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Kicking off the Re-Watch:

I would venture a guess that not many can walk into a graduate school course and expect, over the course of the semester, to examine a pop culture phenomenon like the HBO series Game of Thrones. But here I am, ready to binge watch, think critically, and share my thoughts.

Background for this project:

Besides the task of watching GoT in its entirety over the course of sixteen weeks, the students in this course are being tasked with keeping up a weekly blog to share our thoughts regarding each week’s assigned episodes. I am rather excited about taking on this particular task. So much of my writing over the past couple of years has been of the Stark academic variety (pun intended). Stepping slightly outside of that writing style will make for an interesting challenge.

A few things that you, the reader, should know (or might be interested in knowing...or perhaps have no interest in at all) before delving into my blog:

Reactions to the Re-Watch Season 1, Episodes 1-3:

In re-watching the first three episodes I think what struck me the most is how the show really helps to accentuate the complicated nature of the narrative universe and each of the characters that exist within it. I think this is especially true for certain female characters and those male characters that exist outside of hegemonic norms. From a theoretical perspective, Game of Thrones is designed like a postmodernist’s paradise hidden behind the mask of a medieval fantasy. This narrative, and the world and characters it contains, reject simplicity. From this point, I would like to spend a bit of virtual spaces looking closely at a couple of charters in an attempt to demonstrate the complexity of this universe and how these characters add their own taste to the narrative madness in these first episodes.

Arya Stark

A Nickname Reveal: “Mulan of Westeros”

The audience first finds Arya failing miserably at and dying of boredom in her sewing lessons, which she is made to endure by the side of her older, strictly feminine, sister, Sansa. We soon discover, however, that Arya’s talents lie in more masculine lines of leisure. Much to the chagrin of her brother Bran (whose manly talents have not yet come to bear) and the amusement of her brother Jon and father Ned, we learn that Arya has a knack for mastering weaponry and reveling in chaos that she assists in creating. But have no fear, not all femininity is lost in the Mulan of Westeros, she can also pull off a mean curtsey after showing up her younger brother.

Although there are clear gender expectations for girls (especially those from the gentry), Arya is clearly allowed, and in some respects even encouraged, to transgress these boundaries. Her brother Jon, for example, gifts her a small sword, a phallic/masculinizing accessory,  which she wittily dubs “needle” as a show of defiance against the sewing tool she was previously made to handle. Having seen Arya’s personality develop over the course of several seasons, I cannot help but imagine that she yearns to tease Sansa “My needle is bigger than your needle!” Further, Ned discovers that Arya possesses this sword and allows her to keep it, even encourages her to learn to use it.

Some may argue, and I would agree, that these opening looks at Arya are a foreshadowing of a later and more intentional gender fluidity from this charter. I am sure when these gender issues come more to the fore, I will be inclined to compose a longer blog that calls upon the works of seasoned gender theorists like Judith Butler and/or Raewyn Connell.

Jon Snow

A Nickname Reveal: “Know-Nothin’-Jon”

I think that Jon Snow is also a compelling and complex case. Depending on one’s thoughts regarding his true origins, Jon may also be the one who can bring ultimate chaos or finally restore order. As it currently stands, Jon exists in several worlds all at once. By virtue of his family connections he is both of the gentry but understood to be a bastard. By virtue of his location (after arriving at the wall) he is literally situated between the unknown dangers of the land beyond The Wall and the familiar, but war torn lands that are south of The Wall. Finally, if you think there is anything to the R+L=J theory I mentioned above, then perhaps he is even the strange mix of genes that provides an explanation for the book series’ actual title, A Song of Ice and Fire.

Tyrion Lannister

A Nickname Reveal: “The Likable Lannister”

Much like Jon Snow, Tyrion Lannister exists in a strange in-between. He is, by name and lineage, a member of one of the most feared and financially flush families to reside in the lands of Westeros. At the same time, however, his physicality differentiates him to such a degree that Tyrion likens himself to a “bastard,” telling Jon Snow, “All dwarves are bastards in their father’s eyes.” (“Winter is Coming”). Even though Tyrion’s superior intellect becomes apparent in the early episodes, he understands that his stature (often deemed a deformity by his family) places him in a position wherein his family expects little from him. As a result he lives as he pleases without regard to his family position (i.e. he frequents brothels, drinks excessively, and spits in the face of the establishment). I mean....although I would not normally condone striking a child, there is something particularly satisfying about watching him slap Joeffrey. If you are new to the series, I can assure you will understand this reaction very soon.

It is important for one to understand that it is precisely Tyrion’s unstable social position that allows him to simultaneously maneuver through a variety of circles in an effort  to exert influence over the political affairs of Westeros and still maintain a lifestyle that allows for licentious behaviour and a biting wit.

The Wrap-up

The narrative of Game of Thrones, even as early as the first few episodes, disallows any notion of simplicity. Many factors contribute to the instability that drives the plot forward but it is also this complicated structure that makes the show so interesting. I am looking forward to continuing this re-watch project and sharing my thoughts with you, which I am sure will prove to mimic the show in lack of simplicity and force us all to think critically about this pop culture phenomenon.

References

“Winter is Coming.” Game of Thrones: Season 1. Writ: David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. Dir. Tim Van Patten. HBO, 2011. Xfinity OnDemand. 26 Jan. 2016.
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