The hit HBO series Game of Thrones has won 26 Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Drama Series in 2015, and has 18.6 million people watching each episode, an HBO record. That’s roughly the same population as America’s third most populated state, New York. That’s a lot of people. That’s a lot of cultural influence.
What draws people to Game of Thrones? Certainly the artistry, the plot, the characters, the intrigue, the battles, the dragons, and, of course, the excessive and gratuitous nude sex scenes (including a graphic, lengthy rape scene that made news earlier this year).
Much like the Fifty Shades of Grey book and movie phenomenon, it brings up the age old question, “When it comes to sex and nudity, where is the line drawn between art and pornography?”
Porn or Art: Where is the line?
What makes a porno movie a “porno” and what makes Game of Thrones a record-shattering, Emmy-winning icon of popular culture? They both have plots. They both have lots of sex. I suppose the difference is Game of Thrones has more plot to it than it does sex, so it’s considered a drama and not a porno, whereas a porno has more sex than plot. And I suppose one would say the purpose of Game of Thrones is art, while the purpose of a porno is sex. Though that’s a very subjective statement that many in the porn industry would refute, at the end of the day, both purposes are money, but that’s another story.
Would the population of the entire state of New York openly admit to watching pornos, loving pornos, discussing pornos at the water cooler at work and discussing the plots of their pornos on their Facebook feeds? Obviously not.
At the end of the day, what is porn? Do you just know it when you see it? If so, what is it you are seeing when you know it? For my personal thought life, I’d argue that the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition is porn. For most, if they found that their kids were looking up online videos or photos of naked people having sex (whether acting or actually having it) and/or photos of naked women where they know their kid’s mind is doing the rest, they’d call it porn.
If someone cropped out one of the graphic sex scenes from Game of Thrones and put that single scene online, by itself apart from any of the plot and intrigue, and your teenage son downloaded it, would you call it porn? Yes, you would.
So why is it that when we dress these scenes up with HBO glitz and glamour that all of a sudden they are socially acceptable? Is it because we actually love porn, but don’t want to admit that publicly? We don’t want to surf the dirty websites, but if we can get our porn via HBO (all on Netflix and/or Amazon Prime now, by the way), it’s like having our cake and eating it too. Porn without the social stigma. Porn that your spouse actually lets you watch. Porn you can rationalize.
How We Deceive Ourselves
We are really good at deceiving ourselves and typically jump at any opportunity to do so. What’s so sad and ironic about Game of Thrones is that even though the actresses are much better paid, Emmy-awarded and more famous than the women in “pornos,” they are still just human beings and the emotional effect on them is the same. Most of them will never admit this, but the truth remains.
What’s so ironic and sad is that every once in a while, one of these A-list actresses does admit the disgust she feels about being in these sex scenes, but our culture’s insatiable addiction to porn and entertainment are always too much to consider changing how sex is portrayed.
Earlier this year, GQ and Esquire Magazine’s 2015 “Sexiest Woman Alive” Emilia Clarke made news when she told the Daily Mail she “can’t stand” the sex scenes she’s in on Game of Thrones.
The Daily Mail article by Sebastian Shakespeare reports, “Emilia, who plays the exiled princess Daenerys Targaryen, refused to appear in any more topless shots in the drama two years ago, according to her co-star Oona Chaplin, who disclosed that Emilia had told program bosses she ‘wanted to be known for my acting, not my breasts.’”
There’s obviously a lot of hypocrisy by Ms. Clarke in these quotes. I don’t use the “h-word” as a personal judgment toward Clarke but to again bring out the point that our entire culture wants the best of both worlds when it comes to sex. Being naked on screen is what made Clarke famous and is much of the reason why the show is so popular. It’s very double-minded.
If you want to get to the truth of how things are really perceived, you need to look no further than the wonderful world of website comments. One such comment in the Emilia Clarke article said, “We don’t watch you for your acting, love.” This is what’s really happening when these Hollywood actresses think they are being artistic on-screen with their bodies.
What they are really doing is creating a sexual bond with millions of men, just like Genesis 2:24 and 1 Corinthians 6:16 tell us takes place during sex: “The two will become one flesh.” In Matthew 5:28, Jesus tells us that to think about having sex with someone who isn’t your spouse is the same on the heart-level as actually doing it, so we shouldn’t be surprised by such responses.
Like a one-night stand, you have millions of men only interested in Clarke for her body. The announcement by Clarke that she will no longer be exposing hers is the same as the one-night stand being over. You can dress these episodes up with as much “art” as you want, but they are always going to just be a naked body to most of the men watching them.
Porn or Human Dignity
And if you think you can somehow filter out the porn and only take in the art, you are deceived and double-minded as well. Porn does what porn does: as soon as it enters the scene, it removes all dignity and humanity. All that is left is body parts and the consuming of other humans. You can’t keep someone’s dignity once you have already devoured it.
