero’s quest is an honored prototype for fantasy narratives and it follows a formula of a circular journey where the beginning and ending centers on a particular quest and locale.
Initially the hero is directed towards an adventure by a messenger or herald and he crosses the verge of other world which is full of chaos and strife. The Gandalf in Lord of the Rings and Mr.
Timnus in The Lion the Witch and The Wardrobe functions as the herald whereas Bilbo Baggins leaving the hearth and children passing through the magical wardrobe are examples for hero’s passage on to a foreboding secondary world. The hero is supposed to survive the various trials in the other world and has to endure emotional setbacks and hardships. The refining vigor alludes to the heroic quest. In most cases the hero receives assistance and a sense of security from a protective figure that can be powerful and wiser. The hero is initiated to adulthood and matures to become a whole person. The returning of hero to the homeland culminates the heroic quest.
The fifth motif identified in a modern fantasy setting is special character types or nonhuman races. They originate from author’s vivid imagination or from mythical tales and legendary past. They are rarely humans and the examples include giants, dwarfs, witches, vampires, ogres, elves and so on. The magical properties and fantastic objects entitle the role of sixth basic motif. The characters in a fantasy setting often employ the aid of such objects with supernatural powers to accomplish their heroic or evil deeds. These objects are permeated with magical powers and examples include magic cloaks, staff, cauldron, swords and mirrors. The dreadful ring in The Lord of the Rings, the wand of the white witch in The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe and Dorothy’s pearl slippers in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz are illustrations for fantastic objects.
The theoretical background for the research is the representation theory by Stuart Hall and Daniel Chandler and Realist Film theory by Andre Bazin. Stuart Hall emphasizes the
Sajeev 10 significance of visual representation. According to him the predominant symbol of modern culture is the image. Representation is a process of depicting something which was already present and assigns meaning to the objects and things which essentially stand for something else.
This theory gives insights on analyzing representations by looking at the signifiers, the meaning produced, and to critically examine representations by posing questions like what are the stereotypes used, what is shown to be ordinary and deviant, who created the representation, the effects and impact of representation, who are the objects of gaze and how is reality incorporated on to the representation. Daniel Chandler’s views on media representation provides key question about specific representations like what, how, and whom and helps to analyze how media changes the way something was represented earlier.
Andre Bazin exemplifies the objective nature of filmic image and the technical aspects like camera setting, deep focus photography and role of montage. According to him film is an approximation of reality and is not a mere reproduction of reality. Realism is a need to represent the world in its true essence. Films are realistic as they contain real objects within them. The expansive space in a film is similar to the ascending space of reality. Cinema bridges between the gap of presence and absence as it is an illusion of presence. Andre Bazin’s realist film theory provides solid background for analyzing the realism in representation and the various techniques employed to instill realism. Realism in media relates to the imitation of reality and as a medium, film is used to photograph reality. Andre Bazin viewed film from a realist’s perspective. He states that image is appraised not conferring to what it adds on to reality, but what it reveals of the reality. As a medium, film enables to capture a particular space and event in real time making it appear more realistic. Cinema becomes an asymptote of reality and the key focus is not on the transformation of reality. It also emphasizes on mise-en-scene, deep focus, long shots, moving
Sajeev 11 camera and uses the medium prudently. The fidelity of representation or verisimilitude is what makes a film appear realistic. The different strategies for employing realism in films include the use of a handheld camera or simply a camera in a tripod. The setting is mostly existing buildings and exterior locations rather than on indoor sets. The realist films encompass a natural lighting, mainly the sun light. The cast comprises of nonprofessional actors and everyday people. Most importantly these genre of films focuses on the various social issues.
As a style, realism renders more attention to detail with a selective denotation of reality at the cost of a well-developed plot. The characters have to undertake complex ethical and moral choices and they are more than just a part of action and plot. The characters are motivated by real life urges like greed, lust and confusion rather than by morality. They share a close relation with nature, their social upbringing and to their own past and are presented with real intricacy of disposition. The social pressures acquire more importance than heroic romantic individualism.
Realist narratives lack extreme dramatic and sensational scenes and the plausibility of events is one of its major feature. Settings may be grittier compared to the idealized natural landscapes and distant horizons of Romanticism. The more elaborated setting also offers potential distractions from a simple and linear narrative. A natural vernacular diction is used, neglecting the ornamental or poetic language. The objectivity in presentation is also a significant feature of realism.
Dudley Andrew’s book Concepts in Film Theory helps to highlight and isolate the special conditions of representation which govern the cinema and the peculiar questions which the cinema raises as questions of representation. In a fiction or fantasy film, the constructed referent is far moved from the reality and it relies on some substratum of the spectator. The techniques and codes that construct the illusion of the continuity of movement in the fiction film may be the
Sajeev 12 product of history and the mode of consciousness by which spectators have always participated in the construction of a fiction is ahistorical and transcendental to the degree that it stems from certain conditions of perception and cognition operating in the everyday life world. It also helps to analyze the ideology of realist representation and representation as a process in film making.
Matthew Brett Vaden’s article on fantasy across media helps to distinguish between filmic fantasy and literary fantasy and examines the four main benefits of fantasy stories such as recovery, escape, consolation and eucatastrophe. According to the literary scholar Tom A
Shippey, the dominant literary mode of the 20th century has been ‘fantastic’. The box office success of The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Disney’s Frozen and Marvel’s Avengers depicts the acceptance of this film genre. The direct presence of the images makes the secondary world of fantasy appear real, elusive and mystical. This article concentrates more on the soothing happy ending fantasy tales, totally neglecting the grim dark fantasy world as portrayed in Game of
Thrones which makes it easy to trace the delineations in the series compared to other fantasy fiction.
Lucy Marie Cuthew analyses the Modern Fantasy elements in C.S Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia and Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials. This article provides a brief outline of fantasy genre and establishes the tenets of Modern Fantasy which in turn helps in understanding more about the subgenre of modern fantasy and modern fantasy narratives. Jagjeet Singh analyzes the high fantasy elements in George RR Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire by focusing on the alternative world and the narrative strategies employed in the series. Ida Rochani Adi intends to project the sustainability of epic fantasy genre and traces the high fantasy elements in Game of
Thrones. Just a couple of insightful scholarly writings concerning Game of Thrones have been published. These articles did not establish the series as a modern realistic fantasy. A couple of
Sajeev 13 them examine the HBO series and certain topics in association with medievalism, while others allude to George R.R. Martin while examining the fantasy genre. Different online articles establishes Game of thrones as a medieval fantasy by associating it with its resemblance to real middle ages and by tracing down the fantasy elements like the undead, dragons, witches and mantichores. When it comes to realism in representation, not many studies in connection to realism and fantasy have been published. As far as this thesis is concerned, the anticipation is to contribute to the literary arena by presenting the medieval fantasy series Game of Thrones in connection with realism, and to offer a comprehensible perspective of the emerging genre of modern realist fantasy.
The thesis will investigate how the six basic motifs of modern fantasy are incorporated in
HBO Television series Game of Thrones and how the realism in representation and style deviates it from other modern fantasy narratives. A realistic modern fantasy intertwines the elements of modern fantasy and realism on to the narrative. Even though it incorporates all the basic six motifs of modern fantasy, the fantasy elements are established on a realistic setting rather than a purely imaginary alternative world. It is postmodern in its outlook as it abridges the gap between past and present by reflecting the social and political issues. The characters act like normal people trusting their natural instincts which further establishes an emotional appeal in the psyche of the viewer as they can relate more with the characters depicted. Centrality of magic is a primary feature of modern fantasy, but in a realistic modern fantasy, magic subtly works in the periphery. The characters are an amalgam of good and bad traits and are mostly presented in shades of grey. The plot contains multiple narratives and do not follow a linear pattern which traces the heroic quest of a protagonist. A realistic modern fantasy is directed towards an adult audience and may contain extreme violence and sexual content.
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In comparison with other popular fantasy narratives, the epic fantasy series Game of
Thrones is considered as more non fictional and realistic in its representation and it requires further contemplation. This paradox of fantasy and realism working together in the series requires further study and analysis. The objective of the research is to analyze how the blockbuster HBO television series Game of Thrones establishes itself as a Realistic Modern
Fantasy by combining the key attributes of modern fantasy and realism. The research will also analyze the characteristics of a modern realistic fantasy and investigate the impact of realism employed in the show.
Game of Thrones revolutionized the genre perceptions of fantasy by incorporating fantasy elements to a realistic setting formulates the thesis statement of the research. The methodology employed is qualitative and the theoretical foundations are laid by Modern Fantasy theory by Jacobs and Tunnels and Linda Lee Madsen, Representation theory by Stuart Hall and
Daniel Chandler and Andre Bazin’s concept of Realist Film Theory.
The first chapter titled “The Magic, Fantastic Objects and Special Character Types in
Game of Thrones” focuses on the three motifs of magic, magical objects and non-human races.
The second chapter “Alternative World building, Characterization and Good versus Evil Motif in
Game of Thrones” investigate how the show incorporates the motifs of other world, heroic quest and characterization and good versus evil in the series. These two chapters attempts to establish
Game of Thrones as a modern realistic fantasy and provides a comprehensive outlook on the representation of fantasy and magical elements in the series.
Sajeev 15
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Democratic Movement from a System Theory Perspective.” International Review of
Sociology, vol. 7, no. 1, 1997, pp. 147–153, doi:10.1080/03906701.1997.9971229.
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Wikipedia contributors. "A Song of Ice and Fire." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia,
The Free Encyclopedia, 16 Nov. 2018. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Song_of_Ice_and_Fire.
Wikipedia contributors. "Game of Thrones." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The
Free Encyclopedia, 13 Nov. 2018. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_of_Thrones.
Young, Helen V. Fantasy and Science-Fiction Medievalisms: From Isaac Asimov to a Game
of Thrones. , 2015.
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Chapter 2
Magic, Fantastic Objects and Special Character Types in Game of Thrones
JRR Tolkien deemed fantasy as a higher form of art as it exists in a more pure and most potent form of fiction. Fantasy stories usually have a setting in the past but the readers relate to it due to its quality of the present. According to Stableford:
It is intrinsic to the nature of preliterate storytelling, therefore, that stories should be set in
a world that is not the everyday world of the present day but in a world of myth and
magic: the world of ―once upon a time. Even stories in which no magic is worked and
nothing supernatural occurs must, if the illusion of antiquity is to be retained, have such
possibilities as a context. (Stableford xxxvii)
Even though fantasy existed long back from Thomas Malory’s Morte D’ Arthur and
Arthurian legends, J.R.R Tolkien inaugurated the High Fantasy genre which was set in a pseudo medieval world as a metaphor for the old industrialized England. Peter Jackson’s adaptation of the series was a huge success and thereby familiarized this genre to the mainstream audience.
Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings was essentially a good versus evil struggle and there existed a clear demarcation of good and bad characters. George R.R Martin, who was deeply influenced by
Tolkien, revolutionized the idea of Fantasy by making it gory and gritty realistic. His magnum opus A Song of Ice and Fire blurs the line between good and evil in characterization and transcends the stock characters and races by giving them more individuality. In order to accomplish this effect, Martin’s Fantasy follows the conventional patterns of fantasy and delineates from it at the same time by including elements of realism like oppression, slavery, racism, religious fanaticism and sexual violence which reminds us about the issues in the world we live in. Fantasy even though ridiculed as tales for children and as an immature niche genre,
Sajeev 20 the HBO television series successfully combines the registers of a pseudo-medieval high fantasy and the adult oriented quality television making it an adult oriented realistic fantasy experience.
The series reworks on the six basic motifs of modern fantasy identified by Linda Lee Madsen by incorporating realism onto it.
The imaginary setting in a fantasy affords plentiful space for unexplainable events, magical objects and creatures and nonhuman races like dwarves, giants, elves and hobbits.
