The online laments that followed the second to last Game of Thrones episode, “The Bells,” is instructive, I think, for it makes evident that many of us support violence when it is in service of our interests. Continue reading “The Violence that We Like”
On the Social Production of Desire
See the scene, from season 5 episode 7, here.
Identification Is All There Is
Varys: I did what I did for the good of the realm.
Baelish: The realm. Do you know what the realm is? It’s the thousand blades of Aegon’s enemies — a story we agree to tell each other over and over, until we forget that it’s a lie. Continue reading “Identification Is All There Is”
They Just Call it “Food”
In a recent exchange between the spoiled, impetuous young King (who, on this occasion, was angered by a disrespectful comment from his uncle) and his far more seasoned, politically powerful grandfather, in season three of the TV series Game of Thrones, viewers heard the following:
Joffrey Baratheon: I am the king! I will punish you.
Tywin Lannister: Any man who must say, “I am the king” is no true king.
The rule of thumb that I would propose is that as soon as we switch from just doing something ourselves to talking about doing it–telling someone else how to do it or comparing the various ways in which it is done–then whatever it was that we were doing is no longer what it’s all about. That this applies doubly when it comes to talking about someone else’s doings, no matter how fair and balanced we think we’re being, cannot be overlooked.
After all, here in Alabama people just call it “food” and eat it.