There is a variety of female characters within Game of Thrones, between the fierce, capable Arya, the strong noble Brienne, and the manipulative conspiring Cersei. There is a range of female characters, unlike I have seen in one show before. Examine some of these characters, and provide examples of how some of these roles help or hinder the complexities of women, and their roles on television.
oh, man, this is such a good topic to write about - arya especially in the new season (so far) and how she has overcome her complexities in life, Cersei also, and even daenerys targaryen. – scole8 years ago
Yes, I actually wrote a paper on this around two years ago. I took a feminist approach, so just saying. – ismael6768 years ago
A very interesting topic for sure. As a feminist I often struggle with the fact I like watching game of thrones despite how problematic it can be especially in regards to how women are portrayed regularly. But then there are so many powerful women as well... – Lilith8 years ago
I would also take into account the rigidly patriarchal world that these women live in. I find it very jarring how the men talk about the women around them and how they treat them. – ckmwriter8 years ago
Don't forget Sansa. Her character has dramatically changed since season one. Can't leave out Daenerys either. – KennethC8 years ago
Intense topic--I admire and applaud whomever takes on this vast and dynamic topic. The females, especially this season, have been spectacular. They are more than just mere set decorations, but pivotal characters driving the plot and making major moves, more so this season than any other. If there were to be any subtitle for this season it would be "The Year of the Females." They were such a force: the good and the bad. Great topic, one I hope to read, very soon!! – danielle5778 years ago
Additionally, we can't forget about Catelyn Stark, Margaery Tyrell (her grandmother, Olenna, is awesome too, to be honest), Yara Greyjoy, and to a smaller extent Ellaria Sand or Gilly. This show is chockful with powerful, goal-getting women. There is so much analysis to be done! – Suman8 years ago
For the past while, Jerry Seinfeld has become quite vocal about his disdain for political correctness in comedy. Independent of one's personal stance on this highly-contested issue, their is something strange about Seinfeld making himself a spokesman for this somewhat adversarial position, considering how tame his comedy has historically been in that respect. Discuss the nature of Seinfeld's seemingly unlikely position, what factors may have led him to it, and what influence he has had in the debate.
Great topic. Seinfeld was a popular in the 90s. Could be he is finding a generation gap: Boomers vs Millennials? I found his conversations with Jon Stewart interesting because Seinfeld has in the past always eschewed political satire and Jon Stewart of course is so different. Both comedians though. He did make a career though of portraying a shallow superficial character on TV so it is possible that such a role rooted in his real life persona should not come as a real surprise. Remember the 90s were a time of economic prosperity and so perhaps the inequities of today and post 9/11 tone has changed our global and national discourse. We live in different times and I think comedy has veered toward political satire given the nature of the material present in today presidential race. I am sure Seinfeld's kids will get him up to day though. Kids have that effect on aging parents. – Munjeera8 years ago
It's definitely a matter of shifting standards; watching Seinfeld reruns, a lot of the jokes seem mean and target already disenfranchised groups. Things that were funny or even just acceptable socially 20 years ago don't always hold up today, so I think he's finding out how much of his material was catered to his 90s/early 2000s audience. – chrischan8 years ago
I think an interesting thing to consider with Seinfeld's stance on political correctness is the difference in media representation when he was rising to fame as a stand-up comedian and his subsequent TV show. Even in the 90's, there wasn't a popular voice for many minority groups in the mainstream media to speak up for or against the status quo, as compared to today where there are many prominent figures, as well as social media, whom make their feeling known. Does Seinfeld have a point in people getting softer or have those people always been around, but without a voice. – Dominique Kollie8 years ago
Seinfeld was popular amongst people who felt there should be some backlash against the politically correct movement. Seinfeld has his philosophy about comedy and what he is committed to as a comedian. He avoids politics, swearing and personally ascribes to a colorblind attitude. If you watch Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee with Jerry and Chris Rock, Jerry and Trevor Noah and Jerry and President Obama, you will see how committed he is to eschewing any political hot topics. Social justice and equity are not his thing and he makes that clear. I mean it is up to him how he does his job. You can't argue with success. I personally never really liked Seinfeld as I enjoy political satire and parody. The show was proud to celebrate the inconsequential. – Munjeera8 years ago