Middle Earth in Tolkien’s The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, Narnia in C. S Lewis’ The Lion,
The Witch and the Wardrobe, Neverland in J.M Barrie’s Peterpan and Oz in L.Frank Baum’s
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz are examples for a fantasy setting where magic becomes a crucial part of its setting. Contrary to these imaginary worlds, in Game of Thrones a realistic setting is established first on to which magical elements are gradually introduced. The series provides a credible representation of reality by re-imagining the medieval England embodied in the feudal structure and an organized religious belief. The all-encompassing plotline merges the realistic setting with elements of fantasy and the marvelous takes an upper hand in such interactions.
Magic essentially grants powers to individuals or objects that do not naturally ensue in the real world. In a work of Fantasy, magic helps in accelerating the plot by providing power to the hero. Game of Thrones is inclusive of magical elements like dragons, witches, dire wolves and undead warrior clan called the White Walkers. One among the great Maesters, Luwin comments, "Maybe magic was once a mighty force in the world, but not anymore" (Season 2,
Episode 3) makes it explicit that even the characters do not believe in the existence of magic.
Instead of asking the viewer to believe in the existence of magic, the series provides a skeptical outlook on magic and creates a binary where the viewer’s know magic exists for real in Westeros but the characters deny its existence. All the great Maesters of the Citadel did not believe in the
Sajeev 21 existence of magic and only one among them, Luwin studied magic as a discipline to earn a
Valyrian Steel link for their chains. Even though magic is still practiced in Essos, the citizens are suspicious about its power and effects and used to question its practitioners.
Magic returns to the world of Westeros with the birth of Daenerys Targaryen’s Dragons after a century long time. Since a very long time it was believed that dragons hold an intimate connection to magic as they are the most powerful magical creatures and magic becomes immensely powerful in their presence. Martin and his adaptors have regarded magic as an indication not to think little of how horrible it's possible for things to turn into. Magic is ordinarily multi-directional in fantasy, useable for good or abhorrent, and accelerates a feeling of tension in any random establishment. Magic in Game of Thrones is far less controllable by individual people and exists as an autonomous power of its own. Daenerys Targaryen’s dragons possesses a specific level of awareness, intelligence and individuality, the White Walkers are an autonomous power, Melisandre might have the capacity to bring forth shadowy murderers, yet it is unclear if she is a witch fit for gathering independent power, and the degree to which she demands that she is a servant of the Lord of Light is really a more exact portrayal of how her capacity is limited. (Rosenberg) Magic in Westeros adequately works as an indication of the peril of accepting that specific threats and challenges to your permanence and stability have vanished from the earth, and of expecting that new and gigantically problematic powers cannot abruptly rise to make tremendous mechanical asymmetries, similar to a triad of Targaryen dragons approaching to overcome Westeros. An amalgamation of realism and fantasy occur in the series and the prominence given to realistic elements in a fantastic setting is an appealing factor of the show. The alternative world of Westeros is a reflection of both the medieval
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England and the modern day context as it depicts the marginalized faction of society struggling to assimilate the popular norms and conventions.
The medieval world was extremely superstitious and believed in the existence of magic.
The series depicts different viewpoints of characters on magic, there are characters like
Melisandre who totally accepts the existence of magic, Bran Stark believes in the supernatural,
Tyrion Lannister is doubtful of its presence and Maester Luwin totally denies magical happenings. Usually in fantasy fiction, magical animals like dragons exist from the beginning.
But in Game of Thrones everyone believes that dragons are long extinct and this motif is re- established only towards the end of Season 1. A conventional creature in fantasy called dire wolves also exists, but devoid of any magical properties. Various features like complicated plotline, incest, prophetic dream, witches make it appear as a fantasy saga. Fantasy elements are not central to the plotline; rather they are introduced to evoke wonder. The core narrative of the series centers around politics and war and magic do not becomes an essential component.
In Westeros dragons existed in the mythical past and in the historical memory of the people. Therefore people who do not believe in the existence of dragons are actually neglecting the historical facts. In that way magical creatures like dragons appear extremely organic and natural. The skulls of dragons preserved in the Royal Throne room add more credibility to the fact that magic once existed in Westeros. But gradually the dragons became smaller in size and eventually died out and with the extinction of dragons; magic also left the Westerosi world.
Similarly the seven hundred foot tall Wall is made out of magic to ward off the undead warriors called White Walkers. Daenerys Targaryen’s hatching of the three dragon eggs in funeral pyre of her husband is also a magical event. Unlike other fantasy animals, dragons and direwolves are not portrayed as quasi-humans, rather they exists as a naturally occurring species similar to the
Sajeev 23 extinct dinosaurs. The dragons possess a sentience of their own and are extremely difficult to train.
The very first instance of magic being neglected is in the very first episode of Season 1.
One among the rangers from the Night’s watch encounters the fearsome corpses and informs his fellow members. But when they proceed to check, the corpses have disappeared and they are brutally massacred. The only witness of the entire incidents report the return of white walkers to
Lord Stark and is eventually beheaded for deserting the Night’s watch. The white walkers are a race of reanimated corpses and indeed elements of fantasy to the viewers. But the very first testimony of the impossible in the series is looked upon with suspicion and the white walkers are portrayed as just frightened illusions of a tired group of men.
Similarly when the witch Miri Maz Duur carries out the blood magic, she was alone with
Khal Drogo. None of the characters were there to testify the power of her magic and thus events of fantasy are portrayed as superstitions. The hatching of Daenerys dragon eggs can be considered as a magical element and this event establishes the presence of magic. Even though in medieval times people were extremely superstitious and believed in magic, the series provides a postmodern outlook on fantasy. The series employs the use of meta-fantasy to deconstruct fantasy by the very action of creating it. Patricia Waugh explains metafiction as:
[…] self-consciously and systematically draws attention to its status as an artifact in order
to pose questions about the relationship between fiction and reality. In providing a
critique of their own methods of construction, such writings not only examine the
fundamental structures of narrative fiction, they also explore the possible fictionality of
the world outside the literary fictional text. (Siino Leimar 25)
Sajeev 24
For understanding metafiction, an understanding of literary concepts and narratives are mandatory. Same way, meta-fantasy requires an understanding of modern fantasy, its features and conventional tropes. A meta-fantasy is reliant on the viewer’s acquaintance with fantasy as it dependent on the traditional attributes and tropes of fantasy genre. The narrative in Game of
Thrones delineates largely from traditional character types and tropes so much so that the audience actually doubts if it is fantasy or not but at the same time generates a need to understand the evolving arena of fantasy narratives. This series stands in the midway between modern fantasy and realism as it is largely deprived of the overt fantastic elements and by providing historicity to an imaginary setting. The series can be analyzed as historical with a different kind of history and with a marginalized set of magical elements. (SiinoLeimar 24,25)
In a visual analysis of representation of magical creatures like dragons and dire wolves, they are made photorealistic using visual effects. The growth stage of the three dragons from the egg to a full-fledged gory creature is also realistically depicted. The uncanny represented by the magical and supernatural elements and the familiar setting of middle ages is perfectly blended and it appears organic.
Fig 2: Daenerys’ Dragons (Grubbs)
Sajeev 25
Magical objects can be an essential part in fantasy narratives and it symbolizes the human aspiration for something they cannot possess like immortality, invisibility, time travelling and so on. Fantastic objects like the powerful ring in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings can direct the plot just like any powerful characters. In Lord of the Rings, the ring directly influences the bearer’s mindset and it is purely magical in nature. Traditional magic systems like Harry Potter use objects like staff and wands for the transmission of power. In Game of Thrones, a plethora of magical objects are present but they are not crucial for the main thread of the story and are not inherently magical. The sword entitled Lightbringer is made up of living fire and the rightful bearer is even capable of overpowering a god. Daenerys Targaryen’s dragon eggs are also magical in its essence as it leads to the return of magic in the world of Westeros. Varys says that
Power resides where men believe it resides. Stannis and Melisandre possess faith in the power of
Lightbringer and this object wields its power on the life of Stannis. There are many other powerful swords present in the series like Arya Stark’s needle, Jon Snow’s Long claw and Ned
Stark’s ice. Dragon glass also infuses a significant amount of magical powers as it can be used to kill the white walkers. The inherent powers of these objects surface only when it is wielded by a human character.
The wall in the north is made of ice and magic. It is believed that this wall can weep and can protect itself from the intruders by shattering the top layers of ice. Only the horn of Joramun can destroy the magic in this great wall. The titular throne in Game of Thrones is the iron throne which is forged by the fiery breath of a dragon and consists of thousands of swords made up of
Valyrian steel. It can be considered as the pinnacle of power in Westeros, but those people who have really sat on the throne had experienced a very short reign and eventually death. For instance, Robert Baratheon and Joffrey were murdered and Tommen committed suicide. It is a
Sajeev 26 lurking presence in the king’s landing and in the whole of Westeros. Iron throne stands as a symbol of immense power. These objects are storehouses of our dreams, anxieties and fears but in most cases they fail to serve their motives.
Characters who either come from mythical past or from an author’s vibrant imagination involve the special character types in Fantasy. These characters are rarely humans and have their roots in traditional tales and mythology. The various character types which appear in fantasy are fairies, pixies, giants, wizards, dwarves, hobbits and vampires.
Usually these special character types or nonhuman races are projected on the basis of one particular character trait. The focus of every fantasy narrative is on humanity and human beings and nonhuman races always have a supporting role because the viewers can easily relate and empathize with human characters rather than with other races. In Norse mythology dwarfs lived underground and are equipped with the knowledge to make weapons and other relics. They are also presented as miners and smiths and are projected as bearded, alcoholic and fierce warriors.
There is no mystic race of dwarfs in Westeros, but only human beings affected with the medical condition of dwarfism. In medieval romances, beauty is often considered as a determiner of morality. Dwarfs usually projected as ugly in their appearance are considered as evil and their appearance becomes an indicator of their moral decay. On the other hand the heroic and chivalrous knights are represented as attractive and handsome. Dwarfs are stereotyped as evil, aggressive and mean and they were treated as a subject of ridicule.
Peter Dinklage, the actor who played dwarf in Game of Thrones says that it is absurd to portray a dwarf character as a mystical creature as it involves a lot of bias. He says:
…if they have a dwarf character, the shoes have to curl up at the end, he has this inherent
wisdom, he isn’t sexual, all of that. You look at something like ‘Snow White,’ and each
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of the dwarves is just one thing — this one sneezes, this one is angry, this one is tired.
And that’s sometimes still true for modern-day stories. But it’s not just for dwarves that
could be the case for anybody, for women, for people of color. (Anderson)
Fig.3: Tyrion Lannister (Rinfro Kim)
Tyrion Lannister can be considered as an interesting subversion of a classic fantasy dwarf. He is a fully rounded character and his dwarfism is a medical condition. His limbs and heads are not in proportion and he is physically weak due to his small size. But then he is also known for his love for gold, alcoholism, beard, bawdiness, and battle-axes. He's a skilled craftsman and even lives under a mountain/gold mine named Casterly Rock.
Dwarfs are considered as nothing more than fools and they faced a lot of discrimination in the pseudo-medieval world of Westeros. They uptake menial professions like jesters and court fools. A family of small folk will let a dwarf infant to die on the woods because a dwarf is incapable for physical labor and cannot afford to meet their expenses. Dwarfs are also exposed to physical assaults by those who find happiness in conquering a weaker opponent. When Tyrion
Lannister was called for a trial by combat, his opponent objected stating that it is demeaning for him to slaughter someone half his size. Dwarfs are assumed to be debased, belligerent and evil as their appearance is not attractive. This demeaning attitude of people around creates embitterment
Sajeev 28 and they finally becomes what the society believe they are. Tywin Lannister victimized his dwarf son Tyrion Lannister his entire life unreasonably and considered him as an evil and ungrateful dwarf. Tyrion did not show any loyalty to his father and ended up murdering him using a crossbow.
