Game of Thrones: A reinvention of fantasy television
Game of Thrones is easily the most widely-viewed and popular fantasy television series of the decade. It achieved an average of 31 million viewers per episode this past season, and so has amassed millions of devotees accustomed to its mix of genre and gritty, often shocking realism. But how has it done this and what are the repercussions for fantasy and its modern perceptions?
Fantasy has often been a misunderstood genre, with many considering the originality, rule-breaking and world-building essential to its creation to be childish. It hasn’t helped that many of the starring fantasy roles in this century’s popular media have been young adult series such as Harry Potter, which while featuring mature themes and encouraging a worldwide audience of varying age, cannot represent wholly adult fantasy. However, it could be argued that Harry Potter paved the way for a modern change of perception, for it to be no longer ‘uncool’ to invest in a fantasy series, especially for anyone over eighteen. Many parallels can be drawn between it and Game of Thrones, with how each have gradually become cultural phenomena far greater than just their wonderful source material. Fans of Harry Potter have grown up to be as dedicated as ever, a generation with eyes widened to the possibilities of enjoying adult fantasy without the stigma, especially due to the enforcement of merchandise, studio tours and theme parks integrated into popular culture.
Within television, source material author George R. R. Martin (A Song of Ice and Fire) himself admitted that prior to Game of Thrones, networks assumed fantasy shows were for children, and placed them in corresponding time slots. His 1980s show Beauty and the Beast, despite ambitions to make it a ‘sophisticated adult drama’, was unable to thrive due to it airing pre-watershed at 8pm. It is easy to see how Game of Thrones could have been quashed without HBO’s risk-taking, post-watershed slot and the following freedom of expression that adult fantasy needs and the series has become renowned for.
So how has this allowed Game of Thrones to become so extraordinary within fantasy? At first glance, its combination of genres already stands out, with heavy influences of historical and political drama. What makes the conflicting mix so convincing and effective is that it is inspired by real historical events such as the War of the Roses, and even the Red Wedding — arguably one of the most shocking and disturbing events of the entire series — has direct parallels in Scottish history. The creators use this to make the series integrally more believable than ‘typical’ fantasy — a hard-hitting, alternate history that keeps you on the edge of your seat through its uncommonly convincing connection with reality.
The most widely-recognised, remarkable staple of Game of Thrones is of course its willingness to sacrifice main characters. This detracts from the stigma of safe, fairytale-like and expected happy endings in much of children’s fantasy, that good will triumph over evil with minimum pain. It is combined with a second rejection of fantasy expectation — morally ambiguous characters — which allows the audience to root for initially evil-seeming characters and vice versa with the good, as they develop throughout the series. No-one is a black or white hero or villain in Game of Thrones, and any one of them could meet their end at any moment. This creates a special unpredictability and connection with the audience that is unusual in television, let alone in a fantasy series.
And following the sacrifice of main characters comes adult content little seen in fantasy on the small screen. It is awash with violence and gore that wouldn’t be amiss in a horror movie — let’s not forget Oberyn Martell — a beautiful array of swearing that keeps you on your toes and often smiling, and nudity which — thankfully in my opinion, considering the female bias — has actually decreased over the seasons, but is still evident and revitalizing to the genre.
All of this comes together to make the audience sometimes even forget they are watching a fantasy series, until the odd dragon or flaming sword appears. This means the demographic is vast and varied, with something for everyone and many undoubtedly not fantasy fans. It is also important to remember the sheer scale of Game of Thrones and its budget, as the visual promise of CGI, battle sequences and stunning, worldwide locations, the many, twisting plotlines and characters and even the professionalism of the costumes and props, has made watching the series a cinematic event. With the streamed box set becoming ever more the norm for television audiences, it was undoubtedly a clever move by HBO to shift ‘big budget audio-visual productions away from cinema and into prestige TV’. Its success has drawn from its unique reflection of current television culture, and it couldn’t have arrived at a more opportune time in our ever-evolving, technology-focused world.
So what does this mean for fantasy television in the future? Networks are inevitably attempting to replicate Game of Thrones’ success with more adult, epic fantasy and historical drama series such as Emerald City, The Shannara Chronicles and The Last Kingdom, as well as upcoming series by prominent UK networks including BBC’s Troy: Fall of a City and Sky Atlantic’s Brittania. Game of Thrones has opened a new demographic’s eyes to fantasy, and network eyes worldwide to adult fantasy television, so this is most definitely an exciting time to be a fantasy fan. There are a plethora of young adult series out there featuring everything from magic to vampires, but hopefully now with Game of Thrones as an example, more mature series will be aired amidst those relying a little too heavily on romance and bad CGI. I can quite happily predict that if even a handful of series are coming our way with half of the production and writing value of our favourite, brutal predecessor, fantasy television will prove itself to be changed forever thanks to Game of Thrones.
Edited by Maryam Elahi
