Morons of the Internet: The Mary Sue

This is the segment where I scour my favorite forums around the internet and find some particularly interesting articles about current affairs told in the words from some of my favorite human beings.

In this edition we have a ridiculous reaction to the recent episode of 'Game of Thrones', which was controversial to many people who haven't yet worked out that fictional stories aren't actually documentaries. Obviously there will be spoilers for the latest series in one of my all time favorite TV shows.
_______________________________________________________________________
http://www.themarysue.com/we-will-no-longer-be-promoting-hbos-game-of-thrones/
_______________________________________________________________________

So as far as I'm concerned there really isn't an issue here, just a website dedicated to pop culture having a little whinge because a television show because it's different to the books they once read. I don't understand how that isn't a good thing, since rehashing the books would just be lazy and predictable. Surely you should be praising the production team for adapting their piece of art from the novels and giving it a new message; but apparently not according to the world of 'The Mary Sue'. And what is the punishment for creating a piece of mature art. Why it's a pathetic attempt to boycott the show, just because they wished a scene hadn't happened. Well you really are a piece of shit aren't you, acting like a three year old child when things don't go your way. I'm actually glad you're not promoting the show anymore as then hopefully the producers won't have to pander to your needs anymore, and can hopefully write in more gripping and powerful scenes like the one you're referring to. I'm pretty sure the writers don't advocate or enjoy writing about the topic of rape, but just because you wish it didn't happen doesn't justify removing it from a mature rated television show.

But my main issue with this argument is that I have a feeling this isn't about the mature themes presented in 'Game of Thrones', as they've watched men being butchered, tortured and murdered. According to 'The Mary Sue' that's absolutely fine, and the thing that causes them to stop watching the show is not when countless people lose their lives, but a single female character being objectified. If that's honestly the case then you really need to re-evaluate your priorities, as if you aim to promote equality then your logic is completely flawed. If you as a human being are getting offended by a fictional television show, only to make a point about real life, then you need to consider whether you actually are professional journalists, and not just a group of moronic radicals. Later on you admit that you saw this event being foreshadowed, so why would you suddenly fall out of favour with a mature rated television show that's obviously going to show mature themes like this one? Surely you must have understood that rape might have been a recurring theme, like maybe it would be in historical films like 'Schindler's List'. That's a film about The Holocaust, so I expected graphic scenes. 'Game of Thrones' is a mature show set in medieval times, so again I expected the shocking scenes that take place. If I boycott the show does that solve the problem? No, of course it doesn't, and it doesn't validate why artists shouldn't always be unrestricted when creating their work.

Okay, I accept that rape may not be a necessary plot device; but then what is in the world of art? You have to ask yourself why films like 'The Godfather' are often ranked higher than films such as 'Hannah Montana', and one of the reasons is because the first conveys mature and powerful themes. Rape is one of these controversial themes that brings out a lot of emotion in audiences worldwide, so why shouldn't the creators be allowed to use it? If rape isn't a necessary plot device then neither is murder, torture or strong language, but I never saw you complaining about those. I'm pretty sure you're alright about the idea of creative freedom until it trespasses into your category of plot devices labelled 'sexist', and then suddenly it's the worst thing in the world.

Thankfully though this time we have a reliable source to back our argument up with. Yes it's good old Saladin, who's presumably not up to his old tricks of butchering Crusaders in the name of religion. Saladin thinks that comparing the validity of themes in 'Game of Thrones' and the new 'Mad Max' film is a good idea. That's a comparison of 'Game of Thrones', the fictional medieval based television series, and 'Mad Max', the futuristic dystopian movie. Yeah that's a really valid comparison. What's next, 'The Teletubbies'? You see Saladin, you can't possibly try and demonise the messages in one piece of film through the use of a drastically different piece of film, because that might make your argument slightly invalid and almost completely worthless. So what if the writers of 'Mad Max' chose not to use one serious theme. Does that now make it inadvisable for anyone else to use that theme for artistic merit? Stanley Kubrick didn't use the theme of incest in his film 'A Clockwork Orange', and that was a mature rated film intended to shock the viewer; so does that mean that the writers of 'Game of Thrones' can't use that theme as well? You still haven't given a reason why the writers should not use rape as a theme. You just haven't got round the fact that some people, including myself, found it a very moving scene that only added to the strong narrative of the series.

Oh sorry, I've been mistaken all along. It seems this article was actually written by the team behind 'Game of Thrones', as you've actually started to dictate whether violence is necessary or not in the character. Let's get this straight; as an member of the audience that's not your decision, since you had fuck all to do with its creation. Not according to The Thought Police here, who for some reason have worked out that because rape happens once, it can never happen again. Someone ought to tell serial killers this, as they'd be delighted with this piece of logic. If this is the case then why do multiple characters need to be killed off? Surely just the one is needed to be killed to establish that murder happens in this world, and so that makes it out to be realistic. If you accept that Ramsay Bolton is portrayed as the evil villain, then why would he keep his promise to not hurt Sansa Stark? Surely that's to be expected. Maybe you do have a point that the writers could have blurred the lines between what's morally right and wrong, but that's not up to you to decide, and instead must approach your analysis from an analytical perspective since it's a piece of art you're referring to. You still haven't actually produced a single valid argument to suggest why rape shouldn't have happened in this episode, only that if it were up to you it would be different, which is totally irrelevant.

