Friday, June 15, 2012

Game of Heads

Apparently, HBO's Game of Thrones, in need of a large number of heads for a head-on-spikes scene, used whatever was available, one of which was a head of George W. Bush.  The showrunners deny that there was a political motivation.  They just needed heads and took what they could get. 

However, there is a subtle political message here.  All the other heads on display were "good guys" who had been beheaded by a psychotic teenager.  So the implication is that George Bush is one of the "good guy" Starks and his enemies are psychotic Lannisters. 

Which is why I think the showrunners were telling the flat truth. 

3 comments:

  1. I read an interview with G.R.R Martin where he and a director or head writer wanted to have their heads cast so they could have them put n a spike. They thought it would be great fun and a wink at the audience but the process was too expensive. I wondered at the time how they got the heads that they used.

    This whole "outrage" is tiresome and adds to my frustration with the professionally outraged.

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  2. If I remember from the books, the heads on spikes above the Red Keep are the heads of traitors and oathbreakers (which Eddard Stark was falsly accused of).

    So the implication is clear in that case...

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    Replies
    1. Surely. George Washington was a traitor, too. But in GoT, the traitors were the honorable and innocent and those accusing them of treason and oathbreaking were themselves the evil ones. Hence, the irony.
      Besides, as noted, it was not intentional. Making fake heads is not cheap, so they used a whole bunch of heads that were (as it were) just lying around in props. They only made special the heads that were meant to be recognized.

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