Game Of Thrones: Rape Myths Between Men And Women

According to Kahlor and Eastin, general television consumption is “related significantly to first and second order rape myths among men and women” (Kahlor and Eastin, 217). Sex-related crimes account for 10% of all dialogue on television programs related to sex, and “most of it (80%) is found in fictional programs” (Kahlor and Eastin, 217). HBO’s Game of Thrones is no stranger to controversy concerning its depiction of women and sexual violence. Recently, the head writers of the show, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, have received harsh criticism and backlash from female fans for their unnecessary use of rape as a plot device, particularly after an episode that aired early last year. In episode six of season five, entitled “Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken,”

one of the main protagonists, Sansa Stark, is raped by her newly wedded sadistic husband, Ramsay Bolton, in the presence of her childhood friend and fellow victim of Ramsay’s abuse, Theon Greyjoy (“Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken”). From a storytelling perspective, the rape of Sansa is completely extraneous. First of all, according to George R.R. Martin’s books, Sansa is not raped by Ramsay. Instead, Ramsay marries and rapes a minor character named Jeyne Poole. Due to Sansa’s absorption of Jeyne, her rape is not necessary to the plot. Nonetheless, the writers still attempted to utilize rape to further the story, but failed because the scene simply “regurgitates information” the audience is already aware about regarding the three characters present (Leon). Benioff and Weiss’s intention of the scene to foreshadow a revenge plot for Sansa is useless; she has no further incentive to despise the Boltons, for they conquered her home of Winterfell and are responsible for the murder of her mother and oldest brother. The scene is also meant to illustrate Ramsay’s depravity, of which the audience is perfectly aware based on his torture of Theon throughout season three and an episode in season four in which he sends vicious hunting dogs after one of his victims and happily watches as they tear her apart (“The Lion and the Rose”). Finally, the writers’ aim to stimulate Theon’s hatred towards Ramsay with this scene are fruitless; Theon’s reasons for hating him are already set in stone after Ramsay not only spent months torturing and humiliating him, but even went as far as chopping off his manhood (Leon). However, “Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken,” does not depict the first poorly handled rape scene in Game of Thrones’s history as a show. Benioff and Weiss are known for converting canon consensual sex scenes in the books to nonconsensual ones in the show. In the pilot, the character Daenerys Targaryen is also forced upon on her wedding night by her husband, Khal Drogo. Tears streaming down her face, Drogo disrobes Daenerys and as she attempts to cover her chest to preserve her sense of dignity, he removes her hands and forces her down on her knees (“Winter is Coming”). Conversely, in the first installment of A Song of Ice and Fire, the scene is far more consensual:
[Drogo] stopped then, and drew her down onto his lap.

Dany was flushed and breathless, her heart fluttering in her chest. He cupped her face in his huge hands and looked into his eyes. “No?” he said, and she knew it was a

question.
She took his hand and moved it down to the wetness between her thighs. “Yes,” she whispered as she put his finger inside her. (Martin, 108)
Despite the fact that Daenerys is depicted as a thirteen year old maiden sold to Drogo, the scene is as consensual as can be. Benioff and Weiss, on the other hand, offer audiences a “bastardized version” that simultaneously perpetuates marital rape. Nonetheless, they continued to diverge from the canon, sparking outrage left and right, until it reached its peak after the airing of episode three of season four, entitled “Breaker of Chains.” In the episode, Jaime Lannister rapes his sister, Cersei, under the corpse of their dead son, Joffrey, ignoring her protestations of “no” and “stop it” (“Breaker of Chains”). George R.R. Martin, however, portrays the scene differently:
“Hurry,” [Cersei] was whispering now, “quickly, quickly, now, do it now, do me now. Jaime Jaime Jaime.” Her hands helped guide him. “Yes,” Cersei said as he thrust, “my brother, sweet brother, yes, like that, yes, I have you, you’re home now, you’re home now, you’re home.” She kissed his ear and stroked his short bristly hair. Jaime lost himself in her flesh. (Martin, 579).
Alex Graves, director of “Breaker of Chains,” defends the scene, claiming it “becomes consensual by the end” (Ferreday, 29).

The question Graves overlooks, however, is whether a nonconsensual sexual act can “become consensual,” especially when one partner is physically overpowered by the other (Ferreday, 29). The scene also reinforces the idea that consent is not willfully given by a woman, but “must taken from them by force or coercion” (Yarde). Jaime’s actions in the show also spark confusion because the audience believes he thinks rape is abhorrent. In season three, he saves Brienne of Tarth from gang rape, and in the same episode professes that if he too were a woman, he would fight to the death before being raped (“Walk of Punishment”). Most consensual sex depicted in the series is between a heterosexual man and a prostitute, implying that “money, power, and social advancement” are the “dominant reasons for a woman to consent to sex” (Ferreday). However, throughout the series’ five seasons, there is a lack of men threatening each other with sexual violence, aside from Theon’s mutilation, yet female characters “endure rape threats, and actual rape” constantly (Gentry). When approached on the subject of noncanon rape scenes, George R.R. Martin had no comment, claiming the show is an adaptation of his books, and are thus “in the hands of others” (Flood). Game of Thrones is known for being one of the most shocking and unpredictable television programs, but as of late,

critics perceive Benioff and Weiss as feeling obligated to have one “break-the-internet moment” per episode, and “chuck horrors,” such as sexually violent scenes at the audience in hopes that it will become the “biggest trending topic” in the media (Gentry).