Even though Joffrey is handsome, he is cruel and sadistic in nature. But people find it hard to accept him as a cruel lunatic because in romantic tradition attractive characters are morally good. Indeed, even into the primary months of Joffrey's rule as ruler, numerous people expect that the "great King Joffrey" will before long reestablish harmony and put a conclusion to the war. At first, some cannot easily grasp that Joffrey himself began the war and murdered
Eddard Stark, and consequently expect Eddard may have merited it, given that no rational ruler would arbitrarily execute a feudal lord without defense. Just step by step and hesitantly do individuals begin to speculate that Joffrey probably won't be a fit lord, yet and still, at the end of the day they endeavor to justify this distinction between Joffrey's excellent appearance and ghastly identity by hooking onto the conviction that definitely Joffrey's uncle, the evil spirited
Tyrion, must lead the appealing kid off track with terrible guidance. Joffrey audaciously carries out a few barbarities and begins the Riot of King's Landing and only then individuals begin to acknowledge that somebody as alluring as Joffrey could really be so malevolent. The stark princess Sansa Stark was also enamored by the appearance of Joffrey even though she has a very vague idea of his character. Queen Cersei is also depicted as very attractive and dignified but she is nothing more than a malicious and spiteful child in an adult’s appealing body.
Well beyond this, being conceived a dwarf is regularly observed as retribution from the gods. Various religions trust that people are conceived as smaller people because of an antagonistic judgment from the divine beings, regardless of whether there is no proof that they or
Sajeev 29 their family did anything incorrectly. Some trust that diminutive people are essentially a remorseless jape, the gods having a joke to mankind's detriment. In any case, the outcome is that only to be conceived as a midget, a demonstration they had no power over, diminutive people are frequently observed as bringing disgrace onto their families basically to exist.
Giants are humanoids of extraordinary size and quality and have highlighted in fantasies and society stories from numerous societies. Legendary giants are frequently one of the most conscious species to have emerged and, accordingly, have intelligence, but at the same time are hostile towards the divine beings. Fantasy giants – as in Jack and the Beanstalk – are somewhat imbecilic, narrow minded. Giants are a non-human race viewed as a legend by the occupants of the Seven Kingdoms south of the Wall. In any case, giants do really exist in the farthest north past the Wall, and have had a few interactions with the human wildlings. This is interestingly with both the Children of the Forest and the White Walkers, which even the wildlings, guarantee to have not found in a huge number of years.
In season one Tyrion Lannister while visiting Castle Black advises to Benjen Stark that he doesn't trust that giants are hiding past the Wall. Maester Luwin discloses to Bran Stark that numerous individuals believe that enchanted animals like the Giants never existed. Luwin discloses to Bran that he supposes they may have once existed in antiquity, however that they have since a long time ago become wiped out. Further in Season 4, when Jon Snow reports the danger of wildlings that have colossally big giants, Janos Slynt breaks out snickering, as south of the Wall giants are only an animal from stories to terrify youngsters.
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Fig.4: Giants in Game of Thrones (Jamal Zakiya)
In that way, various characters negate the presence of otherworldly animals like giants, however the audience are very much aware that monsters exists. In fantasy, they are typically depicted as evil and cruel. In Season 3 Ygritte reveals to Jon Snow not to gaze at giants as they are to a great degree bashful and their timidity can be immediately changed into anger. In the books Jon Snow reviews that in the stories and tales Old Nan used to tell, giants were essentially simply enormous individuals, who lived in huge mansions, wearing defensive armors like knights. Jon is shocked when he finds that giants endure north of the Wall, not just because of their reality, but rather on the grounds that they don't coordinate the legends he has heard, yet are undeniably grounded and rough. Game of Thrones deconstruct the tropes of High Fantasy writing, in which various diverse non-human races, for example, dwarves or mythical races are effectively associated with the world. Rather, non-human races are so uncommon in Westeros that they are regularly thought to be only the stuff of legends. Anyway notwithstanding when
Martin really starts presenting non-human races with the giants, they are significantly more reasonable and realistic than the sort of imagination tropes that even Jon Snow was anticipating.
Jon aggregates up his evaluation of the monsters by taking note of that they in reality sort of help
Sajeev 31 him to remember Hodor, the slow-witted and fantastically tall stable-kid at Winterfell. Or maybe,
Jon notes, monsters are about twice as tall as Hodor, and about half as insightful.
Witches are powerful prototypes in fantasies and legends. Lamentably, a considerable measure of the witch trope is connected to frameworks of persecution society has sent against non-conforming individuals. Witches are hyper-sexualized and are treated as evil propagating the idea that magic is innately risky. The main character which demonstrates some similarity to the witch archetype is the Red Woman. Melisandre turns to be the Merlin to Stannis Baratheon's
King Arthur, urging him to pull a consuming sword from a blazing statue. Through this partnership, her mystical forces have been instrumental in pulverizing every one of the five
Kings who showed up in Season 2. Truth be told, Melisandre is seemingly the most influential lady in Westeros. Over the arrangement, her activities and impact changes the equalization of intensity. In spite of the fact that she is known as the "red woman" who is also a priestess,
Melisandre's religious practices obscure the lines between the enchanted and the mysterious – a line which present day individuals regularly comprehended as the partition between the Godly and the detestable. In Westeros, as in early present day Europe, not all witches look like the
Halloween generalization of the old witch – an antiquated hag covered in warts. Westerosi witches do, be that as it may, review different generalizations about the intensity of sex, blood and enchantment.
There is no character that better typifies that cutting edge conviction of enchantment than
Melisandre. She is the feminization of enchantment. The main thing that Melisandre is absent in her supernatural tool stash is the broomstick. Melisandre is a female whose sexuality lures men into following her so they can end up faithful to the fallen angel. These Red Priests and
Priestesses reflect what the later medieval and present day view of the witch is. From various
Sajeev 32 perspectives adherents of the Lord of Light exemplify each dread that we find in later medieval thoughts regarding black magic and enchantment. Melisandre is the cliché witch who is a threat to humanity. Her character is similar to what everybody thinks when they customarily think about the witch. The enchantment that Melisandre is given originates from the Lord of Light, yet she is the one that coordinates its purpose.
Fig.5: Melisandre (Mcinerney)
For a significant part of the medieval period practitioners of magic were prevalently male and it was not until the fifteenth century that we see the feminization of black magic. Our thoughts of magic and witches have an inseparable tie to the Great Witch Craze of the Early
Modern Period. The witch trials that happened over Europe and most outstandingly the trials in
Salem, dawdle in our psyche advising us that black magic is basically viewed as a female action.
What we find in Game of Thrones is an inversion of our advanced conviction. While Martin could have stayed with the customary figure of speech, where the witch is female, rather he makes this antiquated gathering of mystical professionals male.
In the series the Warlocks are a gathering of men that guarantee to have once held a lot of power. At the point when Daenerys comes to Qarth she meets PyatPree, a warlock, who rapidly
Sajeev 33 demonstrates her a portion of the enchantment he has learned in the House of the Undying. In the scene, XaroXhoanDaxos, says the warlocks trust that their "parlor tricks" are genuine magic, demonstrating that genuine magic does now real exist and those that have faith in it are outsiders.
We later discover that the warlock's capacity had stayed torpid since the annihilation of the dragons, yet since Daenerys mythical dragons had been reawakened into the world their enchantment has turned out to be more grounded. What we find in this scene is that this gathering has a type of loathsome reason for their magic.
Pyat Pree and his companions bridle enchantment through its reality in the regular world.
As depict in the principal scene, there enchantment is found out as they consider messages in the
House of the undying. Much like the medieval period common enchantment was found out through dispersal of information. The Warlocks speak to the customary medieval perspective of the alchemist, while unmistakably the warlocks of Game of Thrones are not utilizing their insight for good, they are attributing to the conventional perspective of the training.
Mirri Maz Duur seems, by all accounts, to be one of these insightful ladies and this is the means by which she introduces herself to Daenerys when she offers to recuperate Khal Drogo's injury, and however as we see individuals from his escort call her a witch. At the point when
Drogo falls sick, Duur claims that she can spare him by utilizing blood magic, however it is a kind of enchantment forbidden among the Dothraki. In order to save her husband Drogo she enables Duur to take her unborn child's blood with the end goal to spare her better half.
Accidentally in permitting this Daenerys has permitted MirriMazDuur to play out this custom so she can get retribution for her people.
Much like in our own reality, individuals don't trust in magic and magic do not have any real power of their own. In the series only a few individuals know about the properties of magic,
Sajeev 34 and the individuals who do are generally shamans or witches. A case of this is the witch
MirriMazDuur, who performs rituals with the end goal to retaliate for the passing of her kin.
Martin utilizes magic to reflect human instinct, similar to some other character these practitioners of magic can utilize their forces for good or malicious, much the same as the warrior can utilize their sword similarly. These unique character types can give a work of imagination additional vitality and legitimacy. Game of Thrones in general utilizes non-human races sparingly, yet when they do, they ponder the races' job and history on the planet they've made. The best non-human races are those that are distinctive with an outsider quality. Magic in
Game of Thrones is genuine and unmistakable. The series depict these special character types as vastly different from the stereotypes and alienates them from the conventional depictions by constructing a psychology which is difficult to understand by making them full-fledged characters.
White Walkers are humanoid creatures which exist as a supernatural threat to the mankind. They are tall and hard like old bones with blue eyes which illuminated like ice. They have their own language and move in a quiet manner. Their leader is Night king and he alone possesses the power to reanimate human and animal corpses. The only way to destroy them is by using Valerian steel and dragon glass. In the beginning of Season 1, it is shown that the popular belief in Westeros is White Walkers are a part of the legend to terrify children as they were believed to be existed before thousands of years. But these nonhuman race resurface the earth and is gaining power. White Walkers cannot be established fully as a nonhuman race because the dead human beings are converted to White Walkers. In the beginning of Season 1, rangers from the Night Watch witness White Walkers for the first time and are massacred brutally by them.
One among the rangers survived and as he reported the re-surfacing of White Walkers to the lord
Sajeev 35 of Winterfell, everyone around him ridiculed him as pure flights of fantasy of a frightened man.
The white walkers were created by the children of the forest to protect them from the warring
First men. But eventually they turn against the children of the forest who created an enormous wall with the help of Bran the Builder to sway away the White Walkers from intruding the human world. The white walkers raise the dead to act on their behalf and they are called as wights. The white walkers are sentient and intelligent compared to the zombie like walking dead called wights which can be destroyed only using fire. The Night King can convert ordinary humans into White Walkers if he gets them in their infancy. The series introduces a novel special character type called white walkers and they are a mysterious race in all essence.
Fig. 6: White Walkers (Larson)
By providing a pseudo-medieval setting the series portrays magic as another method of perceiving the world. In Game of Thrones world magic is not fantastic, as it is in many other fantasy worlds. In Westeros magic is something that is believed to be extinct, but as we see within the series, magic is very real and organic. In a modern fantasy setting, magic lies in the core of the narrative, but in Game of Thrones magic is placed in the outskirts. The fantasy
Sajeev 36 creatures like dragons and dire wolves exist as a natural species devoid of any significant magical powers. Even the magical objects are not crucial to the plot of the story and they exist merely as a signifier for human aspirations and fears. The special character types found in the series are dwarfs, giants, witches and white walkers. Dwarfs are not presented as a mysterious or magical race rather dwarfism is portrayed as a disability or a medical condition. Giants do not possess any magical traits and are extremely shy in nature. Their bashfulness can be transformed to arrogance in fraction of seconds. There exists only a few giants in the world of Westeros and even the last giant dies in the war. Melisandre, who stands as a prototype for witch trope is very powerful and compelling as a character and combines spirituality with magic. She do not possess autonomous power to herself rather she is a servant of Lord of the Light. Her magic and prophecies fail multiple times but she becomes redeeming as a character after the orchestration of Jon Snow’s rebirth. White Walkers establish itself as a nonhuman race in its pure essence and they originate from the vivid imagination of the writer George RR Martin and the show directors
D.B Weiss and David Benioff.
