Tagged: sexism
Why I, a Woman, Enjoy ‘Game of Thrones’
Spoiler Alert: If you haven’t watched the first four seasons of Game of Thrones, don’t read this and get mad at me.
In some places online (as well as in the real world), there’s this idea that of course women can’t enjoy Game of Thrones because it’s sexist. They say it objectifies women, there’s gratuitous nudity, it’s an all boys club meant for medieval fantasy fulfillment and that I, as a card-carrying member of Team Woman cannot possibly enjoy such a sexist show. This annoys me for many reasons but I’m going to explain my logic below for why I enjoy the show, how it could be improved and why these critics aren’t digging deeply enough.
I, as a human being, enjoy the TV show Game of Thrones. It has nothing to do with my gender, but rather my general love of fantasy with good plot lines. Fantasy is one of my favourite genres and while I wouldn’t describe myself as a hardcore fan I do read more fantasy than anything else. I originally picked up George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series because of friend of mine wouldn’t shut up about the TV show and I wanted to read and watch the first season and the first book simultaneously. I was actually impressed with both: the TV show for how well it captured the vivid world Martin had created and the books for actually containing that vivid, well thought out world. Continue reading
Discussion: Separating the Creator From Their Work
This is definitely one of the more controversial topics I’ve discussed here on The Mad Reviewer but it’s also one that I don’t quite have a concrete stance on.
Basically, what happens if the creator of some of your favourite works (be they books, movies, comics, whatever) has opinions you disagree with strongly? Personally I couldn’t care less about the political and/or religious views of most authors as long as their books don’t preach at me constantly. As for authors in the past that have let sexist, racist and homophobic views seep into their work I always take it with a grain of salt because their views were generally consistent with the times.
At the same time, because of his vocal and financial support of anti gay groups I have hesitated in picking up any novels by Orson Scott Card. I know he’s a giant in the science fiction genre and is by all reports an excellent writer but it feels wrong to me to support someone who is so hateful. In my reviews I never let an author’s personal life colour my opinion of the book, but that doesn’t mean that I won’t pick up a book because I vehemently disagree with an author’s very public stance on an issue.
In general I’d have to say I don’t care about what stances an author takes in public or private. That’s their business. Yet sometimes when people espouse such hatred I don’t feel right lending support to an author by giving them a review and therefore publicity on my blog. It’s a complicated subject to be sure.
What do you think of this topic? Do you choose not to support creators whose views you disagree with? Why or why not? And if so, is it only in certain circumstances like when they actually financially support groups you disagree with? Or do you not care about the views of your favourite artist/author/director because you separate them from their work?
My Interview with Janeal Falor
Janeal Falor is the author of You Are Mine, a novel about a society where magic is real and where all women are owned by warlocks. Below is our discussion about the inspiration for her fantasy/dystopian novel, the sequel Mine to Spell and why self-publishing was the best option for her.
1. Where did the inspiration for You Are Mine come from?
I’d been in a mood to read a lot of marriage of convenience/arranged marriage-type books and then I thought: What if these girls weren’t being sold off for money? What if they were being sold for something they had that was of great value, but something they couldn’t control. Something like… Magic! And You Are Mine was born.
2. What was your world-building process like? Did you start out with a basic idea and then build around it before you started writing or did it all come to you as you wrote?
Most of it started with a basic idea and came as I wrote. There were a few spots where I knew I needed to show more of what the world was like and I thought, how can I add something that supports their world and the story at the same time? But mostly whatever flowed out was what happened.
3. Who is your favourite character in your first novel? Why?
Katherine. Though I’m probably biased towards because I just finished writing her novella. She is sweet, but strong. She’s been through a lot and is able to use the strength she’s gained to help Serena.
4. What made you decide to self-publish? Would you recommend it to anyone else?
Short answer: I had been trying to get an agent for this book, but stopped because it just didn’t feel right. After a break from trying, I realized I still loved You Are Mine and wanted to do something with it. I thought a lot about the pros and cons to all my options, made a giant list of them, and in the end, self-publishing just felt right. Really right.
Short answer to the second questions as well: Yes, BUT it’s tons of work. That means it’s not for everyone. It’s an intense process when done right, but is an amazing feeling when you see your hard work pay off. There are a lot of great choices in publishing right now, so you can pick what works for you and your books. Thankfully if you do go with self-publishing, there’s a lot of great information out there.
5. Do you have any advice for any aspiring writers reading this?
Read. A lot. Write even more. Believe you can follow your dreams.
I still have a lot to learn, but these are the things that have helped me the most.
6. Can you give us any hints as to the next novel, Mine to Spell? Do you have a tentative release date yet?
Yay for hints! Let’s see what I can say without spoiling anything…
As much as I love Zade and Serena, the hero Cynthia falls for in Mine to Spell makes me all melty and swoony. Seriously, sometimes I “edit” gushy parts just because I want to read more about him. This means there’s more romance than the first book, though it’s still not the main focus of the book.
The first chapter starts a few months after You Are Mine ends on Cynthia’s 17th birthday. Also, I think the end of the first chapter is going to make a lot of people happy/excited and help with understanding Cynthia so much better. Nice, vague response 😉
And very tentatively, I’m shooting for releasing in Spring of next year. Probably March or April.
Discussion: Reading Dealbreakers
Pretty much everyone reading this here on my blog is an avid reader. You guys love books, I love books. I’ll personally read most anything. But what happens when something is just so bad in a book you can’t stand it any longer? Why, you put it down of course. That’s not the point here, though. The point is: what is that one thing that will always make you put down a book?
Personally it’s racism/sexism/homophobia, etc. I’m not talking about when authors tackle these issues in their books—that’s something mainstream authors need to do more! I’m talking about when an author’s views leak into their narrative and ruin the entire book. If I’m reading a book and the author seems to want to write a manifesto about why white people are superior, LGBT people are evil and/or women are inferior rather than actually telling a story, I’m probably going to throw the book at the wall. As much as I hate book vandalism, sometimes it’s justified.
There are actually a lot of things that make me want to put down a book, but it’s blatant discrimination on the author’s part that is the one thing that will make me put down a book immediately. Sometimes books are ‘meh’ but I’ll keep reading because I’m curious to see if it gets better, but any preaching on the author’s part will make me close a book without a second thought.
But enough about me: what are your reading dealbreakers? Why? Do you have lots or just one?
Why Girls Hate Game of Thrones—A Rebuttal
After I found this highly sexist article called Why Girls Hate Game Of Thrones I’ve been on what I like to call a “slow burn”. I’ve been stewing about it for two weeks now, biding my time until I got into full rant mode and now I’m ready to explode. Maybe it’s because I’m feeling crankier than usual due to a strep throat, but either way I couldn’t resist the urge to refute this sexist, idiotic excuse for an article.
Because I’m feeling particularly rant-y I will now dissect the article piece by piece, but be warned that the original article contains coarse language you do not normally find on my blog. No, there’s no swearing but there are terms I would not use in polite conversation.
So here is why Renata Sellitti thinks all girls hate Game of Thrones the TV series (which can also apply to the books):
Point #1: “We hate gross things. Know what’s gross? Screwing your sibling.” Continue reading