SPOILER ALERT- Yes.
“Game of Thrones”, the television show, has never shied away from controversy, and in fact seems to thrive on provocative programming. However, last night may have crossed the line into a place where I dare not follow. If this is a sign of what’s to come, then I’m tuning out from here on in.
SPOILER ALERT
In the most recent episode viewers were forced to bear witness to a scene of White Walkers and thousands of wights accosting men for no other reason than they wear black and forcibly removing them from their homes. The leader of the “Crows”, Jon Snow, looks on in horror as the new wight population of Hardhome rise up from the ground, presumably to erect multipurpose apartment complexes. For “Game of Thrones” to so uncritically depict gentrification in action is irresponsible and offensive.
What’s next for “Hardhome”? Imitation boutiques and overpriced coffee, I’d imagine..
The wights depicted in this show seem to have no concept of the damage they are inflicting upon the society. With an innate sense of entitlement they literally drop down on the village below and yet still seem to take offense when the current impoverished citizens aggressively defend their home, even as they retreat to marginalized places elsewhere.
Don’t these creatures realize that their newly discovered immortality is purely the product of chance, the fact that they were lucky enough to have been reborn as undead in a racially pure wight society?
One of the big problems here seems to be the arrogant assumption (based on their actions) that everyone wants to be a wight. There’s actually no evidence or reason beyond basic prejudice to believe that wights are any better than living people, or have more skills. In fact, considering they same to decompose like zombies and show little range of emotion being focused aggression, I’d say the life of a wight seems pretty sad and boring.
They certainly can’t sing or dance. Listen, wight people, falling off the steep side of a mountain and rising again to confront the living with your come-ons is NOT dancing. It’s just pathetic, really.
And don’t tell me that the wights takeover of the city was meant as a “deconstruction.” If we were meant to believe so, than why was the wights’ victory shown in such titillating fashion? Why is this episode being hailed as “cinematic” and one of the best-staged battles of the season?
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I have nothing else to say, except that this dude needs to put his fucking shirt on.
Culture Time 