Being a visual narrative, the series also made use of various realist film techniques.
Influential French philosopher Andre Bazin paved the way for cinematic realism which focuses on creating an authentic and aesthetic realism in representation by unifying the time, place and action presented in a film. A film is an artistically facilitated reflection of physical reality and it is realistic because it creates a verisimilitude by faithfully presenting the world it refers. The
HBO television series Game of Thrones is extremely realistic in its representation and the fantasy elements appear very organic and dynamic in the realistic setting of Westeros.
The different methods employed by the television series to instill realism include selection of outdoor location and natural lighting, real people or nonprofessional actors as casts
Sajeev 37 to provide rawness, long takes and minimal montages and deep focus. According to Bazin cinema is objectivity in time (Bazin14). As the television series is being categorized as a quality narrative, the narrative happens in a more cinematic fashion rather than the episodic television narration. A filming location is a place where the film is made and film-makers believe that a greater realism can be achieved by shooting in real places and outdoor places. The various locations used in the show provide more credibility to the Game of Thrones universe. The series is filmed in almost twenty six locations which further authenticate the medieval setting. Most of the setting in the series includes exterior landscapes and outdoor locations. The major locations include Northern Ireland, Croatia, Iceland, Scotland and Spain. The television series make the best use of outdoor locations and the natural lighting from the sun to instill a more realistic experience.
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Works Cited
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glossographia.wordpress.com/category/anthropology/page/2/.
Areay77. “The Nature of Magic in Game of Thrones.” Tower of the Hawk, 8 Apr. 2015,
hawkstower.wordpress.com/2015/04/07/the-nature-of-magic-in-game-of-thrones/.
Benioff, David and D B Weiss, directors. Game of Thrones. HBO Home Box Office, 2016.
“Dwarfism.” Game of Thrones Wiki, gameofthrones.fandom.com/wiki/Dwarfism.
“Giants.” Game of Thrones Wiki, gameofthrones.fandom.com/wiki/Giants.
Fig.2.Grubbs, Jefferson. Bustle, HBO, 14 June 2015, www.bustle.com/articles/89500-what-
happens-to-daenerys-2-other-dragons-on-game-of-thrones-she-left-their-fate-up.
Holland, Travis. “The Objects of Westeros – Travis Holland – Medium.” Medium, 5 Jan. 2015,
medium.com/@travisaholland/the-objects-of-westeros-1e502009b379.
Fig.4. Jamal, Zakiya. “Will WunWun Appear On 'Game Of Thrones' Again? He May Not Be
Among The Walking Dead.” Romper, HBO, 23 July 2017, www.romper.com/p/will-wun-
wun-appear-on-game-of-thrones-again-he-may-not-be-among-the-walking-dead-71001.
Fig.6. Larson, Sarah. The Newyorker, HBO, 11 June 2015, www.newyorker.com/culture/sarah-
larson/an-open-letter-to-the-white-walker-army.
“Magic.” Game of Thrones Wiki, gameofthrones.fandom.com/wiki/Magic.
Fig.5. Mcinerney, Matthew. “Carice Van Houten in a Scene from the Fifth Season of Game of
Thrones.” Fraser Coast Chronicle, 5 May 2016,
www.frasercoastchronicle.com.au/news/game-of-thrones-has-melisandre-now-redeemed-
hersel/3017313/.
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Pappas, Stephanie. “How Real Is the 'Game of Thrones' Medieval World?” Live Science, Live
Science, 3 Apr. 2014, www.livescience.com/44599-medieval-reality-game-of-thrones.
Proctor, William, and Richard McCulloch. “Exploring Imaginary Worlds: Audiences, Fan
Cultures and Geographies of the Imagination.” Participations, vol. 13, no. 1, May 2016,
pp. 479–485
Fig.3. Renfro, Kim. “Here's How Tyrion Lannister Looks on HBO's ‘Game of Thrones’ in
Season Five.” Business Insider, HBO, 23 Oct. 2015, www.businessinsider.in/Tyrion-
Lannister-was-supposed-to-look-drastically-different-on-Game-of-
Thrones/articleshow/49508160.cms.
Rosenberg, Alyssa. “How Magic Works In 'Game of Thrones'.” ThinkProgress, ThinkProgress, 2
Apr. 2013, thinkprogress.org/how-magic-works-in-game-of-thrones-d184448ca841.
Siino, Leimar Garcia. “Resembling Fantasy: Studying the Game of Awareness with George R.
R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones.” Hélice: ReflexionesCríticasSobreFicciónEspeculativa,
15, vol. 2, no. 1, Oct. 2012, pp. 23–28.
Sladikova, Lucia. “Reality in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire.” Masaryk
University, 2015.
“Witches.” Game of Thrones Wiki, gameofthrones.fandom.com/wiki/Witches
Sajeev 40
Chapter 3
World Building, Characterization and Good versus Evil Motif in Game of Thrones
The two major subgenres of fantasy are high fantasy and low fantasy and this classification depends on the fictional locale projected in a fantasy narrative. The setting can be either in a primary or secondary world. For example, if a story happens entirely or halfway in our reality, it is called low fantasy. J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter is an example of low fantasy. If a story happens totally inside an auxiliary, created and anecdotal world, the otherworld as in J.R.R.
Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, it can be considered as High Fantasy. Tolkien considered creation of a fantasy as a sub-creation as it involves the process of creating an alternative world with its own set of governing rules and logic which can substantiate the functioning of magic.
The story-maker‘s success depends on his ability to make a consistent Secondary World
which your mind can enter. Inside it, what he relates is ―true : it accords with the laws
ofthat world. You therefore believe it, while you are, as it were, inside. The moment
disbelief arises, the spell is broken; the magic, or rather art, has failed. You are then outin
the Primary World again, looking at the little abortive Secondary World
fromoutside.(Tree and Leaf, 37)
In The Fantasy Tradition in American Literature (1980), Attebery alludes to the thought of an Other World, a place profoundly established in the fantasy convention: This Other World is not accessible by customary means. Despite the fact that a rendition of this Other World can be incorporated into our own, essential world somehow, for example, is the situation in Harry
Potter, high fantasy as a subgenre utilizes this idea of an Other World in different dimension.
Makers of these Other Worlds have diverse premises to consider. The author needs to introduce his fictional world so the edge of reference exists in the brain of the viewer or reader on a pretty
Sajeev 41 much subliminal dimension, and is looked with the significantly more troublesome assignment of substituting a whole dreamland for the simulacra of the genuine world (Stableford, The
Familiar and the Fantastic 11,12).
Jacobs and Tunnell in their work Children’s Literature Briefly have mentioned that the primary motif for a modern fantasy is a secondary or alternative world where magic can freely operate. A special geography is established and the viewers can easily relate to it as the world they know but with a different set of governing rules. The middle Earth in Tolkien’s Hobbit,
Narnia in C.S Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Neverland in J.M Barrie’s
Peterpan and Oz in L.Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz serve as examples for the utilization of this motif. Many of the motifs of contemporary fantasy like witches, wizards and werewolves, originate from ancient power struggles and fears. Thus the theme of alternative universes is definitely not a contemporary media marvel.
J.P Wolf in Building Imaginary Worlds: The History and Theory of Subcreation illustrates that such alternative universe building existed even before three centuries of mankind's history. The anecdotal terrains of Aeaea, Aeolia and Cyclops Island in Homer's works,
Aristophanes' Cloud Cuckoo Land, the city of Kallipolis in Plato's The Republic, and King
Arthur's Camelot makes it evident that fantasy world building is an absolute need for story history. Tolkien in his On Fairy Stories examines a Secondary World, in which the reader loses oneself due to the sensible and pragmatic nature of the constructed world. The alternative world possesses their own law and order, dialects, social conventions and traditions. (Wolf) At the point when the creator does this well, as in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, C.S. Lewis' Narnia, or
Ursula Le Guin's Earthsea, the world must rhyme with itself, maybe. It can't have shaking
Sajeev 42 irregularities in the social or logical texture that double-cross the legitimacy of that world as the limit between that world and our very own is clear. (Landow)
The fictional setting of Game of Thrones is Westeros, also known as the Seven Kingdoms has uncanny resemblances to the medieval Europe as it portrays the feudal politics, workings of the feudal system, knighthood and the enormous power of religion. Strikingly this fictional locale is devoid of romantic qualities associated with medievalism, but the darker aspects like slavery, brutality of war, racism, sexual violence and misogyny are projected more faithfully.
The use of archaic vocabulary and stylistics instills a sense of nostalgic desire for the past and provides a believable rendering. Westeros is a plausible world as it resembles medieval Britain and its law and order. George RR Martin is deeply influenced by the War of the Roses between
House of York and Lancaster which in the series becomes the Starks and Lannisters. The series also exhibit some signs of historiographic metafiction, a genre described by Linda Hutcheon.
Historiographic metafiction attempts to arrange itself within a historical discourse without surrendering its independence as fiction. Hutcheon further contends, that individuals know the history itself just from the writings that were protected and historiographic metafiction brings endeavor to compose history as narrativization as opposed to portrayal of the past.
(Hutcheon 10) Along these lines the history itself is somewhat fiction, since we can't make sure how it truly was. This is something that can be found in the series. The facts demonstrate that the story isn't straightforwardly set at some particular time and place in the history, however close to utilizing history as a motivation, it indicates how the historical backdrop of the course of events of the story is recorded. This is shown through the manner in which knights behave in the series like assaulting, murdering, beating blameless individuals and how they are depicted in romances as valiant, heroic and protecting the weak.
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Particular fields used to make the story all the more genuine and conceivable were portrayals of knights, traditions of individuals, legal procedures, lives of specific individuals, developments in the British Isles and even names of places and individuals. It has been demonstrated that there is a tight connection among fiction and reality. The creator himself confesses to drawing motivation from the history as he says that his novels are epic fantasy, but they are influenced by and grounded in history. The knights and knighthood in general are identical in the compared aspects both in the series and in the medieval British Isles. The comparison is made using the qualifications of knights, their responsibilities, privileges and armor. Similarities in heraldry and heritability can be also traced. Looking at the customs, traditions and events parallels were found in behavior in the presence of kings, at weddings and feasts. Additionally, numerous characters from the series have their partners in history. For instance, King Aerys II and Queen Mary I, King Robert and King Henry VIII/King Charles
II/King William II, Daenerys Targaryen and Queen Mary I, Magister Illyrio and King Oswin of
Deira, Aegon the Conqueror and William the Conqueror, Lord Varys and Francis Walsingham.
(Sladikova)
The similitudes were additionally found in eating patterns of people in Westeros, great halls and medieval architecture. The war had a similar effect on the costs of food, which expanded quickly in both considered cases. Legal cases were tackled in comparable ways: conspiracy was deserving of death and individuals could request a trial by battle. Belongings of convicted individuals would be seized by the crown and discarded as the lord would please.
Different parallels were demonstrated between a land with a castle called Eyrie and Ireland.
Indeed, even the administration framework of feudalism utilized in the series is fundamentally the same as the primitive framework connected in the medieval British Isles.