Your argument just has this stupid assumption that because a bad event happens once it can't happen again. If you understood what you were complaining about or asked someone who has been in the business a long time, say Francis Ford Coppola, then they will tell you that showing just a single Vietnamese citizen being mowed down by machine guns is not enough to effectively portray the significance of violence in the film 'Apocalypse Now'. Coppola knew that people were aware that the American Army committed atrocities towards the Vietnamese people, so why did he need to show more than one citizen being slaughtered? Then your argument somehow manages to become even worse. We then come out with this ludicrous remark that the writers took Sansa's emotional journey away from her by putting it in the hands of another character. Again, it's an assumption that only one character could possibly be effected by the horrors of medieval life, and god help us if that isn't the case. I'm sorry that Sansa wasn't empowering enough for you in this scene, and if you want to throw a hissy fit when fictional events don't fit your agenda then please feel free to not broadcast it all over the internet. 'Game of Thrones' must be subjectively analysed, so stop making assumptions based on your biased beliefs. Your whole argument is just a bit pathetic really, and we've now resorted to legitimising our own argument through fictional events. Good going.

Yeah, why shouldn't the whole story revolve around her? It's clear that nobody else was affected by this travesty, only her. This obsession that Sansa is the integral part of the plot is really pissing me off, but not as much as this constant referral to Sansa being a real person. If you're making an argument about the interpretation of a fictional character then under no circumstances should you discuss them as if they were real. Sansa Stark is an artistic creation, nothing more, and not only does this get you a 'U' grade in your English Literature coursework, but it completely invalidates your whole argument. Sansa wasn't raped in reality, so stop trying to suggest that she was. As you quite rightly say, people with a shred of intelligence will hand wave it by because they understand that IT DIDN'T FUCKING HAPPEN. I'm sure if a real person was raped then the opposite would happen and it would be an issue that affected them, but since you have no evidence to prove this link, it cannot be a point used to back up your argument. Most rational people have the ability to distinguish between real life and fantasy from about the age of eight, and so they understand that this sequence might not reflect reality.

It just doesn't matter if rape is not justified in the real world; although it actually does, but that has nothing to do with the argument since SANSA STARK IS NOT A REAL PERSON. If you're affected by the theme of rape, which it's become quite clear that you are, then why the fuck do you watch a television programme rated for adults. Did it not cross your mind that graphic scenes would be depicted? It's not rated 'mature' for the banter. It's rated 'mature' because it has mature themes in it. Sexual violence was never glorified or trivialised; it was treated as a controversial theme that required a lot of care. I have to say the same cannot be said for the constant theme of murder that runs throughout the show, but then that ignorance reflects the contemporary society of this fictional world, and that's a good thing from a narrative that puts you right in the action. There's a fine line between seeing a shocking scene in a work of fiction and then acting on this observation in terms of reality. That's a point you can't quite seem to grasp, which is quite embarrassing from a website with a journalistic approach. Authors create separate worlds for a reason; I wish someone would have explained that to you before coming up with this stupid article.

Oh here we go again. You can't even conclude without referring to your opinion that the show should revolve around your needs. What a self centered way of looking at the situation, completely ignoring the creative ingenuity of the writers for creating a shocking scene that clearly affected you. I on the other hand believe that shocking themes create poignant pieces of art, and as such this scene should be celebrated for its cinematic merit. I understand that some people might have differing views on that, but that does not justify boycotting something to ruin it for the masses. Maybe this is a blessing in disguise. Maybe this reaction will give the writers at HBO more creative freedom to explore more pressing subjects, and that would add a new dimension to the show without your pitiful complaints.

But this little tantrum is not the sole reason you're featured as being a total 'moron'. Oh no, not only are you really fucking ignorant, but also a massive hypocrite as well. You see I suspected that this tirade would be based on your clouded agenda, and so I did a little search to find your views on a novel called 'The Kite Runner'. The following link is the article I found: (http://www.themarysue.com/state-of-americas-libraries-report/) The focal scene in 'The Kite Runner' is when a boy is raped in war torn Afghanistan. Do you condemn this act that is surely unnecessary? No. In fact you don't even mention it. You deny its very existence, despite happily naming all the other strong themes in the novel. This not only tells me that you're a bunch of hypocritical assholes, but that you only care about the subject of rape when it's women that are being oppressed. You don't boycott the book in response to this graphic scene, but instead promote it because it was released by a person of minority. Talk about double standards. Un-fucking-believable. If rape can't be shown in 'Game of Thrones' then why the fuck should 'The Kite Runner' be allowed to? Is it because the author wasn't a white male? Some 'equality' this website advocates.

However this brief detour doesn't get away from the fact that condemning a shocking scene for being shocking is just stupid. Why don't you actually complain about things that matter; a fictional television show is going to have no effect on reality. 'Game of Thrones' wasn't the first piece of radical media to show a mature theme, and neither will it be the last; so it turns out you'll be boycotting a lot more films. Rape sends messages to the viewer about society at the time of the setting, and possibly mirroring attitudes of the modern world. Does that mean it should be criticised for doing that? Absolutely not. It's not aimed at children for a reason.