To build off of what chrischan said, my understanding of his backlash was that it stemmed from college students not laughing at a joke he made at the expense of the LGBTQ+ community. Meanwhile, we have comedians like Sarah Silverman and Amy Schumer (very 'edgy' comedians) stating that, while they don't regret jokes they made in the past, there are certain culturally insensitive jokes that they would not make today. I find this topic so interesting in virtue of this split: the issue to me doesn't seem to be about PC culture stifling free speech, but rather it involves that the creator of a joke think about what they say from multiple perspectives. Seinfeld, in contrast to Schumer and Silverman, may represent that divide in terms of a more inclusive culture for an historically pretty conservative field of creative expression. – Derek8 years ago
Spineless Seinfeld is too wimpy to have a crusade. Him criticizing PC culture is like a paraplegic punching a quadriplegic: the weaker attacking the weakest, How can he, a guy in a show one could easily watch with a pious grandmama - rage against PC culture? "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia?" Now that's a challenge to PC culture. – Tigey8 years ago
I was always a fan of the show Seinfeld, as that was part of my generation, well, the tail-end of it. Personally, in my belief, I think Seinfeld is doing all of this as a talking point, or publicity stunt to stage some form of comeback. He's always been relatively private or on the quiet side, so I've laughed all this talk off, take it all in stride as another means of acting, and I'm just waiting for his announcement or punch-line that will clear up what this all means. – danielle5778 years ago
I have heard Seinfeld speak on this topic of equity and PC and Seinfeld believes that America is a meritocracy. In the past his view was you work hard, you get ahead if you are good enough to be better than everyone else. Clearly that worked for him. But since then, Seinfeld has become a parent, which can radically alter most people. Perhaps in the past Seinfeld did not feel that being PC was a positive aspect but now he is a parent. I don't know what Seinfeld's religious beliefs are, as mentioned he is private. Good for him on the privacy issue but as a parent I hope he recognizes that there is a lot of anti-Semitism still in the world today, which sickens me. Whenever I hear it, I always speak up ... strongly. I hope despite his public persona of focusing on trivial issues, he supports his kids over dealing with prejudices. There are still a lot of reprehensible stereotypes about many groups and all of us have to rethink our ideas when we encounter hatred, especially irrational hatred and prejudice directed at our children. This can help make a person stronger. No matter how weak someone is, moms and dads have a killer instinct to defend their kids. Even though I didn't really like the show, I respect Seinfeld because he had integrity to quit while he was doing immensely successfully in his field. I believe he will carry that same integrity on to his parenting. – Munjeera8 years ago
From Seinfeld, I don't expect Lenny Bruce's "comedy" - which challenged polite, suburban, white-flight, Northern racism - nor do I expect anyone to be as funny as Richard Pryor. I expect from Seinfeld, to quote Bob Dylan, to "do what's necessary and then repent"; it's generally what we all do to save our own skins. I think Danielle nailed it: it's a posture; I think Munjeera nailed it: parenthood is a game changer; but I think I nailed it too: he's just not compelling enough to garner my attention. Bob Dylan belches and I take notes; Seinfeld speaks and I yawn – Tigey8 years ago
The Night of is currently airing on HBO as an miniseries consisting of 8 parts, but due to the successful following there are now talks–similar to what happened with True Detective–to now having a 2nd season. The miniseries, which began talks in 2012, with the late James Gandolfini slated to star, is based on the BBC miniseries Criminal Justices (2008-2009). The series follows the events of a young american-pakistani's night out, and the repercussions that occur following the events of this night that, as conveyed to the audience, are a blur. Numerous themes are explored adding to the multitude of audiences responding to the series, ranging from racial prejudices, problems with the judicial system, economic hardships, and questions of morality as well as ethical responsibilities.What theme do you believe resonates most with audiences that is making this series such an overnight success? And if you are able to pinpoint one specific theme, please explain how it is able to resonate with a vast multitude of varying audience members.