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Martin’s world building focuses on a medieval society which somewhat resembles our idea of the medieval Europe. The prominent and dominant religion projected in the series is The
Faith of the Seven which has striking resemblances to the medieval Catholic Church. Feudalism and systematized religious sects are a fundamental part of the society. Martin’s raw material for construction of Westeros was essentially history and he uses history as a strategy to create verisimilitude. He conjoins the domains of fantastic and supernatural to a pseudo- historic setting and abandons the popular stereotypes prevalent in the fantasy genre.
The social, political and monetary frameworks of the alternative universe of Martin speak to a pretty much direct inverse to high fantasy by famous fantasy writers, for example, Tolkien and LeGuin. The focal point of a fairytale structured fantasy is the struggle between good and bad, or the reclamation of past wonders in a nostalgically arranged account. In Strategies of
Fantasy, Brian Attebery alludes to Rosemary Jackson and her work Fantasy: The Literature of
Subversion (1981) when he talks about fantasy in connection to contemporary society: Jackson proposes, first, that fantasy is on a very basic level a writing of desire and, second, that its endeavors into the nonexistent are truly methods for testing the current political, social, and financial request. As per Jackson, desire is not a basic mental drive, yet the strain created by the social hindrance of such drives. (Sladikova)
Game of Thrones when analyzed using historicist method, one can easily contend that the series is equally influenced by the medieval age and the contemporary period. The author George
R R Martin draws heavily from the medieval European history and from the present day issues.
In Stephen Greenblatt’s book Renaissance Self-Fashioning: From More to Shakespeare (1980) and Shakespearean Negotiations (1988) the writer endeavors to deal with the dissemination of social vitality as the writing originates not only from individual writers but from the social
Sajeev 45 discussions and controversies of a time period, with the contentions inciting the writing and the writing deciphering the controversies in a constant cycle of exchange. Moreover, he trusts that writing, history and culture cooperate by consulting with one another and by the trading of thoughts.
In her article "All Our Old Heroes Are Dead: The Nostalgia of Chivalry and the Myth of the 'Great War' in Game of Thrones", Elizabeth Wawrzyniak contends that Game of Thrones is both a portrayal of the past and an introduction of the present. Wawrzyniak states that despite the fact that Martin talks about The War of the Roses as his motivation for the books, his fans realize that what they are perusing is certifiably not a truly precise content, however a content that somewhat acquires from a specific period ever. In any case, she proceeds, there is this medieval feel to the writings, which joined with Martin's postmodernist methodology, adds to an exchange where both the past and the present are spoken to. This dialog is done by the viewers of the series, as they see connects between the political strategic maneuvers of the show and the numerous wars being battled, connecting them to U.S governmental issues and U.S fighting, particularly the wars of Iraq and Afghanistan. These are questionable and present subjects that
Martin could be roused by, notwithstanding the motivation from the past. Martin is unmistakably influencing the present, and these discussions may thus influence his composition. Wawrzyniak contends that the genuine estimation of Game of Thrones is that one can find out about the past while looking at the present. So despite the fact that Martin has not purposefully utilized current wars and clashes as his motivation, Game of Thrones still prompts dialogs about them. Carolyne
Larrington clarifies that like Tolkien's Middle Earth, the series develops its fantasy out of familiar building objects with its unmistakable social establishments of chivalry, feudalism, monarchy and its traditions of legacy and masculinity. (Sladikova)
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Martin is influenced by contemporary fantasy in the collocation of the familiar with the uncanny and the utilization of the supernatural elements. A fantasy narrative can be set in the present or past, yet what characterizes the fantasy is that in this conjured up universe something is strange. This implies, despite the fact that the made up world may to a specific degree look like something natural, something isn't as it should be. The setting of Martin's created world is both well-known and new in the meantime. It is well-known, on the grounds that attributes of medieval England and the 21st century are conspicuous, through components, for example, knights, primitive bonds, and the patriarchal family. Martin's reality is strikingly like medieval
England, and in that capacity is introduced as a sensible domain. Notwithstanding naming main lands, nations, towns, streams and towns, the series is joined by detailed maps to demonstrate that this world is not the same as our contemporary world. Few dialects are also made up, however just by name, not by tongue, as Myrish and Bravoosi.
The fantasy components are those of otherworldly animals, for example, giants, dragons, and the white walkers. Stories of the existence of White Walkers are talked about by the
Wildlings, who abide past the Wall; however these obscure murmurs are expelled as fantasies, fables and superstition, by the greater part of the focal characters. Magic does not exist any longer, at any rate that is the thing that the characters accept. They realize that dragons once existed, and they have heard stories of white walkers; however they trust they are for the most part dead and gone.
A few religions are portrayed in Game of Thrones, and in this respect Martin strays from medieval England, where the religion was a profoundly critical organization of power and authority. The several religions include the Drowned God, the Old Gods, R'hollor Lord of the
Light, and the Many Faced God. One comprehends that these religions are described as both
Sajeev 47 more established and new, in light of the fact that the characters regularly utilize the platitude:
"the old gods and the new". These religions remind us of pagan religions than Christianity, as a fraction of the characters trust that their divine beings live in trees. In any case, The Faith of the
Seven is observed to stand nearest to the medieval church with its institutional order and strictness. Its High Septon can be compared to the archbishop of the English church, and its septons and septas taking after priests and nuns.
The medieval church' ministry comprised of priests, town clerics, religious administrators and abbots. The church authorities were given land from the lord, on equivalent terms as the nobles. This turned numerous ministries and the congregation as an establishment of rich landowners, in this way having a place in the upper level of society's social class. The church was a standout amongst the most critical, rich and powerful foundations of medieval
England, notwithstanding being land owners; the church was in charge of learning and literacy.
They instructed young men and novices, in the religious communities and furthermore offered further philosophical and theological studies for their priests. As the clergy regularly functioned as scribes, they would need to ace the skill of reading and writing. Despite the fact that the ministers and priestesses of The Faith of the Seven are depicted as proficient, there is another group who holds more control over the written word, in particular the maesters. Here Martin goes astray from history, as the church would be in charge of learning in medieval England.
Martin has in this manner isolated religion from education. The maesters keep composed records and maintain an arrangement of messages conveyed by ravens, they are the administrators of the tremendous library of the Citadel, in this way holding the way to all the insight in the known world. All through the series, the High Septons and his gathering of pastorate come to look like the manner in which the medieval church taken care of blasphemers, with their demonstrations
Sajeev 48 of turning cynics and delinquents onto the correct way. Same way Christianity also influences the apostates to admit to their wrongdoings, by discipline, confinement and torment. In this regard The Faith of the Seven resembles the medieval church, as they excessively rebuff, confine, torment and upset a portion of the characters.(Sladikova)
Medieval English society was a primitive, feudal society with class system, where the king, the nobility and the church ruled and the laborers worked for them. Some of the delineations from medieval England here are knights that do not maintain their chivalric code of honor, ladies who dress and battle like men, and spouses who stray from the patriarchal standard.
The one noteworthy redirection from medieval England must be the component of religion, which varies exceedingly, on the grounds that in Game of Thrones a huge number of religions are present, and some of them reflect pagan religions. Likewise, there isn't only one ground- breaking foundation like the medieval church present, as the maesters of Game of Thrones resembles the educated group of church, as they are responsible for letters and books, through the library of the Citadel.
The other factors involved in commending realism are through dialect, names, distinctive representation, and a harmony between fantasy and natural components. In a logical sense that in a world, which does not exist, there is additionally an unfamiliar language utilized by the general population living in that world and this general population ought to have distinctive names compared to the names of primary world. If the dialect created is so weird, it cannot be comprehended by the viewer. In this manner, Martin does not make dialect which is too distant from the real world. The endeavors making it like epic fantasy lies just in the diction used.
Hero and heroic quest is a mainstay in fantasy genre and the hero archetype represents a positive character that has a representative function in the story. The hero is forced to take up
Sajeev 49 multiple adventures, starting with his birth and in most cases he is raised as an orphan or under the upbringing of a guardian. After reaching a certain age, the hero is forced to leave his native and enters in a chaotic insecure world full of adventures. In order to be considered as the hero archetype, the protagonist has to pass through a trajectory which includes the quest, initiation, and the sacrificial scapegoat. Firstly the hero sets out for a seemingly impossible and difficult task and battle against various monsters with the primary goal of saving his family or kingdom.
The first stage involves separation and transformation whereas the second stage focuses on the coming of age of hero. The third stage is a type of death and rebirth archetype and is known as the sacrificial scapegoat. After the final fulfillment of the task, the hero is expected to die. Joseph
Campbell calls these three stages as separation, initiation, and return. The heroic character should be an epitome of courage, physical strength and honor and must be eager to sacrifice their life for the common good. (Campbell 40)
If we look at these three stages of heroic archetype, the character of Jon Snow can be considered as a protagonist. As per the analysis Jon Snow fulfills these conditions of heroic journey. According to Carl Jung’s classification of archetypes, Jon possesses elements of the self, shadow and anima. In the beginning Jon has to suffer from many humiliations because he is the illegitimate heir of Eddard Stark. He is further separated from his half family when he became a member of the Night’s Watch and considers it as a place he belongs. He is forced to face many adventures in the heroic journey and establish a cordial relationship with the wildlings that everyone else detested. He finds his love in the meantime but it did not turn out to be successful. He returns to his native place of Winterfell, thus fulfilling the third stage of return.
When he became the Lord Commander Jon acts more mature and takes rational decisions. He used wildlings to fight against their common enemy White Walkers and as an
Sajeev 50 effect, the other members in Night’s Watch plotted to murder him. He was stabbed to death but comes back to life with the magical powers of Melisandre. The hot tempered and irrational hero transforms to be a man of strength, bravery and honor just like his guardian Ned Stark.
Fig 7: Jon Snow (Rossi Rosemary)
Daenerys Targaryen likewise fits into Campbell's idea of heroic archetype. As an outcast of undisputed illustrious genealogy, Daenerys Targaryen is a naive, innocent young lady with a hopeful attitude who endures the unforgiving substances of the world with an astounding sturdiness. She is the daughter of King Aerys II Targaryen and she secures her legendary power by venturing into the consuming fire of Khal Drogo, out of which she is emblematically reborn with three hatched dragon eggs. Her storyline likewise pursues the phases of the hero’s experience. She is compelled to leave Westeros and becomes an outcast cause of the rebellion which dethroned her family. She acquires power through dragons and acquisition of a very large army and plans to come back to Westeros to recover the Iron Throne. The second record of the heroic archetype draws upon the contrast between the male and female heroes of fantasies. Both
Sajeev 51 of them must learn humility, sympathy and compassion through three tests and the outcome is different for a hero and a heroine. Along these lines, the hero picks up a kingdom, a princess, and the ability to rule the kingdom, whereas the heroine gets married and loses her freedom. The hero befriends magical beings as an assistance to tackle the difficult trials whereas the fantasy heroine always ends up suffering.
Fig.8: Daenerys Targeryen (David Lifton)
Daenerys has a humble beginning as a heroine as she was always subjugated by her brother. Her brother forces her to marry Khal Drogo in exchange for an army. Unlike marriages which signify as a conclusion to the story, it was just a beginning for Daenerys. This marriage conferred in her power and pride rather than submission and humility. Daenerys began to appreciate her own power and potential and projected herself as a messianic savior figure. The life of Daenerys abides to the three stages of the fantasy hero. She is forced to encounter various challenges and marital rape, but transforms herself as a strong woman with inner strength.
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She more or less assumes her femininity and is not the typical fairytale heroine who is subdued by her marriage. Her suffering instills power and confidence in her. Most of the feminism on the show is attributed to Daenerys as she depicts most of the feminist principles.
She is a conqueror and declares herself as the queen. She is good at politics and has a knack to rule even though she is not successful as a ruler in all the places she had conquered.