You don’t get porn and human dignity; you get porn or human dignity.
Choose wisely.
Thank you for writing this. I have sworn never to watch GoT exactly because of its irredeemable porn content. It also advocates normalizing prostitution, which has fearful implications for the disintegration of the family and sex trafficking.
It is ironic that I ran across this article when I did as I am writing my own novel wherein a couple are dealing with the opportunity to get away with having sex if they so choose. It would be so easy to give in. The world would (and one of my beta readers has) called them prudish. It would be expected for them to simply do it. But at what cost?
I wanted to thank you for writing this article. As a woman, I have been very uncomfortable with any talk of Game of Thrones around me. At work, discussion of this weekly porn binge has become water cooler conversation. Pornography hurts all people, all women (maybe) most of all. I feel very very demeaned by my co workers acknowledgement of their viewing habits, I feel sullied just hearing that they watch this. And I feel that they have no respect for me due to the fact that they will admit it in front of me. If I express even a small sentiment like this, I am regarded as a puritanical nutcase. So, thank you for so eloquently expressing what I believe and feel and know to be true. It is a great moral relief to know that I am not alone.
I’m glad someone said this. Yeah, it’ll make a bunch of people pissy. But it really is. For a long time I didn’t know what game of thrones was only that everyone was hyped about it. I finally went ahead and checked it out and found out pretty fast what the deal was. It’s pretty much True Blood only the sex is even worse than before. It’s sad that this is our future that more and more shows are going to go down this path.
What makes game of thrones so popular has nothing to do with the story. It’s so popular because people can watch it and ‘love’ it to death and not be judged by it because it’s like totally not a porno yo~ But it is through and through. It’s depressing and just pathetic how easily people are swayed by their never ending need for sex these days.
Noah this is an excellent article & eye opening. It really hits me because GOT is one of my favorite shows. I didnt start watching it until last year in season 3 or 4 I think, so I bought the 1st four seasons last fall & binged on them. I must admit even as a man the rape scenes make me fill uncomfortable, & I recognize that the show down plays the effects & gravity of that scene later in the story line as those two characters end up falling in love, send a sick message saying, yea he did that to her but they fell in love. But I said all of this to say that I did not think of any of this until just now while reading your article, so thank you.
So from this perspective I guess I shouldn’t watch braveheart because there is a scene when his wife is topless. And if you just downloaded that scene it would be like softcore porn. I guess really I should probably not read the Bible. Because it depicts sex at times and if we were to just look at some of the verses about sex the could be seen as erotic writing. Or maybe I can still read the books of the bible that don’t have sex in them.
George, your the comment about the Bible, in my opinion, is misguided. Since God created sex and is THE ultimate expert and authority on it, He has every right to write to us about it. The Bible not only reveals the beauty, oneness & delight of sex enjoyed by a married couple (Song of Solomon), gives instruction, encouragement & warnings about it, but also is very straightforward in describing several instances of sexual sin and the destruction & painful consequences suffered by those who chose to go out of God’s boundaries. These things are written to help us, not to entertain or tempt us. If reading God’s words to humanity regarding sex causes you to stumble, maybe you should avoid those areas of the Bible. Most Christian parents use discretion when reading the Bible to their young children as it is not a G-rated book. It wasn’t written to be aired on the Disney channel, but to instruct us in messy, real life issues common to our sinful natures & fallen world. Just as we wouldn’t read all the gore and violence in the newspaper, though it be true, to little children, not all parts of the Bible are appropriate for immature audiences. It tells it like it is, in a brutally honest & instructive way, but that does not make it “dirty”. It is quite different than slipping a sexy topless scene into an otherwise decent movie. As my kids have said to me, “If someone made you a pan of delicious looking brownies, and informed you that there’s just half a cup of dog poop in them, but most of the ingredients are good things, would you still eat them?” What we feed our minds & hearts is even more important than what we feed our bodies, because the ramifications can impact us for eternity.
George, there is a distinction in genre between the Bible and GOT that is directly correlated to content. The descriptipn of the rape of Tamar (2 Samuel) is vastly different than a visual portrayal via the medium of television.
In both instances, however, the depravity of man is quite evident, whether one is a Christian or not. Or, perhaps you are prepared to say that rape isn’t evil?
Thank you so much for your article. I love the deceiving ourselves points you made. We are so good at rationalizing! My response to Mark’s comment on slavery/human dignity. Slavery starts here. Porn is an addictive behavior and like drugs or alcohol you will continue to search for the next ‘high’. Then the last ‘high’ gets old and you start looking for a stronger ‘drug’ and pretty soon you’re trapped. Porn is slavery: to Satan. Satan is lying to you if you think it doesn’t hurt anyone and can be considered appreciation. He is doing everything he can to take our eyes off God and depend on anything other than God to find our joy. Only God can give us that ‘high’. And I can say as a recovering addict, even as a willing participant in the act you are scarred for life abd become a slave yo Satan’s lies of shame, insecurity, and failure. God is the ONLY source of joy and recovery.