I haven't seen this miniseries but it sounds like an excellent premise. One more reason to love Netflix. I would look forward to reading an article on this topic but first I will binge watch it. – Munjeera8 years ago
It's actually on HBO and I'm forced to wait a week between each episode, making me realize how dependent I've become on binge watching accessible devices such as Netflix and and Amazon Prime! First world problems! – danielle5778 years ago
Thanks! I have to watch it this summer before the fall. Thanks for the info. : ) – Munjeera8 years ago
I've been watching HBO's "The Night Of" and I am enjoying it. Initially, it reminded me of the podcast "Serial" and the Adnan Syed case in that the story focuses on a Pakistani-American male murder suspect, but beyond that, the two programs are very different. I think that the themes you suggest are resonating with different audiences and the ensemble cast allows viewers to see themselves in the different characters. That's what makes it so good: there but for the grace of God go I. I haven't seen HBO's audience breakdown for the show, but I suspect it crosses genders, age groups, and socio-economic status. For example: * Young men and women see themselves in Nasir. May they had an issue in school or a bad decision that followed them around the rest of their life -- something they could never quite get out from under; maybe they've experienced racial prejudice or profiling; maybe they've been unjustly accused; or maybe they haven't experienced these things, but fear it happening. * Hard-working, middle-class parents gravitate to Selim & Safar Kahn, parents of the Nasir. Some parents' greatest fear are the wrong-place-wrong-time consequences their child may face as a result of one bad decision. These same folks may also sympathize with Jack Stone, Helen Weiss, and Det. Lucas: people who are trying to do a difficult job the best way they know how and looking forward to the day they might be able to retire. But beyond that, it's simply a good mystery, good storytelling, and quality TV content that HBO is famous for. I highly recommend it. – CSSorber8 years ago
As far as we know, True Detective has received critical acclaims for its first season while the general reviews ponder the quality of the Season Two is far-distanced from that of Season One. Although the "scoring" gap between the first and second seasons is obvious, it cannot deny that the indication behind the Original Scores would add more colors to the cops' stories. The article would focus on examining the lyrics of some original scores (like Far From Every Road by The Handsome Family) and analyzing how the lyrics symbolize the story plot.
This is an excellent topic. This first season was phenomenal and I must sadly admit that I did not pay that much attention to the scoring. Yet,while reading this suggested topic, I immediately thought of Breaking Bad and the way in which the musical score was intricately woven into the entirety of the series, filling in and enhancing every gap. I do hope someone picks up this topic. Now, I'm going to look up the scoring in True Detective! – danielle5778 years ago
Second season was a bust the first episode in. The writing just lost all of its unique touch falling into bland clichés of the cop crime drama – Riccio8 years ago
Second Season has many impromptu dialogues. Character's conversation cannot get rid of the F words. Believe it or not, I have never heard a female lead babbling the words in nearly all episodes ever since True Detective Season Two.
The scoring is still that good, considering that Lera Lynn and Bonnie Prince Billy's songs are more than just indications.
– moonyuet8 years ago
What are the benefits and drawbacks of a genre or franchise gaining mainstream acceptance? For instance: in what ways does Marvel benefit from being mainstream? How does grossing popularity damage Star Wars (or does it?). How does the MCU gain artistically from its mainstream appeal? What sacrifices must it make? Are the monetary benefits worth the trade of artistic integrity?
A game writer might focus on the social benefits gamers receive from the de-stigmatizing of video games vs. the "selling out" of catering to the main stream. The writer of this article could focus on any medium of entertainment, from television and movies to games, examining both privilege and hipster-esque shunning that comes with the main stream.
While I've provided an overly-broad range of ideas for medium, the writer of this article would focus on only one aspect of entertainment (film; television; games), not all three.
