Well, I think there must be some psychology at play here that obviously doesn't appeal to my personality type.stroopwafel said:The storylines are engaging. The acting is often intense. The characters are distinct sometimes bordering on caricature but you can always tell them apart. There is a degree of unpredictability to everything with important characters being killed off. There is a rich lore but the show itself is accessible without being shallow. The setpieces are often gorgeous. There is drama and fantasy in complementary fashion. The creators of the show just did everything to make the illusion seem real. Surely the show is made up and not a homage to the real middle ages but in an esoteric sense it stays much more true to the period than, say, Blackadder or The Lord of the Rings. Usually fantasy devolves into cliche fairytales with goody two shoes and evil wizards or as a campy setting for a British parody. GoT actually adds engaging drama in a fantasy setting that is taken seriously. Whatever problems people have with it's execution don't take away from the fact that there is no real other show like it.dscross said:Why do you think it DOES have such mainstream appeal, just out of interest? The same psychological mechanisms that soaps use to keep you watching? Also what do you mean by 'does the period some justice'? What period? It's made up.stroopwafel said:I really like GoT. It's just really good drama I think but set in a setting of knights, kings and dragons which I never thought would have such mainstream appeal. I don't think this show is either too depressing or dark but ofcourse this was the medieval period in which everything was more honest and raw. Unlike the typical shows/movies with a fantasy setting that never takes itself serious GoT finally does the period some justice. Like I said I think it's the mix of drama and fantasy that makes the show so good. Espescially in the later seasons the setpieces look absolutely gorgeous as well. I always look forward to a new episode or season and I have that with pretty much no other TV show. I do agree though that some plotlines are cliche(Daenerys, Jon) but they don't bother me too much.
1. Frustration that never ends: Throughout the show people keep getting frustrated by seeing the bad ones do many bad things without getting caught or punished. Because that frustration is hardly released people keep watching the show hoping that the bad guys will get punished.
2. The unconscious desire to be liberal : Some people , unconsciously, like the world where incest, homosexuality and all other kinds of sexual encounters are possible and allowed. While those people will hardly claim that directly still it's one of the reasons they like the show. Of course many of those who love the show get offended by those scenes.
3. Curiosity: The fact that the plot is so complicated and that guessing the next event is really hard takes curiosity to a new level. Also the fact that the events are too slow to unfold keeps people curious. (Too convoluted for me).
4. Some people enjoy the complexity: Intellectual people usually enjoy the level of complexity they see in game of thrones (even though to me it just says poor storytelling).
5. Love of violence: One of the unconscious elements behind loving war movies and violent games is the love for violence and gore. Game of the thrones has a shocking amount of violence that appeals to violence fans.
In addition to these I imagine women like how women rise to power: So many women like Game of thrones because it shows how women rise to power in a manly world. This is pretty much analogous to the difficulties women face in the real world.
The only thing that I can see that would appeal to me is seeing the power struggle between families, but that type of thing only really appeals to me when it's based in reality - there are soooo many actual REAL historical dramas do that better that I don't need it. There are too many others flaws in the show for me to buy into it. There are so many things that annoy me about the show that I think I'm blind to most of the positives. You keep mentioning the 'period' like it's based on something concrete - it's not set in a real place or a real time.