In the beginning of the tale, Daenerys appears as a petrified young girl but as the season evolves she becomes more obsessed with power and would not hesitate to kill and brutally punish her foes. Even though she takes up the role of an emancipator fighting to end slavery and subjugation, she is impelled to take the middle ground of the powerful masters and the slaves.
Beneficiary to the position of authority of her country and ethically contradicted to slavery,
Daenerys takes control in a distant land, and uses the chance to free slaves and murder their previous masters. As she attempts to lead this foreign populace, she ends up buried in question from previous masters and slaves alike on her rights of being their ruler. Along these lines, a magnanimous character winds up stuck in a tight situation.
In Season one, Eddard Stark possessed all the attributes of a hero as he valued purity and integrity over power and influence. He was so innocent, unaware of the cunningness of the world and he precisely died for that reason. He was a just ruler and when he was appointed as the Hand of the King, he reveals an outrageous truth and supported the rightful heir of the realm. The scheming and shrewd faction on the other side possessed power and authority and Eddard loses his head as the consequence for being truthful. The cliché of a heroic character being victorious in fantasy is distorted by the death of Eddard Stark and it made the viewers’ skeptical about being too good in an evil world.
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The prominent fantasy authors inhabit their imaginary worlds with relatable characters as a tool to bridge the gap between the fantastic” and “the real”. Shelby A. Wolf in her book
Interpreting Literature with Children, defines high fantasy as: “Stories centered on struggles between good and evil, where entire imaginary worlds are created in rich detail with fully developed characters” (53) like Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K Rowling, The Lord of the Rings by Tolkien, and The Hero and the Crown by McKinley. Even though Game of
Thrones is classified in the genre of high fantasy, this definition does not hold true considering its multiple facets.
Martin’s long term editor Jane Johnson identifies the realism as a novel feature in fantasy genre stating that Game of Thrones is realistic as the characters behave like modern people.
(Flood) Joe Abercombie, a British Fantasy critic says that realism is often disdained in the commercial fantasy narratives but the series proved that realism, the un-heroic and the dark elements can be included as compelling elements in an epic fantasy genre. He further states that
Game of Thrones revolutionized the way people viewed fantasy because the benchmark writing in Fantasy. (Alison)
Wawrzyniak contends that one can learn both about the contemporaneous and the preceding by inspecting the series. It undoubtedly depict the fall of a family, and one, as well as a few; the Starks, the Lannisters, the Targaryens, the Tyrells. There is an atmosphere of history present, as one perceives authentic components, similar to those from the Wars of the Roses. The characters of Game of Thrones takes part in a discourse between the past and the present and each character is a blend of fiction, history and the contemporary society. This fusion of virtue and vice, good and bad, in the vast majority of Martin's characters may make the general story gloomier and darker, however it includes a human touch that, incidentally enough, fits superbly
Sajeev 54 with the Christian comprehension of humankind. Made by God and supplied with brains, spirits, and good office, people are in any case contaminated with transgression. Indeed, even the spared are appallingly tangled, as St. Paul composes, between eager to do good and malevolence.
George P. Landow opines that: "Realism which emphasizes the importance of the ordinary, the ordinary person and the ordinary situation, tends to reject the heroic and the aristocratic and embrace the pedestrian, the comic, and the middle class" (Landow). In the same way Martin endeavors to reject the aristocratic heroes by taking away their extraordinary traits and high sense of morale and made them trust their natural impulses like ordinary people.
Overall the series pays more attention to realistic ordinary character by foregrounding the outcast and marginalized instead of an aristocratic hero. The much favored characters like Tyrion, Sam and Davos are oddities as they suffer from some kind of disabilities. The quick witted and intelligent Tyrion Lannister is a misfit in his own family because of being a dwarf and has to endure many tormenting experiences from family and the society. But this dwarf character becomes magnanimous when he leads a hopeless army against a much larger force and to be victorious in the attack using his military tactics. Samwell Tarly is portrayed as an obese and cowardly character, but his extreme thirst for knowledge make him one of the memorable characters. He becomes heroic when he murders one of the fiercest creatures to rescue his child and wife. Ser Davos is a smuggler with a dismembered right hand but proves to be more heroic than the noble born Stannis. The aforementioned characters takes up individual quests and are even capable of directing the plotline to a new direction. Tyrion Lannister leads a nearly hopeless charge against a much larger army.
Jaime Lannister is portrayed as an abhorrent character in the beginning of the series as he cripples Bran Stark and slays the king he was sworn to protect. But later he reveals that the king
Sajeev 55 he murdered was a maniac and had plans to burn down the entire city. He sacrificed his honor in order to save the lives of thousands of poor people. Even though this heroic act cannot erase his evil deeds he wins the heart of the audience towards the later seasons.
The characters in the series surpass the stock characters one could identify from commercial fantasy narratives. The characters in the series are round and dynamic characters and harbors traits of good and bad. Cersei Lannister treats her own dwarf brother Tyrion Lannister horribly both in her words and in actions. Still, one can understand that the reason for her evil behavior is due to her forced marriage and obsessive love to her children. The characterization in the series is realistic as it resembles real people and it also depicts different personalities and character traits. In that manner the series traces the genesis of evil nature and establishes plausibility even in the behavior of evil characters.
In a narrative, characters and characterization are extremely important because the viewers in some way must relate to these characters. The divergent characters can take up the roles of friend, enemy or as life lessons. In the series Robert Baratheon, Robb Stark and Eddard
Stark depicts the power of love in a person’s life. Robert ended in a loveless marriage with
Cersei and it ultimately lead to his tragic demise. Eddard’s life was filled with his unending love to Catelyn Stark. Eddard also symbolizes parental love and affection and it lead him to sacrifice his honor which in a way leads to his sad demise. Cersei Lannister and Catelyn Stark also symbolize parental love as they will go any extent to protect their children.
The characters of Tyrion Lannister and John Snow have one thing in common and they both react differently to the same occasion of being an outcast. The two characters are outcasts to their families and the society concerned. Tyrion Lannister is a diminutive person; John Snow is a bastard. Tyrion manages his circumstance by tolerating his identity and making the best of what
Sajeev 56 life tosses at him. He knows about his body's confinements and focuses on his intelligence. Then again, we have John Snow who does not concur with the fate that life has given him and frantically looks for a place where he would have a place. He discovers his place in the brotherhood of the Night's Watch. Living among different outcasts, isolated from the general public which regarded him as inferior, he can stow away and endeavor to disregard what makes him an outcast. The series depicts different characters who might not be considered as normal individuals. Lord Aerys was mentally sick, Brann is disabled, Varys is a eunuch, and Khal Drogo is in a constant vegetative state when the novel is arriving at an end.
Game of Thrones demarcates itself from the conventions of epic fantasy genre because the narrative does not focus on an individual hero and his efforts in redeeming the world. As the title suggest, the story centers on winning the centralized seat of power, the iron throne. The prominent motif is power, political intrigue and authority and it is extremely difficult to distinguish the character traits of a hero and a villain. Martin’s Game of Thrones is not like other epic fantasy narratives such as The Chronicles of Narnia, Eragon, The Lord of The Rings, and
Harry Potter. The distinctive difference lies in the most important narrative formula: the quest of the hero. In Game of Thrones, there are multiple heroes who undertake the quest and they fight villains trying to become triumphant. One among the main characters, Jon Snow undertakes a quest and it centers on protecting his family and the nation from the attack of White Walkers.
Moreover, the story does not center on him, he is among other heroes in the story. Daenerys also passes through the trajectory of hero archetype. The series lends a great deal of depth to his characters, mostly by the use of indirect characterization. He usually lets the actions speak for the characters themselves.
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The struggle between good and evil is another motif of modern fantasy. In modern fantasy narratives like The Chronicles of Narnia series (1950-1956) and The Hobbit (1937) and
Harry Potter this motif is evidently present and is crucial in determining the direction of the plot.
Linda Lee Madsen considers the struggle between good and bad as a major motif in the popular forms of fantasy. One characteristic trait of the Tolkienesque fantasies is the clear distinction between the good and evil characters. J. R. R. Tolkien probed into the nature of good and evil in
The Lord of the Rings, but the post-Tolkien fantasy writers used this conflict as a plot device.
Rather than re-establishing the conventional norm of good versus evil struggle, Martin molds characters by blending good and bad qualities, making them realistic people who are on a relentless struggle for power.
If we look at George R.R Martin’s characters in Game of Thrones, they are complex characters mostly with a shade of grey and cannot be classified as either good or bad. The heroes are not idealized with heroic traits and morale and they tend to resemble real people rather than the stock characters we have come across in fantasy books. The characters do not find their existence in the binaries of good and evil and their multifaceted nature and struggle for survival constructs the crust of this compelling saga. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings is centered on a particular setting and a good versus evil narrative. (Alison, www.theguardian.com/tv-and- radio/2015/apr/10/george-rr-martin-revolutionised-howpeople-think-about).
The characterization in Lord of the Rings is more akin to fairy tales which are known for their predictability and the common motif of struggle between good and bad. They belong to the binaries of black and white with no shades of grey and the morally good hero becomes victorious by defeating the archenemy. It is effortless to classify the stock characters into good and bad as
Sauron and the Orcs embody the evil, and Frodo and elves stand for goodness. As the characters
Sajeev 58 themselves symbolize good and bad it resembles the stereotypes in characterization and the plotline becomes more certain and predictable. Whereas in Game of Thrones the characters appear in shades of grey, thus making their actions more unpredictable. Unlike the victorious
Frodo and Sam in Lord of the Rings, the protagonists in the series do not embrace victory and even fall prey to death in evil hands like Ned Stark or Robb Stark.
Traditionally an evil character is constructed by making them eschew all good qualities and making them pure evil and abhorrent. Apart from the most villainous figures of Joffrey
Baratheon and Ramsay Bolton, the other characters are ingrained with hues of good and bad.
Even the most negative characters in the series have qualities that elevate them from pure darkness. In the initial seasons, Jaime Lannister was portrayed as utterly sinister because of his incestuous relationship with his sister, but when it comes to the later seasons the viewers’ shift their perspective about him when he reveals his intentions behind slaying the mad king.
Characters that embody goodness and heroism like Nedd Stark, Catlyn, Talisa, princess Shireen,
Robb Stark and Oberyn fall prey to a very tragic and tormenting death plotted by the evil hands.
Ironically, the villainous character of Cersei Lannister is not portrayed as pure evil. Her walk of shame and the tortures she had suffered make the viewers’ sympathize with her at least once.
Cersei’s villainy can be justified by her strict upbringing by Tywin Lannister, loss of mother at a tender age, forceful marriage with Robert Baratheon, obsession with power, and her excessive love for her children. Martin abridges the disparity between the hero and the villain as in traditional narratives and gives scope for the viewers to choose their own favorites without categorizing them as good and bad.
The characters are not polar in terms of good and evil. Instead, Martin shows both sides of the coin here – the good and the bad. There are plenty of brave and capable characters but
Sajeev 59 very few morally upstanding and honorable types. Even the most loathsome characters do virtuous or merciful things, and some of the most sympathetic are shown to be vicious in nature at times. There are no clear cut heroes and villains. Martin also pays a lot of attention to the outward demeanor of his characters. The appearance of characters is very closely linked to the way they are perceived by others in the series. Seemingly due to his interest in medieval history,
Martin pays attention to detail in terms of description of clothing, arms and heraldry to further enhance the sense of a comprehensive and complex background history. Tyrion Lannister, the dwarf, commonly referred to as “The Imp”, is perceived as evil by his father and sister due to his hideous appearance. Correspondingly the Hound Sandor Clegane has horrible facial scars which made everyone assume that he is a cruel man but he proves to be a chivalrous knight. His brother
Ser Gregor known as “The Mountain” is very abusive and cruel and is capable of doing outrageous slaughters. The Lannisters are portrayed as attractive and golden haired as they are situated in a higher position in the political hierarchy. The members of house Stark is portrayed as somber and grey eyed. In Game of Thrones appearance do not play a role in determining the inherent morality of a character because characters with most beautiful appearance has undertook the most heinous crimes.
