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Friday, March 29, 2024

The popularity of ‘Game of Thrones’

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"It is the unrealism that gives viewers psychological distance from the terrible and traumatic acts portrayed in the series, and allows them to step away from it knowing that it is all fiction."

 

The HBO original fantasy drama television series ‘Game of Thrones’ was the most-watched television show on the planet last week when the premiere episode of its eighth and final season aired.

The episode was “watched by a record 17.4-million viewers Sunday night, April 14, across HBO's platforms (linear, HBOGO and HBO NOW), exceeding the previous series high of 16.9-million viewers for the season seven finale,” said HBO public relations on Medium.com.

There were three times as many illegal viewers, writes Adam Rosenberg for Mashable: “Stats from the online piracy data firm Muso suggest that the April 14 season premiere of HBO's hit series was downloaded or watched illegally more than 54 million times in the 24 hours after it aired.”

That’s about 72-million viewers for that episode at that time, not counting other viewers who will watch it later on. That is a massive global audience.  

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The premiere, which catches up with the characters and brings them together for the final quest, was “the most-tweeted-about episode of Game of Thrones ever, with more than five-million tweets and 11-million mentions throughout the course of the weekend,” according to HBO PR.

Most of the illegal views were through unlicensed streaming links, which accounted for 76.6 percent of the total illicit behavior, wrote Rosenberg. The rest were web downloads and public and private torrents.

This all demonstrates how popular the show is. It is one of the most successful series of all time. According to Manila Standard sports editor Riera Mallari, an aficionado of television series, “The final season of the Game of Thrones could push it past Breaking Bad as the best-ever TV Series of all time. Both now have a 9.5 rating on IMDB. Can the Night King overthrow Heisenberg? I guess we'll soon find out.”

Based on the Song of Ice and Fire books by George R.R. Martin, the TV series, according to Wikipedia, purveys a sort of medieval realism and is more akin to historical fiction than contemporary fantasy because of its reduced reliance on magic and sorcery.

I asked some fans of the show why they like it so much.

Office worker Rod Mayores: “Para kasing looking back sa medieval times. Gusto kong makita ung itsura ng mga kingdom dati. Sa palabas na ito, nagkaka-visual idea ka. Maganda rin ang mismong story, mahu-hook ka sa kuwento tungkol sa naglalabanan para sa Iron Throne at kung sino talaga ang nararapat para sa titulo na iyon.”

Government employee Diding Estandian: “Mahilig talaga ako sa action, lalo na pag patayan [laughs], at saka maganda ang storya. May mga storya kasi na alam mo na ang susunod. Dito, hindi mo nape-predict ang mangyayari.”

Writer Gale Mayari, who cosplays as Queen Cersei: “I am drawn to the intricate fantasy world and world-building. The story itself has so many twists and intrigues and different points-of-view that all make sense as character motivation even if we personally disagree with it.”

It’s clear that fans enjoy the show’s intricate storytelling foremost, with the gorgeous visuals—sets, costumes, effects—providing a detailed visual experience that brings to life the unpredictable stories with their unexpected plot twists.

Just like ‘Ang Probinsiyano,’ Philippine TV’s longest-running action drama series to date, GoT is ultimately a soap opera, exploring the complicated relationships between characters. And Filipinos being as nosy as they are, GoT attracts with its lavish peeks into the personal lives of many different characters, some appealing (Daenarys! Jon Snow! the dragons!), others not (Cersei, Euron Greyjoy, the crazed Ramsay Bolton, ugh.)

I think another reason why this series is so popular is for the same reason that horror movies are—because viewers can wallow in the pleasurable frisson of heightened emotions but distance themselves from it afterward.

Dr. Glenn Walters, in a 2004 paper in the Journal of Medical Psychology, says that there are three primary factors that make horror films alluring: Tension (related to shock, suspense, terror), relevance (could be personal or cultural relevance, etc.), and unrealism (in GoT, it’s partly provided by the Western European medieval setting).

It is the unrealism that gives viewers psychological distance from the terrible and traumatic acts portrayed in the series, and allows them to step away from it knowing that it is all fiction.

Just as with any other form of media, watching GoT is a choice, as the uses and gratifications theory explains—people exercise control over their media consumption and they actively seek out and integrate into their lives the shows that will provide them the entertainment and escape from reality that they seek.

My favorite quote from the series comes from Tyrion Lannister: “A mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge.”/ FB and Twitter: @DrJennyO

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