Game of Woes

(This post initially started as a post about the increase in blatant misogyny in general - however, the rant about its underlying presence in Season five of Game of Thrones went on longer than I expected.)

If you follow me on Twitter, then you will know that I am currently incredibly passionate about and incredibly annoyed at the progression of the Game of Thrones storyline. Apart from the fact that it detracts from the books in respect of the general storyline, there have been several changes that have strong undertones of misogyny. The exclusion of two strong female characters, Lady Stoneheart and Arianne Martell (who is a point of view character), for me was the worst because, apart from the fact that they're two of my favourite characters, their presence in the story is significant as issues that GRRM explores in the book cannot be explored through other characters. Lady Stoneheart isn't a vengeful ghost - she represents the aftermath of someone who has lost all that is dear to her in the most brutal way possible. All the prettiness is stripped away to reveal the cold, hard and bitter truth. She is justice and she gives the Brotherhood a worthy cause. Arianne isn't another insignificant player in the games - she represents those who have attempted, and failed, to play the game based on manipulation and emotion rather than viewing the game from a birds eye view. She had, as she put it, played the Game of Thrones 'like a drunkard'. But she, unlike many others, has been given a chance to make up for her mistake and is guided by the mentorship of her father. This is where we start to see the combination of character growth and flaw, and I am so excited to see what GRRM has in store for her in The Winds of Winter.

Another character we see growing in the series to become a strong player with a different strategy is Sansa Stark, or rather Alayne Stone. She grows from the victim we saw her become in Kings Landing to a player who stays under the radar, much like her current protector Petyr Baelish. She plays the quiet, intelligent game and in the Alayne chapter from The Winds of Winter, we see her start to beat Petyr at his own game. We see POSITIVE things from Sansa!!!

So why the on earth do D&D ship her off to Winterfel to marry one of the most cruel characters in this series? To revert her to the victim she was in Kings Landing? We needed the Jeyne Poole storyline, we get that. But why Sansa? Because she's conveniently nearby? Why have we reduced Sansa to a plot device? Apart from the fact that this is incredibly lazy script writing, D&D have once again trampled over another female character's development and storyline to convenience themselves.

GRRM about Fanfiction.

This show is now so uncanon, it's a fanfiction; you can read all about GRRM's opinion on fanfictions here.

While we're on the topic of D&D's disregard for female significance in the series, can we please talk about how they've reduced Dorne to some tropical Southern paradise and the anti-climatic Sandsnakes. One of my book-burning friends comment on the Sandsnakes was that they were lame. Honestly, I don't blame him, given their portrayal in Season five. In the books, the Sandsnakes are such a force to be reckoned with that Doran has them locked up before they can avenge their father's death. In season five, we got this anti-climatic tug-o-war between Bronn and Jaime (wth is he doing in Dorne) and the Sandsnakes over Myrcella and an excuse for nudity. WHY ARE WE REDUCING THE EPIC SANDSNAKES TO LAME FIGHTERS AND 'SEDUCTRESSES' TO FILL D&D's NUDE SCENE QUOTA? Oh, and Ellaria has been reduced to a bloodthirsty, vengeful woman who lost her lover in the series, because that's easier than portraying her as a woman who loves her children and would rather keep peace to ensure they are safe and that some sanity remains in Dorne. More lazy screenwriting and female character reduction, curtesy of D&D.

Back to the topic of Dorne, the 'Kingdom of Acceptance', where base-born children are loved and not looked down upon. Where next in line to the throne is not determined based on gender but rather on age. Where the Martells are actually 'Nymeros-Martells' due to the significance and influence of Nymeria of Rhoyne. Why have D&D given us a summer island holiday resort instead of the only kingdom that didn't bend the knee, but joined the Seven Kingdoms through marriage. Why aren't we shown why the Martells, who rule Dorne, are 'Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken'? 

Why is it so difficult for the show to portray the women of the series as strong individuals, instead of reducing them to victims, manipulators and nude scenes, incapable of being worthy players in the game of thrones?