I think audiences are more sophisticated nowadays. Movies and TV shows used to be at the level of an 11 year old boy back in the 70s and even the 80. I don't think it was until the early 90s that movies really began to take off and franchises such as Star Trek after TNG the TV series really began going mainstream. Especially Sci-Fi. I think Terminator started that trend. – Munjeera8 years ago
This is a theme in many anime style films and series, but in watching Korra I noticed that every "villain" turned out to be someone who had been deeply hurt in their past. The analysis could be a walk-through of the prominent villains in the LoK books and how when they are defeated, Korra always finds empathy for the enemy.
Same could be said for Last Airbender, as well. Especially Zuko. – Natalie Sheppard10 years ago
I've watched up to season 3 of this show. I absolutely adore the character makeup and watching the characters evolve. It really gives me a lot of insight into my own creations. The one question I have is this: Are we talking about the LoK manga or the television show? Narrowing this topic's genre down is important to the article. Also, I believe that this article should focus mainly on the villains who are intricate to the plot of the story. There are some villains that aren't nearly as important, and quite frankly these villains won't provide enough support information in the article. – Kenneth Merchant10 years ago
It's worth mentioning how villains in general have changed throughout out the year, when regarding their motivations. The reason The Avatar villains work is because their motivations for doing what they do are relatable, besides being evil for the sake of being evil. Look at Kuvira: She wants to bring order to her kingdom, but she goes overboard, to the point she is a ruthless dictator. – Aaron Hatch10 years ago
Your could focus on Korra's relationship to those around her. How does she relate to the villains? How does this lead character deal with consequence compared to similar heroes? – Thomas Munday9 years ago
I think it's less that every villain had been hurt in the past, but more that each of them saw Korra as a direct affront to their goals; either her presence or absence made their lives more difficult. A major way that LoK felt more mature than A:tLA is that the larger point being made or situation being addressed by each villain is valid, and Korra does have to consider their ideology. The hero and villains weren't quite as black and white as Aang and Fire Lord Ozai. – chrischan8 years ago
Talk about various science fiction series and the types of technology or concepts which were once thought to be unbelievable, but have become reality, today.
An example of this is how Star Trek and other shows would have holographic projectors or screen talking which enabled the ability of sight in long-distance communications. Nowadays we have various means of video chatting with people from around the world such as Facetime that seem to have been encouraged by shows like Star Trek.
The movies Johnny Mnemonic and Back to the Future 2 are good movies to look into.
– JennyCardinal8 years ago
Look at some of the cyberpunk genre like Neal Stephenson's Snowcrash and William Gibson's Neuromancer and compare their use of the internet with the reality it's become. – Tarben8 years ago
Could the writer of this piece also examine ways we've sidestepped expectation? For instance, in older films we often see "the year is 2015, we have a permanent colony on the moon" or Back to the Future's infamous hover boards (not hand-free exploding segways we call hover boards). There are more extreme examples of cultural ideals, like assuming that we might have achieved world peace, have evolved beyond the discriminations of gender and race. I think examining how we've achieved Sci-Fi and how we've failed it would be a nice contrast. – Piper CJ8 years ago
To Piper, yes! That gives the article a more diverse viewpoint for readers. I feel by showing what has been done, what we have yet to accomplish, or attempted acts to resemble concepts in science fiction would help give more insight. Also Jenny and Tarben, those are all definitely some great resources for the article! – Kevin Mohammed8 years ago
I think Samsung used a scene from 2001: A Space Odyssey in court when Apple sued them, claiming that they had ripped off the basic design of the iPhone touch screen. Their argument was that the idea had already existed in the sci-fi imaginary, and therefore was not an original idea from Apple. – TKing8 years ago
There's at least one then-futuristic film I've seen that had personalized street and, I think, train station advertising change as each person passed. Personal advertising has been on the internet for a while, and might soon be here on the street. It's always the love of amassing even more money by the already-mega rich that drives these advances, so when it'll really piss them off when I refuse installment of their microchip so they can market me. I'll be laughing at them from my prison cell. Take that. I've read that Gen X has been written off by marketers as too difficult to predict (read, "lead like sheep"). Good work, Gen X'ers. Make 'em work for it. – Tigey8 years ago
