Where are the female knights?!

 

 

The following is an interview given by me to my roommate and friend Rachelle. Though she has only seen the first 5 episodes of HBO’s Game of Thrones I thought it would be interesting to get a female perspective on the hit TV show that is currently making its mark on the worlds stage.

Interview:

Megan:            With me today is Rachelle Howatson. She has agreed to answer a few questions about Game of Thrones for the purpose of my observation and final project. First off: I’ve never seen Game of Thrones before; could you give me a brief idea of what it’s about?

Rachelle:         “From what I’ve seen so far, there are seven families fighting for this land, so all the family have to come together and try to win it. There are lots of battles and fighting but also some devious stuff going on. There’s also a Romeo and Juliet scenario going on with the girl from one family liking a guy from another. That adds a romantic side to the story.”

M:        Why did you start watching Game of Thrones?

R:        “To be honest, I really started watching it because Josh [my boyfriend] did. He told me to watch it and he said it was good”

M:        Was there anything that kept you watching?

R:        “I watched like 5 episodes and I kept watching because of the fighting-there’s battle scenes and a cool story that underlines it. I also think the costumes are cool and the main guy is cool as well. I also like the midget; he’s funny and hooks up with all the girls. Basically It’s badass”

M:        Badass?

R:        “[Laughs] I don’t know how else to explain it!”

M:        [Laughs] that works. Did you ever read the books?

R:        “No. Josh has the books but he hasn’t finished them yet.”

M:        From what you’ve seen, what is the representation of males?

R:        “Big and burly, ready for battle and they have really cool names.”

M:        Females?

R:        “Normal medieval representation and [like the guys] they have really cool names. The main girls name is Cersei and the other girl is Arya; she’s my favourite, she’s really young and a badass.”

M:        Can you give me an example of what you call “normal medieval representation?

R:        “Well like the opening scene, and one that sticks out to me, is a battle between the guys-not the girls-and they’re [the guys] trying to kill each other. The girls are more represented by the love connection I mentioned earlier”

M:        Can you pick out any examples of medievalism?

R:        “For sure the castle they live in, the armour and weapons, and the main guy has a medieval sword. It’s also obvious that the way the kids are treated differently than [they are] today; they have to do more chores, portrayed to have more responsibility than we associate with kids today”

M:        I’d just like to thank you, Rachelle, for sitting down with me. This was very helpful

R:        “No problem. I’m actually going to go watch Game of Thrones right now [laughs]. It’s all that we’ve been talking about and I remember now why I liked it so much”

Questions for further thought:

1. Is medievalism marketed towards males? Females? Both?
2. Does this support the claim that the Middle Ages has something for everyone?
3. What role does medievalism play in marketing merchandise?
4. What does Game of Thrones teach about medievalism?
5. Where does this attraction to medievalism come from?