Currently, I am reading George R.R. Martin’s book “A Game of Thrones”, the first novel of the franchise which was used as the base of interpretation for the first season the hit HBO television franchise. On first glance a fantasy thriller which involves dragons and magic does not seem to even come close to coming under the views that will be studied in this coming year in class, however I disagree. Feminism is a highly debated topic which can reach in most echelons of society and it has become a topic of thought in many different environments and, as a result of our developments as a society, it is very much discussed in television.
I myself am a huge fan of the Game of Thrones franchise, finding it very much worthy of its awards and critical acclaim. I was so engrossed with the world created by the writers that by the time I finished watching the last of episode of season 4 I started reading the first book . So far I am very much enjoying the book and its small, yet significant difference in interpretations of its many characters as it provides depth that I otherwise would not have found by just watching the show on its own.
What I found very much intriguing was the positions of female characters within the novel. Leading characters such as Cersai Lannister, Daenerys Targaryen and Catelyn Stark provide very different representations of powerful women, all coming from different journeys but each suffering more pain and heartbreak than most characters in the novel and the fact that they all come from “noble birth” is highlighted both in the novel and the television show itself, female characters that lacked noble birth even more so.
This positioning as very much interested me and led to me thinking of other hit television programmes and novels and where their female characters are placed, for example, in “Breaking Bad”, characters such as Skyler and Marie who are often very powerful in terms of the storyline, are also portrayed as nuisances to the journey of the protagonist anti-hero Walter White. On the other hand, in “Suits” the women characters such as Rachel and Donna are very much powerful whatever their stature and are seen as a makeshift backbone for the two leading characters of Harvey Spectre and Mike Ross.
I very much plan to explore this further in the upcoming school year.
October 14, 2014 at 9:48 pm
Hello Alex,
I agree with your reading of the female protagonists here. I haven’t yet begun reading the books, but my knowledge of the television series would certainly align with your argument.
Youake an interesting point about Breaking Bad. As an exploration of feminism through pop culture, you have covered some good ground.
Considerations:
– what about the plight of minor female characters? I would argue these are often only plot devices. You?
– how do we fair in comparison to Shakespeare’s portrayal of women as either victims or villains? Neither is positive.
– what about Mad Men, where the female characters are ultimately more interesting, yet the plot still centred on men and their stories?
So much to explore.
Specific quotations?