The secret of the success of Game of Thrones – Culture & Arts



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Last Sunday, the world seemed divided into two camps: observers Game of thrones finale of the series on HBO and the people who watch the people who watched Game of thrones. The way the series captivated the whole society – 19.3 million people listened to the finale – was impressive for some and irritating to others, but almost impossible to ignore.

The HBO adaptation of George R.R. Martin's A song of ice and fire The novels were notoriously indecent and described orgies, abuses and rapes, some of which were described in the books and many adorned on the screen. Beyond that, he embraced nihilism and showed disdain for organized religion, said Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Seminary and a member of the WORLD News Group's board of directors, in his podcast. The briefing earlier this week.

But many shows have had all of this without inspiring the mass devotion that The Thrones made. To understand why so many people have liked the series, it is helpful to understand the appeal of its genre. Fantastic novels develop at the crossroads of disillusionment and imagination. It's no coincidence that fantasy fiction made sense when J.R.R. Tolkien published The Lord of the Rings in 1954, shortly after the Second World War. The enchanted stories of magical worlds can soothe hearts and minds tired of the bitter disappointment of the insoluble problems of life such as sickness, violence and suffering. (Although a hungry reader of childhood, I had little interest in fantasy until the year following the divorce of my parents, when I suddenly devoured the Chronicles of Narnia, The ghost toll, and A ride in time.)

Enter A song of ice and fire, one of the most popular fantasy series since The Lord of the Rings. Martin's tale is delightful and relatable. He gives his characters the same flaws, insecurities and struggles as the rest of us, but then offers everyone something special to help them on their way: some receive swords, others spells and others of the dragons.

The books were best sellers long before HBO took history, but the television series made it accessible to an increasingly distracted public who might not appreciate it. book of one thousand pages (or five). On top of that, history has a millennial and ecologist-friendly worldview, and HBO spared no effort to bring the dazzling world of Game of thrones to life on the screen. The recipe was just for the cultural moment, and the fans ate it and loved it.

Until they did not do it. The last season has brought its own disillusionment, with viewers complaining about the plot, the writing, the rhythm, the misuse of symbolism, the underutilization of symbolism and even the # 39; lighting. There are online petitions asking HBO to reinstate all or part of the final season. The one on Change.org already had more than 1.5 million signatures on Friday morning.

The reaction of the fans at the end of Game of thrones may be even more frustrating than their initial obsession. Our world obsessed with marketing – begins to consider art – be it literature, music, fine art or theater – as a customizable and consumable good. It is not enough to criticize art; we want it to meet our specifications, and if it does not, we want to send it back for a recipe like a hamburger with too much mustard. This attitude, taken in its natural term, would mean the end of art and the deflation of the imagination.

Fortunately, George R.R. Martin, who has not yet published the last two books of the series (he presented a synopsis of the HBO synopsis in order to conclude the series), seems to resist these childish demands. On Monday, in a blog post about the end of the series and the future of books, he made a simple proposition: "I am going to write it. You've read it Everyone can then make up their own mind and discuss it on the internet. "

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