Compared to any other fantasy tales, Game of Thrones totally negates the concept of good versus evil and depicts an atmosphere filled with chaos and violence. The realism employed in the characterization prompts the characters to act according to their natural impulses rather than from a set of moral codes. The popular television series is often criticized for presenting a universe where moral choices are not rewarded, heroic characters die and the villainy becoming victorious. The belief in good and bad is explored through the reception of the audience as they mourn when good characters like Ned Stark is beheaded and gets enraged when
Sajeev 60 the sadist king Joffrey torture the innocent people. If we do not have belief in good and bad we would not yearn for the good characters to become victorious toward the end. In that way the good and bad in narrative becomes apparent. The Game of Thrones adapts the disillusionment of modern viewers who are incapable of separating good and evil. The apparent morality is not based on the religious scriptures, rather everything is decided by the individual’s conscience. The characters in Game of Thrones exercise free will and act upon their instincts and do not fall into the category of good and bad.
This blockbuster television series drew influence from real history and introduced the fantastic elements, making it appear more organic in the realistic setting. It reviews the romantic world of Tolkien by adding cynicism and brutality. Rather than a work of fantasy, it resembles more of a historic fiction because the central theme focuses on power and political intrigue and magical elements are sparingly used. Unlike other fantasies which focus only on the heroic quest of one individual character, there are multiple characters engaging in their own individual quests in the series. The repetitive viewership of happy ending fantasies has taught us that moral choices are rewarded. But the series totally deconstructs this concept by portraying the death of good, noble characters like Ned Stark. The classification between good and bad does not appear in the series. None of the characters are presented as pure evil from the beginning and viewers can arrive at plausible reasons for the evil nature of most abhorrent characters. For instance, the evil character of Joffrey Baratheon can be attributed to his spoilt childhood without any boundaries. Similarly Ramsay becomes a cruel schemer because of his upbringing as a bastard.
In that way the series foregrounds realism by pushing imaginary elements on to the background and constructs a realistic fantasy world suitable for an adult audience.
Sajeev 61
Works Cited
Alison. “George R.R. Martin revolutionized the way people think about fantasy”. Flood, 10 Apr.
2015,www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/apr/10/george-rr-martin-revolutionised-
howpeople-think-about-fantasy.
Areay77. “The Nature of Magic in Game of Thrones.” Tower of the Hawk, 8 Apr. 2015,
hawkstower.wordpress.com/2015/04/07/the-nature-of-magic-in-game-of-thrones/.
Anne, Shelby. “Literary Elements in Prose and Poetry.” Interpreting Literature with Children,
Wolf, Routledge, 2008.
Attebery, Brian. Strategies of Fantasy. Indiana University Press, 2008.
Campbell, Joseph. The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Yogi Impressions, 2017, pp. 45–100.
Daliwal, Jagjeet Singh. “Contemporary High Fantasy: A comprehensive study Of George R. R.
Martin‘s A Song of Ice and Fire.” IIT Delhi.
Greenblatt, Stephen J. Renaissance Self-Fashioning. University of Chicago Press, 1984.
Jackson, Rosemary. Fantasy: the Literature of Subversion. Routledge, 2015.
Landow, George P. “Realism”. Victorian Web, 11 February 2003.
www.victorianweb.org/victorian/genre/Realism.html.
Fig.8. Lifton, David. Geek Feed, 22 May 2017, www.geekfeed.com/daenerys-dragons-drogon-
game-of-thrones/.
Neil, Tyler O. “The Surprising Morality of 'Game of Thrones'.” Values & Capitalism, 2015,
www.valuesandcapitalism.com/the-surprising-morality-of-game-of-thrones/.
Pederson, Beth Wold. “Words Are Wind: Investigating Literacy and Power in A Song of Ice and
Fire.” University of Stavanger, 2017.
Sajeev 62
Pappas, Stephanie. “How Real Is the 'Game of Thrones' Medieval World?” Live Science, Live
Science, 3 Apr. 2014, www.livescience.com/44599-medieval-reality-game-of-
thrones.html.
Proctor, William, and Richard McCulloch. “Exploring Imaginary Worlds: Audiences, Fan
Cultures and Geographies of the Imagination.” Participations, vol. 13, no. 1, May 2016,
pp. 479–485.
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snow-hair-game-of-thrones-winter-coming/.
Sladikova, Lucia. “Reality in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire.” Masaryk
University, 2015.
Tolkien, J. R. R. Tree and Leaf. Unwin Books, 1975.
Vike, Magnus. “The Familiar and the Fantastic: A Study of Contemporary High Fantasy in
George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire and Steven Erikson’s Malazan Book of the
Fallen.” University of Bergen, 2009.
Wawrzyniak, E. “All Our Old Heroes Are Dead: The Nostalgia of Chivalry and the Myth of the
‘Good War’ in Game of Thrones.” Academia.edu - Share Research, 23 Mar. 2016,
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Sajeev 63
Chapter 4
Conclusion
A breakdown from reality is one of the defining attributes of fantasy and it can result in an absolute absence of logic or a new set of logic. Sheila Egoff calls fantasy as a paradox as it is the “discovery of real within the unreal, the credible within the incredible, and the believable within the unbelievable” (Egoff, 80). Game of Thrones creates a new definition for fantasy by weaving realism on to the fantasy elements. J.RR Tolkien, the father figure of modern fantasy analyzes fantasy as an extension of fairy tales and myths. In his critically acclaimed work The
Lord of the Rings he explores the concepts of love and sacrifice and it performed the psychological functions of fantasy like recovery, escape and consolation. Tolkien alienated his imaginary or other world from the primary world we live in by creating a solid break from reality. Whereas the blockbuster television series Game of Thrones instills more of a nostalgic desire rather than a sense of strangeness. The viewers can easily adapt to the imaginary world of
Westeros in a conscious or unconscious level because of its representative realism.
Generally Fantasy fiction follows a formula and has predictable developments. The series incorporates the six basic fantasy motifs of modern fantasy identified by Linda Lee Madsen, but still breaks the generic conventions of Fantasy by including realism and historicity to an imaginary world, thus making it more or less a historiographic metafiction. The series connects the mundane realities of everyday life with impossible worlds filled with dragons, witches, magic and the undead and concerns with the quality of the present and the past. Rather than constructing a happy ending fantasy filled with talking animals, magic, princess and castles, the realism in the series bluntly captures the social issues like religious fanaticism, class system,
Sajeev 64 misogyny, sexual violence and rape. In that way this contemporary modern fantasy stretches the dimensions of Fantasy to new directions and thus transforms the viewer expectations on Fantasy.
The setting of Game of Thrones is made extremely realistic and the magical elements are included gradually so as to bridge the gap between the imaginative world and real life. The plot structure do not follow a methodological pattern as the fiction is not centered on a single hero.
Unlike J.R.R Tolkien who conveyed the psychological truths by constructing archetypes, GRR
Martin deconstructs the archetypes in fantasy like damsel in distress, charming prince and knight in shining armor by making them act instinctually trusting their personal motivation, rather than on the traditional and archetypal roles.
The research establishes Game of Thrones as a modern fantasy by analyzing the series based on the six basic motifs identified by Linda Lee Madsen in 1976. The most basic element required for a fantasy is magic which becomes a part of the setting and it further helps in explaining the unreasonable events. The series establishes credibility by faithfully representing middle ages which consists of feudal structures and monarchy and this verisimilitude is maintained by marginalizing the magic in the show. A realistic medieval world is established onto which the magical elements are gradually introduced. Magic is thought to be extinct from the world of Westeros and is not part of the everyday life. The Westeros people are skeptical about the existence of magic just like the people in contemporary society. The hatching of
Daenerys dragons initiated a saga of improbable events in Westeros and eventually magic is resurfaced in Westeros. Magic is not utilized as a formulaic tool for wish fulfillment rather it is present in the form of mysterious creatures like dragons and nonhuman races like dragons and white walkers.
Sajeev 65
Realism is brought in by building a familiar medieval world which resembles European middle ages. The series can be looked in as a meta-fantasy because it is capable of analyzing, critiquing and deconstructing fantasy by the very method of creating a fantasy. In order to understand it as a modern fantasy the reader must be familiar with the concepts of tropes, elements and stereotypes of modern fantasy. The world he created is deprived of the imaginary and fantastic compared to other popular fantasy worlds. Some of the common tropes like mystic legends and prophecies tied around the hero is absent from the series. In Season 1, when the rangers see the
White Walkers a race of undead warriors, the only survivor after the attack is beheaded and nobody believed in his testimony that the White Walkers exists. Similarly when the witch Mirri
Maz Dur performs the blood magic, she was alone with the Dothraki warrior Khal Drogo, and nobody survived to give a detailed description on her power to perform the magic. Elements of fantasy is actually established only when Daenerys Targaryen goes to the funeral pyre of her husband to hatch her three dragon eggs and to return unburned with three dragon babies.
Instead of constructing an impossible secondary world, magical elements actually intrude into a realistic setting creating a balance between the real and the impossible. The very presence of dragons, dire wolves, mantichores and blood magic establish it as a fantasy story.
The place names like Winterfell, King’s Landing, River Lands and Valyria and the name of the houses like Baratheon, Targaryen and Lannisters resembles a modern fantasy. The centrality on medieval history and its faithful representation in turn leads to marginalization of magical powers. Even though magical elements are present, the series lacks centrality of magic and do not immerse the viewers in an improbable imaginary world which totally breaks from the real primary world.
Sajeev 66
Setting is what classifies a fantasy into high fantasy and low fantasy. If the setting is in a pure imaginary constructed out of the vivid imagination of the writer, it is called Low Fantasy, whereas if the alternative world resembles the real primary world, that work of fiction comes under High Fantasy. The series is set in a vast continent called Westeros with the size of South
America. The setting has uncanny resemblances to medieval Europe in terms of its social structure, monarchy and feudalism. Inorder to add more depth and realism to the setting, the series creates two languages; namely the Dothraki and Valyrian. Even though the usage of these languages creates a sense of strangeness, it is not too far away from reality because of its minimalized use. The common tongue is English and the efforts for making it appear as a modern fantasy lies only in the diction.
The divergent depiction of special character types and nonhuman races is also one of the notable features of the show. The most common among them are dwarves, giants, witches, hobbits and so on. Instead of portraying dwarves as a mythical race, the series portrays an individual dwarf character realistically. Dwarves are generally represented as alcoholic, bearded fierce warriors who are downright evil and aggressive. In medieval romances, beauty chiefly defined a character as good or bad. The gallant knights in shining armor are showed as beautiful and attractive whereas the dwarf characters are cruel and suffer from an internal moral decay because they look unappealing to the rest of the society. Westerosi people considered dwarfs as a cruel joke made by the Gods. Tyrion Lannister perceives things in a different way unlike a sidelined tragic figure. He is extremely alcoholic and is very sexual throughout the show. These kinds of representations work against the norm because mystic races are usually portrayed on the basis of one peculiar feature and they lack individuality.
Sajeev 67
Giants appear in myth and fairy stories as humanoids of big size. In fairy tales like Jack and Bean Stalk, giants are depicted as unwise and self-centered. In the initial seasons of the show, these nonhuman races are thought to be a legend and the people in Seven Kingdom did not believe that they existed. Different characters like Tyrion Lannister and Maester Luwin claims that giants are long extinct and they seldom believed in their existence. The series implements a modern outlook to the medieval people as they are doubtful about the presence of magic, magical creatures and nonhuman races.
