Austin Brown

          Despite being a very gritty, medieval fantasy show that focuses on politics and the specifics of warfare, Game Of Thrones has managed to encapsulate much more than swords and spears. Part of why George R.R Martin has seen such wide success in his books and subsequent television adaptations are through his realistic depictions of character relations. Persons, places, things, all of it is perfectly articulated to readers and viewers so that they can vicariously live through the books and adaptations; a king perhaps, a knight, a peasant, slave, and all their interactions woven together in ways that make the world feel alive and become something that could very much be real (Rees, 2013, p. 57)
          Realism is not simply achieved through pure detail in the artwork. There is much more to a drawing then what is shown on a canvas. An artist has brushes, paints, oils, primers, different painting surfaces that alter the way the paint and brush interact with the material. Consequently here the landscape is much more than a typical medieval fantasy setting, and the reason why Game Of Thrones has such an excellent cast of characters, including LGBT, which is what the analysis will focus on (Ross, 2011, p.112). How, then, does this all tie together? And why mention all this at all if the critique is purely focusing on the LGBT aspect? Granted, it is because it all seamlessly integrates into the world, all themes are maturely handled and naturally fit in this fantasy both realistically and somewhat stylistically but never to a degree that would break the immersion. LGBT is presented in a way that does not feel forced, but sits perfectly in the world as a natural factor. This is what should be the gold standard to presenting themes such as this; not overt, but maturely handled. Subtle, but not underrepresented as many might say (Aschenbrenner, 2010, p. 10).
          Specifically, there are many characters in GOT that have displayed LGBT characteristics, though a keen eye is required to catch some of these, as it should be. Game of Thrones takes place in a very traditional, albeit exaggerated fantasy version of medieval Europe, with a couple exceptions. Being homosexual is seen as rather controversial, but not completely taboo in the GOT universe, both in the books and the television adaption though the depictions are slightly altered between the two, notably a couple instances that have been written off from the book (Aschenbrenner, 2010, p. 18), though I would not consider this neutering the source material, rather screentime for the show is limited compared to the books and so many things not including LGBT content had been cut to make the air. That said, the tabooness varies between scenes, and some characters are even openly gay, such as Oberyn Martell, a prince of Dorne with preference for both men (boys) and women, his famous quote “bed with boys” could be taken literally. This could be misconstruted as being pedofilic, but that is also a very common theme, and something that seems to go hand in hand with homosexuality in many of the scenes (Rees, 2013, p. 67).
          Many of these characters have huge flaws but also play critical roles in the advancement of the story. Sex and nudity are both common themes, so much so that homosexuality is not surprising both to the reader and characters in the books and show. In this way, LGBT has been presented as simply another element that ties into the rest of these themes rather than being placed upon a pedestal and worshipped in comparison to more recent television (Ross, 2012, p. 152).
          The relationship that Renly Baratheon has with Loras Tyrell, known colloquially as the “Knight Of Flowers” is hugely pivotal because it directly hinders Renly’s chances of becoming a claimant to the 7 kingdoms. If outed as gay, he could very well be forced to step down as King of The Andals and removed from the Game Of Thrones altogether. There is a very important scene that shows Renly’s problem siring a heir, unable to bed his official wife and assert his rule through a child. Without a future child, Renly has no successor, and with no successor he has no current claims, all of this ties into his sexuality and internal struggles that manifest as he desperately balances being a proud king and a secret lover of some young knight. Both conflict with each other, and the choice is obvious to both him and the audience watching; he has to give up his gay relationship and sire a heir. It is important to note that his queen Margery Tyrell knows of Renly’s relationship with her brother, ironically she asks him in one particular scene if she can bring in Loras to “warm him up” before bedding her, to which he quickly refuses. This is all shown very quickly, and once seen once the audience instantly knows what the issue is (Martin, 2011, p. 562)
          It’s such a good scene because it captures something that most LGBT friendly shows seem to miss; forwarding a story through sexuality, but not revolving around the sexuality itself. There is no gay sex scene or random kissing to assert to the viewer “I am gay!” rather the clues and context are all that is needed. The second factor here, and arguably the most important is that LGBT themes are not pushed to the forefront, rather lay set as a driving factor behind motivations and conflicts. The writing is done in such a way that we are not drawn to his sexuality, rather his sexuality brings forth a new issue that we are now concerned with: his inability to sire a heir. That is how these themes should be handled,
          George R.R Martin is so lauded as an author. He takes themes and twists it into his own narrative as just another part of the story. It all feels so organic. For gay characters to collude so naturally, their own schemes hindered by something as base as sexual preference is truly amazing, and for the books and television show to pull it off all so naturally without coming off as forced tells volumes of his writing.
 
References
Martin, George R. R. A Game Of Thrones: Book One Of A Song Of Ice And Fire. New York : Bantam Books, 2011, c1996. Print.

Ross, Karen. The Handbook of Gender, Sex, and Media. John Wiley & Sons, 2012. Print.

Rees, John. Game Of Thrones: The Enduring Powers of Monarchy in a Post-Imperial Age. University of Notre Dame, 2013. Print.

Aschenbrenner, Eva. Gender Constructions in George R.R. Martin’s fantasy novel series A Song of Ice and Fire. Passau, Univ., Diplomarbeit, 2010. Print.

 

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