Game of Thrones is one of
the most talked about TV shows globally. One of the reasons is because it
tackles taboos within society surrounding nudity and the portrayal of sex. The
taboo of sex has been around for a long time as it represses human primal
sexual instinct, and it has been enforced by many different cultural and
religious structures. Today, it still shocks us as audiences to see nudity in
its raw sexual nature and we feel uncomfortable watching it with other
generations. So, we can see why Game of Thrones has this shock factor element
which entices audiences to return to the show.
Season 1 of Game of Thrones
is statistically the most extensive when it comes to the levels of nudity (hence
why it is rated a TV-Ma). This infographic shows that the average number of
breasts shown in each episode is 5.6 – this is considerable when given that
only 2 full-frontal naked men were shown. Is this equal?
Modern audiences have
become desensitised to female nudity which contrasts the shock we get from
seeing a nude male. This shows that society as a whole has become more used to
the ideology that females are allowed to be sexually objectified for ratings
and views. In other words, sex sells.
"I feel like there's a little bit of inequality between the amount of nudity that happens with women—this woman in particular—and that happens with the other guys" – Emilia Clarke
This inequality is further represented by the character of Ros. Her character is not present in any of the books; however she was prominent through season 1. She is a prostitute and therefore known as a key character for sexual scenes. This may suggest that the screenwriters intend a hyper-sexualised story in order to engage audiences for something other than the fantasy plot. With reference to the theory of male gaze (Laura Mulvey, 1970s) Ros is the embodiment of an ideal female, and with her job as a prostitute, she is largely objectified as is literally used for her body. The writers probably made this choice to engage with their primary male demographic. As shown in the pie charts, the viewership of males has grown since the first season, maybe creating an expectation of the show as being more nudity driven and controversial.
"I feel like there's a little bit of inequality between the amount of nudity that happens with women—this woman in particular—and that happens with the other guys" – Emilia Clarke
This inequality is further represented by the character of Ros. Her character is not present in any of the books; however she was prominent through season 1. She is a prostitute and therefore known as a key character for sexual scenes. This may suggest that the screenwriters intend a hyper-sexualised story in order to engage audiences for something other than the fantasy plot. With reference to the theory of male gaze (Laura Mulvey, 1970s) Ros is the embodiment of an ideal female, and with her job as a prostitute, she is largely objectified as is literally used for her body. The writers probably made this choice to engage with their primary male demographic. As shown in the pie charts, the viewership of males has grown since the first season, maybe creating an expectation of the show as being more nudity driven and controversial.
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