Witches in modern fantasy are presented as inherently evil which in turn propagates the notion that their magic is dangerous. In Game of Thrones witches evoke the stereotypes like power, blood and magic and further associates spirituality to witches. The most peculiar plot points could have been the most realistic to medieval European. Magic was piece of everyday common people belief back then, even though it was kind of boring. Witches were considered a danger, but even their powers tended to be surreal as magic is not infested in individual hands.
Instead of portraying a powerful witch character like Melisandre as an outcast and abhorrent, the show perceives Melisandre as beautiful, hyper sexualized and a religious head. She thus takes up the feminine archetype of spirituality and empowerment and is capable of turning the plot to a new direction. It also deconstructs the notion that witch characters are pure evil. The show operates within a realistic or a naturalistic sphere, into which fantastic elements are introduced.
Thus it is more inspired by medieval history than myth and magic. Briefly outlined, it is a world in which, to most characters magic belongs in the realm of legend, with few people aware of its holding, or even its presence. Initially, the only affair that seems fantastic is the fact that flying dragon, believed to be extinct is a part of chronicle rather than myth: the skull in the royal throne room is physical evidence of their existence.
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Cersei Lannister’s quote in season one makes the show’s motto clear: “in the game of thrones, you win or you die.” The final realist goal of energy seems to be the riding pressure in recreation of Thrones. The plot revolves around the centralized seat of power, the Iron Throne.
However, as we can see, Daenerys Targaryen’s story is filled with choices of power and questions of more humanitarian nature; she tries to stabilize between the demands of strength and precept instead of picking power. But as the series progress she is drawn more towards power and political authority.
Comprised of princesses, poisoners and detainment, torment, fight and intrigue, Game of
Thrones is a hyper-pragmatist fantasy experience. It's a perplexing and convincing epic sentiment of puzzle and enchantment permeated with the unfazed update that everybody dies even the characters with heroic attributes. The series highlights a parade of disloyal and deceptive inhabitants heading to pick up ownership and control of a land called Westeros in the midst of a climate thick with connive. In an overall analysis, however, this is an account of misfortune and defenselessness, in which even the most powerful can't simply ensure and protect their own. None of the characters is saved from viciousness or enduring: neither the steadfast, delicate and kind, nor even the individuals who are resolved to convey peace and wellbeing to
Westeros. Regularly it is just through trickiness that the good characters may get away from a violent end and live to battle one more day.
The characters are balanced, complex and prominently convincing. They are enlivened by an exceptional cast that incorporates Charles Dance, Lena Headey, Peter Dinklage, Sean
Bean, Nikolaj Koster-Waldau, Emilia Clark, Iain Glen and Aiden Gillen. (Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Game_of_Thrones_characters#Cast) Realism becomes a complicated phenomenon when it is tied down to fantasy. In quality shows like Game of Thrones
Sajeev 69 incorporating realism fortify the social stigma associated with genres romance and fairytales.
Fairy tales and romances often embrace a utopian idealism by projecting a happily ever after ending. Game of Thrones conveys realism mainly through the portrayal of graphic sex, violence, war and through a cynical portray of everything which is considered as utopian and ideal. Even though we can find patterns of traditional fantasy tropes it distinguishes itself and revolutionizes the concept of fantasy by adding realism in style and in representation.
In Michael Newman and Elana Levine’s opinion contemporary “quality TV” like Game of Thrones validate its claims to social, political, and artistic merit through realism. Fairytale is unrealistic and projects romantic idealism. The overused phrase, “this isn’t a fairy tale” generally points to realism which is usually complicated, dark and tragic. In that way television serials like
Game of Thrones involve in a much longer interaction with realism to establish the artistic credibility. The series alienate itself from the more unrealistic fairytales and adheres with realism, thus refusing the happy endings and utopian idealism. The realism in the series is associated with a cynical and dystopian representation of history and socio-political life.
Realism, multiple plots and complexity in narration classify the series as a quality narrative in the contemporary period.(Kustritz)
The series thus revolutionizes and expands the terrain of fantasy genre by incorporating fantasy elements into a realistic setting rather than constructing a totally imaginative alternative world. The series thus becomes a representative of modern fantasy devoid of any stock characters. Even though fantasy elements are included it becomes a critique of the real world by raising social, political and religious issues. The limitation of the study pertains to the focus on first seven seasons and the last season of the show is yet to be premiered. This becomes a limitation because the motifs might experience a change in the next season. The study did not
Sajeev 70 make an in-depth analysis of the realistic techniques of film production employed in the series.
By following the conventions of Fantasy genre Martin transcends the boundaries of some of its basic motifs by including realism. Thus there is a need for understanding the contemporary trends and new developments in fantasy. The scope of the research concerns with understanding the novel trends in fantasy and the various subversions incorporated in this genre.
Game of Thrones set in a medieval time period establishes realism in its representation.
The series is known for its complex time scheme and intertwining narrative structure. By contrasting the series with Andre Bazin’s realist film theory we can see that the series incorporates techniques like hand held camera, nonprofessional actors, real outdoor location and visual effects to project the fantasy elements and the alternative world appear more realistic and dynamic. These strategies transport the viewers to a realistic fantasy world and provide a more engaging visual experience. Reading a fantasy novel is dependent on the mental faculty of image construction and the vivid imagination of the viewer, whereas in a visual fantasy narrative, there is no scope for the imagination as the impossible creatures and fantasy elements acquire a concrete form in cinematic representation. Fantasy elements like dragons and dire wolves are not presented as animation, but the high quality visual effects used in the series provides the viewer a realistic and immersive visual experience.
Unlike Tolkienesque fantasies, contemporary Realistic Fantasy did not focus on the motifs of honor, chivalry and morality. The series merges elements of fantasy and realism and establishes itself as a modern realistic fantasy. The series follows the trajectory of modern fantasy by incorporating the six basic motifs the various fantasy elements are introduced to a realistic setting and this inherent realism makes Game of Thrones a dark fantasy rather than a happy ending one. It provides a dystopian and cynical view of the world and graphically portrays
Sajeev 71 taboo subjects like rape, sexual violence and incest. The series is authentic as the narration and events happen in a plausible manner. The realism in the series can be considered as a reaction against the romanticized or bowdlerized version of the medieval and the series establishes the disparity between gritty realistic fantasy and non-medieval fairy stories. A fantasy fiction is dependent on the imaginative faculty of a reader, but a visual narrative is not dependent on the viewer’s construction of mental images as everything is depicted in concrete form. In that way it further educates and extends the imaginative faculty of the viewer. The filmic medium of the series also instigates a powerful reaction from the viewers because of the direct presence of images. Game of Thrones embraces genre hybridity and as the most popular example of popular culture expands the horizons of fantasy genre and elevates its position to a hegemonic cultural norm. The fantasy elements in the series enables the viewers a more secure retreat from the primary world we live in and operates as a device to make evaluative criticism on the contemporary issues in a subtle manner which further enlightens our perceptions and belief systems as everything is anticipated onto the past.
Sajeev 72
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i
Appendix
The HBO Television series Game of Thrones is an adaptation of George RR Martin’s fantasy novel series A Song of Ice and Fire. It is a collection of seven books.
A Game of Thrones (1996)
A Clash of Kings (1998)
A Storm of Swords (2000)
A Feast for Crows (2005)
A Dance with Dragons (2011)
The Winds of Winter (forthcoming)
A Dream of Spring (forthcoming)
Season One
The first season of HBO’s Game of Thrones was aired on April 17, 2011. There are ten episodes in each season with an approximate length of 55-60 minutes and was broadcasted at
9.00 pm in United States. The fictional setting is Westeros and the plot concentrates on the life and beheading of the noble lord Ned Stark. He is the lord of Winterfell and he was asked to be the chief advisor of the king and his old friend Robert Baratheon. He uncovers the secret of the murder of the previous hand of the king, Jon Arryn and the dark secrets surrounding the
Lannister family which resulted in enmity and hatred from the Lannisters. Meanwhile in Essos, ii the last heir of the deposed dynasty, Daenerys Targeryen believes that she has rightful claims over the iron throne.
Season Two
The second season was aired on April 1, 2012 and concluded on June 3, 2012. The season focuses on the sad beheading of Ned Stark which leads to the separation of the Stark family. The war of the five kings are fought between the noble houses of Westeros either to claim the iron throne or to gain independence from it.
Season Three
In United States, Season 3 was premiered on March 31, 2013 and it ended on June 9,
2013. The season is roughly based on George RR Martin’s A Storm of Swords. The season follows the war of the five kings just like the previous seasons. The king’s brother Renly
Baratheon is murdered by his own brother Stannis Baratheon using dark magical powers of
Melisandre. The remaining four noble houses believe that they have claims over the throne. The son of Ned Stark, Robb Stark emerges as a powerful leader who attempts to take vengeance over the death of his father.
Season Four
The fourth season was aired on April 6, 2014 and it ended by June 15, 2014. The season projects political intrigue and connive as the very young Robb Stark, his wife Talisa and mother
Catelyn Stark were brutally massacred at the Red Wedding. After the death of Robb Stark and
Renly Baratheon, the three other noble houses engage in the struggle of power for iron throne. iii
Jon Snow, who is deemed as the Bastard son of Ned Stark joins the brotherhood of Night’s
Watch and is preparing for the fight against the free folks.
Season Five
This season was premiered on HBO on April 12, and concluded on June 14, 2015. The season is an adaptation of Martin’s two books A Feast for Crows and Dance with Dragons. In the king’s Landing, Cersei Lannister is losing power over her younger son Tommen Baratheon after his marriage to Margaery. She introduces the Faith militant, the military faction of Faith of the seven thinking that it might help to establish her power. Unlike what she thinks, the militants turn against her for her amoral deeds. Jon Snow becomes the Lord Commander of the Night’s
Watch. His decision to be ally with the wildlings aroused many protests in the brotherhood.
Daenerys in the meantime is in an effort to create a very powerful army to march towards the
King’s Landing.
Season Six
On April 24, 2016 sixth season was aired and it was concluded on June 26, 2016. The season portrays the political struggle for power between the house of stark and other noble families. Jon Snow deserts the Night’s Watch and becomes the King in the North after defeating the evil Ramsay and the Bolton army. Daenerys is held in captivity by the Dothraki tribe and
Tyrion Lannister was entitled to take up the rule in Mereen. In King’s Landing Margaery and
Loras Tyrell are held captive by faith militant. Margaery surrenders to high sparrow and high sparrow becomes more powerful by influencing Tommen. Cersei Lannister burns the high sept using wildfire killing all her enemies and the faith militant. Tommen commits suicide witnessing the sad turn of events. After Tommen’s death, Cersei becomes the queen of the seven kingdoms. iv
In Dornish kingdom, Ellaria Sand and daughters of Oberyn Martell murders the king Trystane
Martell and captures control over Dorne. Daenerys Targaryen who was held captive by the
Dothraki takes command over them after burning them alive using her dragons. The Martells and
Tyrells ally with Daenerys.
Season Seven
The second last season of Game of Throneswas premiered on July 16, 2017, and was culminated on August 27, 2017. Unlike the previous seasons which contained ten episodes, seventh season only had seven episodes. The season basically converges to two main plotlines, mainly the doomed emergence of White Walkers and the struggle for Iron Throne. Daenerys arrives in Westeros with her enormous army and three powerful dragons and wages war against the Lannisters. Jon Snow is mainly concerned about the bigger threat of White Walkers and builds an alliance with Daenerys with the hope that her army could be used for fighting against the white walkers. The two engages in a very intimate relationship. The Stark family is reunited with the return of Sansa Stark and Bran Stark to Winterfell. Towards the end of the season the
White walkers appear as more powerful with Daenerys’ reanimated wight dragon and they finally make their way to the Seven Kingdoms.
Season Eight
The last season is expected to be aired by HBO in April 2019.