At the WiC Club: The strange, ongoing intersection between Game of Thrones and real-world politics
By WiC Staff
Winter Is Coming is a place to find the latest in Game of Thrones and Song of Ice and Fire-related news, editorial content, and beyond. The WiC Club is a place to find…even more of that, but deeper, denser and occasionally darker. Over on our Patreon page, we’re giving out tee-shirts and stickers, getting drunk with members, and writing articles and making videos about topics too hot for the rest of the internet.
This week’s WiC Club article is all about the show’s reputation with politicians, where it enjoys a lot of popularity. Why is that, and does the show lean one way or the other politically? Here’s a quick preview:
"Game of Thrones has been embraced by the world’s political class, and I think that’s pretty neat. It’s not hard to imagine why, either. Beyond the ice zombies and dragons and fire witches, the show is about how to get and keep power, how to gain and lose favor, how to consolidate control and how to let it go. The milieu is different, the drama heightened and the people better-looking, but the political battles at the heart of Game of Thrones are the same ones politicians fight today. I’m not at all surprised they’re taken a liking to the show.I also love that Game of Thrones seems to be enjoyed by people of many political stripes. I’ve seen different fans claim that Game of Thrones endorses nationalism on the one hand and socialism on the other, that it’s a liberal fantasy or a conservative epic. Personally, I think George R.R. Martin and HBO do a good job of telling the story in a “just the facts” sort of way that resists partisan readings. Is Game of Thrones a liberal story? A conservative story? There’s no set answer; people can read into it whatever they want, and everyone is correct. The bottom line is that they all enjoy it, which is a rare and precious thing in today’s hyper-polarized political environment."
From there, we gets into knotty questions about the political biases of the people who make the show, whether it’s possible to create a truly non-partisan piece of art, President Donald Trump using a Game of Thrones catch phrase to threaten sanctions against Iran, and more. I know politics are a touchy subject, but if you can’t talk about them with other Game of Thrones fans, who can you talk about them with?
If you’re interested in reading or watching more, head to the WiC Patreon page. We’d love to see you.
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