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