Warning!!!
I am not a writer!!!
Please excuse all the poor grammar and spelling errors!!
We are all human and these images burn into our minds even if you have a glimpse of an image as you are whipping your eyes toward your lovely wife! I believe the arguments by some:
“it does not bother me”
“It doesn’t effect me”
“I always look away”
Just does not cut it!!!
Unless we are at an extremely superior spiritual level that we only see the beauty of the human body that God created with absolutely no lustful temptations we should not risk or expose ourselves to this material because we are only human.
I am human I get tempted like everyone else, so I choose to avoid a situation that could cause me to stumble.
We will all have a moment of weakness that will tempt us to watch just a second longer or well it’s only 90% nudity not a 100% so it’s not as bad because the important parts where covered.
Unfortunately the truth is it’s the “boiled frog syndrome”
The more you expose your self to this material the less “bad” it will seem. As mentioned prior we are just fooling ourselves into thinking it’s ok.
Another important issue to consider is that when you have millions of viewers watching a tv show full of inappropriate content ( even if you don’t approve of some of the content) it tells the producers that this program with all it’s content is a success. You are supporting the industry that is making it’s way into every Christian home (that allows it) with all it’s garbage and corruption.
For some reason that glass screen between us and these pornographic scenes is different then going to a strip club with your wife on a date night to see the same thing live.
I am confused when often having conversations with good people about watching and supporting this junk on tv, and they just say well it doesn’t bother us but they are passionately against going to a strip club or to a nude beach where you will be exposed to the same thing.
Why does this glass screen magically make this corrupting and damaging material ok?
There are movies and TV shows that are available for entertainment that don’t have nudity or sexual content in it. So if I miss out on a movie or show that millions of people want to expose themselves to with explicit sexual content then so be it. I can live my life being one of the few who will not stand in the Fad circle discussing “Deadpool” and “Game of Thrones” so why can’t at least those who are Christian do the same?
Let all the Christians make a statement and stop supporting these tv shows and movies by Not purchasing, and not watching these programs.
If you have read up to this point thank you for putting up with unorganized rambling. I am know finished!!
I am not even christian but i agree with you absolutely. I felt peer pressured at one point to watch game of thrones but the the truth is this article has strengthened my convictions that its not worth watchinga nd its just lude.
Thank you for giving this subject a voice. Not just any voice, but an honest, straight-forward, smart voice that I truly hope will challenge many readers. Reading through your comment responses, I really appreciate that you are willing to say there are some grey areas, but also don’t let us off the hook by subscribing to the theory that our motivation is what qualifies something as pornographic or not. I am glad you brought up the idea of being deceived because it is such a mark of our enemy–Satan–the great deceiver who loves to help us deceive ourselves. I hope you continue to write for Covenant Eyes, and I hope you find publication for your book!
Great article, Noah. It hits home in so many ways. As someone who struggled with (and am in some ways still fighting against) pornography for many years, there is nothing more frustrating and depressing that finding an “artistically brilliant” movie/TV show laced with gratuitous sexual content. The rash of “adult” superhero content is a particularly recent example that I, as a big sci-fi / comic fan, find very disheartening. Your words, however, are definitely encouraging to hear as they remind me what all I am gaining (or rather, not losing) by sticking with my commitment to purity.
I was also very interested in your comment about Schindler’s List. There are several scenes in 12 Years a Slave that I believe were intended to have a non-sexual nudity, but it ironically also had very sexual scenes that didn’t show any nudity. As a whole, the sex-related scenes came across to me as huge distraction instead adding to the art and realism of the movie, which is a real shame because the movie could have had a more powerful effect if they had just left it out. After watching the movie, instead of thinking about the plight of the slaves, I had to vigorously work to clear my mind of the sex/nudity in the film. And if I’m struggling with it, then surely other viewers had to be having the same struggle as well.
In contrast, we know that Jesus was likely completely nude when He was crucified. However, in the Passion of the Christ and most other films of Jesus’ life, this particular aspect is not shown because film makers know that showing him stripped to a loin clothe has a very similar effect, and that Jesus being nude is not the whole point of the story. They know that if people saw an actor in full nudity that the viewers would think of only that and not the message of the movie. This concept carries over to films on other topics as well. Movie makers who claim to be adding nudity for its art are only lying to themselves and their audiences. The nudity is there for their own misplaced pleasure and their wallets, nothing else.
Such a perfect illustration of what is being talked about! I would have been horrified if Passion would have had a completely naked Jesus, so I should be equally horrified by other nude scenes because at the end of the day, they are just an unnecessary distraction at best.
I appreciated what you expressed here.
Gah, Noah, I have been saying this very thing about GOT since it became popular–not having seen a single episode. Thank you for putting my words onto the Internet so eloquently and with such wisdom.