PS: Please do not use Dany to defend D&Ds misogyny. Half her storyline for this season has been cut, meaning book-burners don't get to see her full descent into madness (yaaaay for more female plotline reduction). Plus, in the tv series, she watched, with a straight face, her dragons burn alive and eat a fellow human being. She has no claim to the Iron Throne. Apart from the fact that she lost that claim after Robert's Rebellion, she knows nothing of Westeros or its people. Granted her own ancestors conquered Westeros with the aid of their dragons, so anything is possible - however, she would fly to Westeros with vengeance in her heart and claim that which she believes was taken from her. There are other, less selfish players who would serve the realm better than she would.

Hobbitsess and Stair-Surfing

After recently watching The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug, I became little obsessed with J.R.R. Tolkien's world and decided that it was time for me to finally watch the Lord of the Rings. Yes, I know. It took me a decade to watch the movies. But to be honest, I'm happy I've only watched them now. I don't think I would have fully appreciated the depth of the story and its characters if I'd watched it when I was younger.

My favourite aspects were the Sam/Frodo bromance, the Legolas/Gimli bromance, Frodo's emotional, physical and mental journey, Eowyn's role, Legolas' stair-surfing, arrow-shooting badassery and Treebeard. The soundtrack is, by far, the BEST soundtrack I've listened to and I want it on my wedding playlist. The acting is fantastic and the trilogy definitely deserved every Oscar award, nomination and other accolades it received. If possible, I'd like to retire in Hobbiton. 

My favourite quotes/scenes from each of the movies:

The Fellowship of the Ring

Sam is about to take the furthest step he's ever taken from the Shire and Frodo tells Sam something Bilbo always told him:

"It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to." 

The Two Towers

You couldn't not love Sam, especially after this scene towards the end of the movie:

Frodo: I can't do this, Sam. 

Sam: I know. It's all wrong. By rights we shouldn't even be here. But we are. It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something.

Frodo: What are we holding onto, Sam?

Sam: That there's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo... and it's worth fighting for.

Return of the King

Of course this is going to be on my list of favourite scenes. It's one of the few scenes with female badassery.

Witch King: You fool. No man can kill me. Die now. 

[As he tries to strangle her, Merry stabs him in the leg. She is released and remoes her helmet]

Eowyn: I am no man.

***

I'm going to read the books. Obviously. Actually, I'm almost done with The Hobbit and during my next, reasonably long holiday I'll start with the trilogy. My best friend read it when we were in high school. She was apparently traumatized by its length and 'unnecessary' detail of scenery and refuses to watch the movies. From what I've gathered, though set in the same world as The Hobbit, it's not written in the same tone or light as its prequel. So the read should be interesting.

Just found out that J.R.R. Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein. Which is in my country. Which is Epiiiiiiiiiiic.

Oh, and also, Happy New Year!

Kindle vs Books

Today I was waltzing about my favourite shop, Exclusive Books, and as my sister and I were considering which Sherlock Holmes volume to purchase, when a man came up to us and suggested that we download the free eBooks. I told him eBooks hurt my eyes, and he suggested we buy a Kindle, an eBook reader. I've seen a Kindle before, and I love the fact that it has a 'dull' screen so it's easy on the eyes, but at the same token, it doesn't have a book smell or feel. But in any case I figured it wouldn't hurt to research it and see whether it is worth saving up for.

Pros:
- eBooks are quick to download
- Gentle on the eyes
- It's light
- You can carry your library around with you (reading fiction during lecture made easy)
- You don't pay extra for hardback books
- You can adjust the screen format to suit your needs (bigger font, etc)

Cons:
- There's no book smell
- There's no turning of pages
- There's no 'hardback' version, so no spine labels on my books
- Chances are, my mother will see the electronic device as a distraction from my studies and confiscate it as a form of punishment. She's done this with my books before, but it's easier to hide a Kindle than it is to hide a thousand paged book. Also, the Kindle would have all my books, which means all my books would be confiscated.
- Because technology comes with unaccommodating prices, we'd probably only get one. So my sister and I would fight over it, thus increasing her argument about me being her 'arch enemy' (See, she's going through this Sherlock phase and refuses to call me anything but Mycroft and responds to nothing but Sherlock - She even changed our names on my mother's cellphone address-book. She's sixteen years old.)
- Lack of physical books means I won't have enough reason to build a secret library with a secret passage in my future home.

