A Game of Consent

                      George R.R. Martin is the author of the brilliant series “A Song of Ice and Fire”, a series now depicted on HBO for four seasons under the title “Game of Thrones”. However, the title of the show isn’t the only departure from the now adapted book series. With any adaptation changes must be made; characters eliminated, plot lines reworked and time lines rewritten, but through it all the fundamental portrayal of the fantasy world of Westeros remained (at least somewhat) intact. However, there is a major difference that has books fans reeling—several consensual and loving relationships have been changed and filmed to include rape. From changing the nature of Daenerys and her new husband Khal Drogo’s relationship to Cersei Lannister and her lover (and twin brother) Jamie Lannister’s bond, show runners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have time and again allowed for the addition of gratuitous rape scenes for nothing more than pure shock value. These scenes permeate rape culture and allow for rape to become an acceptable occurrence in these relationships, and even worse the show runners themselves can’t seem to determine what the term “rape” actually means.

            All the way back in 2011, we were introduced to the television series “Game of Thrones”, and the fantasy land of Westeros had come alive. Though set in a fictional kingdom, the time period resembled that of the early medieval era in Europe—in terms of customs, social, and societal representation. This is especially true when it come to the age of the characters in the ASoIaF series. It has been expressed by both fans of the book and television series that the age of the characters in GoT’s portrayal was a welcomed change. For example, in the books Robb Stark and Jon Snow are fourteen years old, Sansa Stark is twelve and Arya Stark is eight—the television series hired older actors making their character development more palatable to a wider audience. A character like Daenerys Targaryen who is a mere thirteen years old in the books is now portrayed by Emilia Clarke (who is an entire decade older) making Dany’s marriage to her nearly thirty year old husband that much more unsettling to book readers. However this change also allowed for the nature of Daenerys’ relationship with her husband to change as well. In the show, at the end of her wedding ceremony Daenerys and her new husband leave their guests to consummate their marriage—Daenerys is shoved on her hands and knees while her new husband pays no mind to the fact that she is terrified (and crying) and rapes her. As the season progresses, so too does Daenerys. Dany establishes a connection with her new husband (and people) and that appreciation grows into love. This character development inherently changes the entire nature of Daenerys from her book character. By presenting Dany as a woman who “grew to love her rapist”, we reinforce rape ideology established in today’s society. It implies that somehow this act of violence can be reinterpreted as an act of passion and that a strong female character like Daenerys doesn’t have control over her own body. Moreover, it implies that a relationship once based originally off of mutual love and understanding in the books is now that of a dominant and submissive relationship dynamic.  In the book, Khal sensing Dany’s nervousness states simply “no” and then sits with Dany until she seems to relax, having her undo both his and her hair. Then instead of stating “no” once again, he poses it in the form of a question to which Dany responds “yes”.

This difference marks the start of what David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have done time and time again—adding in rape as some sort of troupe, which can establish the dominance of men. We see it at least a couple of times a season, whether it is between two main characters or thrown into the background of a scene where men are sacking a city—the effect is the same—it reinforces rape culture. As Margret Lyons explains “I'm not opposed to shows depicting sexual violence, but rape-as-prop is always distressing, particularly in a show like this, where that disregard echoes the kinds of ideas that foster rape culture in the first place: that women's feelings don't matter, that sexual agency isn't a big deal, that rape is something that just kind of happens and that healthy people simply move on.” It is this idea that caused a major firestorm in the GoT fandom this season. With changes made to the timeline of the series, certain scenes had to be altered. Jamie Lannister’s return to King’s Landing was moved up and therefore Cersei and Jamie didn’t reunite in the tomb of their dead son Joeffrey, but three episodes earlier—with their reunion both unemotional and underwhelming. So, it isn’t shocking that when the two interact after their son’s death the scene had to be re-written. That passionate and yet forbidden interaction from the book now doesn’t make much sense as they have been around one another for days, if not weeks. The solution? According to the show runners a “semi-consensual” sex scene (as if that even exists). Jamie enters to room to mourning Cersei and kisses her; she pulls away. Jamie angrily replies, “You’re a hateful women. Why have the Gods made me love a hateful woman?” He then forces her to the ground. Cersei pushes away begging him to stop, saying no several times and that this isn’t right. Jamie’s response? “I don’t care.” Apparently both the actor that plays Jamie, and the director have different ideas on what constitutes rape. In a Daily Beast article, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, who plays Jamie Lannister, was asked if he thought that this scene was rape, “Yes, and no. There are moments where she gives in, and moments where she pushes him away. But it’s not pretty.” In addition to Nikolaj’s response, the director Alex Graves echoed a similar opinion. “Well, it becomes consensual by the end, because anything for them ultimately results in a turn-on, especially a power struggle.” The problem with this is it implies that Cersei “really wanted it” and that because the two had had a sexual relationship in the past that it implied consent. Moreover, it establishes the idea that at any point a partner doesn’t have the right to withdraw consent. These ideas create a standard in rape culture and what is more upsetting is that there is still a debate-taking place in society as what constitutes rape. The fact that we use terms like “consensual sex” and “non-consensual sex” as if it is anything other than sex and rape is ridiculous.

Another important factor in Jamie’s character that most people don’t seem to consider is why Jamie Lannister is missing a hand in the first place. Jamie Lannister escaped his captures only to return to protect his traveling companion, Brienne, because he feared not only for her life but feared that she would be raped—because he tries to go back a save her he ends up losing his hand. What’s more, he had stated early that if he were a woman, he would rather die than be raped. It is in his nature and character to be a better man—a man that knows how vile and violent rape is and wouldn’t wish it on anyone. An individual like Jamie, whose character grew to learn right from wrong, is a man that would never rape any woman let alone someone he loves, but the television series abandons his character growth and instead he is made to rape Cersei for pure shock value. What’s worse, is as the season progressed their exchanged was never addressed and their relationship never changed. In fact, as of the season four finale it would seem that Jamie and Cersei are happier than ever…which just makes it that much worse.  

References:

“What That Game of Thrones Scene Says About Rape Culture”

By Tara Culp-Ressler

http://thinkprogress.org/culture/2014/04/21/3429107/game-of-thrones-rape/

“Yes, Of Course That Was Rape on Last Night’s Game of Thrones”

By Margaret Lyons

http://www.vulture.com/2014/04/rape-game-of-thrones-cersei-jaime.html

“For ‘Game of Thrones,’ Rising Unease Over Rape’s Recurring Role”

By Dave Itzkoff

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/03/arts/television/for-game-of-thrones-rising-unease-over-rapes-recurring-role.html?_r=0