Medieval Fantasy in Popular Culture

                                                                        https://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Dothraki The Dothraki are portrayed as violent and reckless. Weddings that include murder and rape along with an aggressive sounding language which lacks a word for “thank you” paint the Dothraki as an uncivilized, violent tribe. Even though the Dothraki are portrayed as violent and aggressive, the West appears to be no better. Rape in the West is still rampant and people are often killed. Martin does a good job of not portraying the Dothraki as they were by Tolkien, monstrous and evil, but he still has a ways to go. The West doesn’t treat their females much better than the East. Women are still a prize to be won or sold off as brides. Though not out in public like the Dothraki, rape in Martin’s work is still all too common. Even so, women seem to hold a higher stature in Martin’s work. In Tolkien, women are seen as damsels in distress or fair creatures. In Martin, women

                                                                    https://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Daenerys_Targaryen Dany starts out a naïve young girl. Her brother mistreats and threatens her. He even sells her off to be married in order to gain what he needs to reclaim the iron throne. After being sold off to Drogo, Dany has a “traditional” Dothraki wedding, complete with rape and murder. At her wedding, she is given three dragon eggs. These eggs lie dormant, but in time they gain importance. At the end of the ceremony, Dany is given a silver horse which she later rides to the place where she consummates her marriage to Drogo. In the book, this consummation is consensual. There is a period of waiting before she says yes. In the TV version, however, she is clearly raped. She cries as she is forced to have sex with Drogo. This is troublesome because the TV version portrays the scene in a completely different, more detrimental way than it was originally portrayed. A femal

A lot of fantasy is based on reality, whether it is high fantasy or gritty fantasy. And unfortunately, with reality comes real issues, one of those issues being the misunderstanding and misuse of masculinity. This problem is especially something we see in today's society and some elements of toxic masculinity are even encouraged in our culture. Luckily, some recent figures have emerged to turn this issue around, but it still remains relevant in stories such as Game of Thrones. First, let's define what toxic masculinity, healthy masculinity, and masculinity in general really are. I'd say that masculinity is the natural attributes and characteristics that men possess due to our high levels of testosterone. That's pretty simple and easy. Next, I'd say that healthy masculinity is when men use these characteristics to protect the weak and innocent, build and create, and inspire others to do the same. Now, toxic masculinity is the opposite, and it is a trap that many men

Saladin Ahmed's Throne of the Crescent Moon is the first novel of an anticipated trilogy. And, in a drastic change from every other fantasy series, his world features a colored majority, so much so that there are literally no white characters , a drastic departure from the hyper-white normative of the genre. Despite his clear descriptions of skin tone and very Middle Eastern setting, for whatever reason, readers, and even fans, still seem to think the characters are white. How do we know this? Take a look at the second image that pops up when you google the book's title. The artwork is clearly intended to be the main three characters of the book: Doctor Adoulla Makhslood, an aged ghoul hunter, Raseed bas Raseed, the Doctor's assistant, and Zamia Banu Laith Badawi, a "tribeswoman" who can take a holy form known as the Lionshape. This was likely produced by a fan, as it is not cover art, and we can make the assumption that people do not usually create such de

Rape Will Make Benjamins There has never been a deficiency in the raping of women in popular culture, but it seems to have reached a pinnacle in Game of Thrones . Writer Nina Raine said that “If you create a drama with a rape in it that doesn’t get talked about, that must surely be because the character didn’t get raped enough times”. This notion was specifically the case in the television show Game of Thrones. J.R.R Martin’s ideas were executed and altered to become more popular and interesting for the viewers. If you ponder on this idea, it sounds extraordinarily crude and twisted almost suggesting that mankind has no more morals left to scavenge for. The casual violence of rape in Game of Thrones has become so normative and playful to the extent that the audience forgets that it is wrong and immoral. Half the male cast in Game of Thrones are known for their authoritative, hyper-masculinity, and sexism toward women like chieftain of the Dothraki, Khal Drogo. However, these fact

Game of Thrones is a book written by George Martin. In this medieval fantasy tale, there are many references to blood and violence. This is because Game of Thrones is a type of fantasy referred to as gritty fantasy. Gritty fantasy is known for its blood, war, violence, grey lines, and rape. Sexual violence is very common and very present throughout the book. In fact, there is a theme of rape as a common thing among some cultures. Specifically, more in the Dothraki culture than in the White culture. Often in fantasy, there is a common theme of “Whiteness.” This is what Helen Young refers to as “Habits of Whiteness.” This idea is that the White race and their traditions and culture are put at the center of the book. In fact, the “Whiteness” is put above all other non-White races. A common theme in fantasy is that the White characters are often the good and well-respected characters and the non-White races are depicted as “savage-like.” For example, in Game of Thro

Breaking Down Hyper Masculinity in Tolkien’s World Building In Tolkien’s fantastical worlds, there are surprisingly many reflections to our own world’s issues. Tolkien’s world also suffers from the issues of misused-privileged power, war, racial and social inequities, and greed. Which of course means that there is bound to be gender discrimination and stereotypical (sometimes toxic) gender roles. Now this is not the only case in fantasy where stereotypical gender roles are the basis for world building. In fact, we are introduced to it at such an early age it becomes surprising when these societal norms are challenged. Even with Tolkien’s writing this style of character writing would not be a problem, only if it did not impact the readers own identity and development. As humans, we base our learning of societal norms and behaviors off of observations from the society that surrounds us. And of course a portion of this learning comes from the books that we read