The Kindle is about R 1 600 if I'm not mistaken. Currently, the A Song of Ice and Fire box set is just under R 1 000 at Exclusive Books. I'm sorry Kindle, but that box set comes with a map of Westeros and the Seven Free Cities, which already has a spot on my wall. Maybe next year.

Ice and Fire

I've not yet blogged about my recent obsession, mostly because I haven't had time to blog in the last few months, however I'm both pleased and petrified to announce that I have a new, growing obsession which is showing clear signs of becoming almost as time consuming as Harry Potter is for me. 

I started watching Game of Thrones about two months ago and, with some time on my hands, I've started the books. Books are better, just saying. Although the TV series is pretty good. 

Instead of bombarding my blog with ASoIaF posts, I figured it would be better if I just fangirled on Tumblr - which is why I've created a new blog from my Tumblr account. 

Oh, and I LOVE Arya Stark.

Controversial or Disrespectful?

In my opinion, there are two types of controversial statements; one which offends a societal ideal and one which is downright disrespectful. I shamefully enjoy the first type of controversy; it's really interesting to see different ideology being challenged, particularly on a creative platform - my favourite being dramatic arts. But just reading up on Salman Rushdie's 'The Satanic Verses' was enough to make me cringe audibly.

Basically in 1988 author Salman Rushdie (I prefer not to refer to him by his newly acquired 'Knight' status) published this book and, though it is classified under the genre of 'magical realism' in fiction, it contains clear, controversial elements directly linked to the Prophet Muhammed (PBUH), His life, His family and the Origins of the Holy Qur'aan. Rushdie is clearly well-read, but to use his talent and knowledge for blaspheme is petty and disrespectful. Perhaps he doesn't like Islam or its teachings, and that's okay. That's his opinion. But to intentionally include incorrect and offensive information about something that is important to someone else; where is the respect in that? How does he expect anyone to respect his work if he disrespects others?

At the time of publication, there was (naturally) a huge uproar in the Muslim world about the book. First it was band in several countries, which is acceptable. But a year later, the Iranian government released a Fatwa which ordered the execution of Rushdie and his publishers. As much as I dislike this man and his blaspheme, I really do think that this Fatwa is the worst thing that could have happened. Yes, the book is a clear crime against Islam, but to retaliate with violence doesn't exactly help to improve the image of our religion. The media has a wonderful talent of highlighting the extremist behaviour of people who call Islam their religion and occurrences like these only create a negative image. I understand the anger and frustration over the book and its content, but there was unnecessary loss of life that resulted from the Fatwa.

I came across this quote when I was reading up on the Rushdie Affair:

“What is freedom of expression? Without the freedom to offend, it ceases to exist.” - Salman Rushdie

If expression simply means 'to offend', then you need to rethink your ideas, Mr. Rushdie. Literature and expression is about so much more that about being controversial and offensive. When I was in high school, one of my English teachers raved about Rushdie's work, but I'd remembered my mother telling me about a book he had written which insulted the Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) and so I mentally cast him aside. Perhaps he is a fantastic writer and deserves those awards he has received for his works, but I cannot possibly enjoy the acclaimed literary merit of his writing when he has published such an atrocity.

Untouched Pages

So the sad truth of my holiday; excessive stress, unsurprising procrastination and a whole. stack. of. untouched. books. And, of course, today I unashamedly added another book to that stack. This one was well-worth it though. As soon as I'm done with Ms Austen's Sense and Sensibility, I'll be attacking this one.

The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith. I mean J. K. Rowling. I would love to go into excruciating detail about the big reveal that my favourite author published a book under a pseudonym, but in light of keeping with my birthday "No Procrastinating" resolution, I want to keep this post short. You can read about it at MuggleNet. My wonderful friend managed to get me one of the last copies of the First Edition of this book - i.e.: the book has no traces of J. K. Rowling in it.

Pray I get over the initial booksniffing stage, then perhaps I'll get down to the reading.