TV DRAMA CASE STUDY:

GAME OF THRONESJAMES KEY

THE BACKGROUNDGame of Thrones is a American Fantasy Drama, created for HBO by D. B. Weiss and David Benioff and is an ‘adaption’ of the first book of A Song of Ice and Fire written by George R. R. Martin; the first book being named A Game of Thrones. Weiss and Benioff write the majority of the episodes, with Martin writing 1 per season.

It is said to be filmed in Belfast studios, however from watching the programme, I can tell that they do not use the studio that much. They use wonderfully scenic places, that make the programme stand out. These places consist of; Northern Ireland, Malta, Scotland, Croatia, Iceland, the United States, Spain and Morocco.

Through its morally ambiguous characters, it shows issues with social hierarchy, crime, punishment, corruption, religion and civil wars. Game of Thrones has attracted record numbers of viewers on HBO and obtained an exceptionally broad and active international fan base, due to the great reviews it gets; an exceptional 9.5 from IMDb.

The series has won numerous awards and nominations, including a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Drama Series for its first four seasons, a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Television Series – Drama, a Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation in both Long Form and Short Form, and a Peabody Award.

It is has just recently finished showing series 4 on TV, and has so far made 40 episodes. The recent 4 times emmy winning drama started filming for season 5 in the second half of 2014, and is likely to be aired in the spring of 2015, 4 years after the first ever episode which was shown on 17th April 2011. Since 2011 the show has flourished and the final episode of season 4 received a whopping 7 million viewers.

The average Game of thrones episode costs up to $6 million, which is double than what breaking bad spent on average on each episode!

THE CHARACTERSThe ‘main’ actors (main is in inverted commas as the main actors never seem to stay main for long as they are usually killed off, which is another reason the show has thrived and done so well; because unexpected and different things happen) are: Characters= White Actors= Yellow

Daenerys Targaryen- Emilia Clarke

Jon Snow-Kit Harinton

Tyrion Lannister-Peter Dinklage

Arya Stark-Maisie Williams

Joffrey Baratheon- Jack Gleeson

Catelyn Stark-Michelle Fairley

Margaery Tyrell-Natalie Dormer

Brienne of Tarth-Gwendoline Christie

Petyr Baelish-Aiden Gillen

Hodor-Kristian Nairn

Sansa Stark-Sophie Turner

Sandor Clegane-Rory McCann

REFLECTING THE ZEITGEIST

Game of Thrones doesn’t really reflect the zeitgeist as today in society men and women are seen to be equal, or close to equal, but in Game of Thrones most women are seen as lowly and not as important as men- often women are seen in Brothels and/or doing manual jobs (like working in the kitchen) where they are utilised; as they don’t do anything else for society. However, some women like Daenerys Targaryen, are the leaders of men and the men actually do as they say. In the case of Daenerys, she has a man by her side helping her to make decisions but she is free to make her own and actually leads a huge army of men-but this still goes against the zeitgeist as women and men are seen as equal in todays society.

There is also a dwarf (namely Tyrion Lannister and he is often referred to as ‘the imp’) in Game of Thrones and he is treated like he is not a human, also clearly going against the zeitgeist. People never take him seriously due to his ‘disability’, and his own father refers to him as inhumane. However Tyrion is shown to have great intellect and the storyline actually sees him to be good and a lot better than most ‘normal’ people in Game of Thrones, which could actually reflect the zeitgeist as it shows that anyone can be clever, and everyone deserves a chance to be seen and heard; no matter what their status is.

CAMERA SHOTS AND OTHER TECHNIQUESCamera shotsThrough watching and analysing Game of Thrones I can see that the camera angles and shots that are used are key to how the programme flows. I am sure that the immense camera work, and help from the special effects, are what make the programme so good. The main camera shot that is frequently used is the tracking shot, or the point of view shot. The tracking shot helps you to engage in the scene, and moves at a solid, but quick pace so there is always an element of tension as you do not know what is going to be shown next. The tracking shot is also good in Game of Thrones as it helps you to see everything around you so you can feel like the character, and it entices you in; keeping you glued to your TV screen! The point of view shot is also very useful to the programme because that combined with the tracking shot makes you really get in the characters shoes, and the excitement/torture (whichever you feel the most- it is often torture for me) feels real, like you are living like 1 of the characters.The camera angles also help to show the status of the character- those who are belittled by Joffrey Baratheon are often show to be seen as small, whilst Joffrey looks down on them from a low angled shot. As shown in the picture, you feel like he is looking down on you, making you hate him even more than you already do.Sound and editingThe sounds/music in Game of Thrones are used expertly and always add the extra tension at the perfect moment. For example before/during the killing of a main character everything goes silent, representing just how your feeling-speechless. Before a death or significant moment loud noises/eerie music are played just to emphasize what is going to happen, making you emotionally strained and lure you into the programme making you want to keep watching it. The editing links in with the sounds because if, for example, a loud drum beat is banging leading up to an important moment then the camera will do lots of different cuts of what is soon to come, and potentially leave it on a cliff hanger, or once the cuts have finished it will stop on one character that is more than likely about to die. The editing helps to add to you being put it in the actors shoes, and if synchronous sounds are added, this adds to the tension of the moment. The editing and music/sounds, in my opinion, is the most important thing in a good drama because it just adds an extra element of brilliance and reiterate the mood that should be created. Game of Thrones does this perfectly.

CONVERGENCEThe convergent nature of modern media is very well understood by the creators and promoters of Game of Thrones. This is shown through the creation of the ‘Game of Thrones Wiki’ which is available on the internet and provides information on absolutely anything to do with Game of Thrones. It is an encyclopaedic guide to the HBO television series Game of Thrones that anyone can edit and the content is up to date with the latest aired episode, so it therefore provides anyone from people who work on Game of Thrones to a normal person who loves the show to be able to edit it and put information on the page for everyone to view, promoting it very well because anyone can get involved. HBO have also got a wide variety of things on their own personal page for the show on their website like episodes, news, trailers and online forums. The show also has its own twitter page to keep viewers up to date and to interact with them. Along with everything else the show has its own youtube account showing interviews, parts of episodes and even some deleted scenes, meaning even when the show isn’t being aired they can always be up to date and enjoy what is now more than just a TV programme.

REPRESENTATIONGender

Most men in the series are shown to be of a lot higher status than the women, as men are shown as strong and powerful through being involved in battles and running kingdoms. Women are mostly seen in brothels and working for the men, basically doing what the men want them to do. However, this is changed through Daenerys Targaryen and Cersei Lannister, who are two very different characters but portray very similar roles in society. Daenerys in the fourth series is shown to be leading an army of 40,000 men going against the main representation of women being useless and not as strong as men. Daenerys is also well mannered with a lot of quiet determination, and she is seen with a lot better manners than males and has less arrogance, maybe proving that women are ‘nicer’ than men.

Age

Older people are seen to be very knowledgeable in this particular drama, for example Maester Pycelle being a very old and wise doctor. He is however, shown to be loyal to power, and those who posses the power he will follow. This is shown when he betrays Tyrion in one of the more recent episodes, by going straight to the queen and telling her his plan of which Tyrion told him not to, but she is of higher status- this is perhaps presenting the older generation to be devoted to power, and not so ‘innocent’ after all.