What Makes 'Game of Thrones' so Attractive to Audiences?

HBO’s ‘Game of Thrones’ has become one of the most sensational TV series in recent years. How does it manage to keep audiences’ attention and make them look forward to the next episode? Alexander Pavlov, Associate Professor of the HSE’s Department of Practical Philosophy, has been studying the phenomenon of mass culture and its role in cinema. He gave an interview for the High School Press and shed some light on the subject.

― What makes ‘Game of Thrones’ so attractive to audiences?

― Whatever I say, it won’t be true. Even sociology won’t help in this situation. Mass audiences are diverse. Some people watch the show because of the sex and violence, some like the storyline or the acting, and others may be fans of George R.R. Martin. I’m sure there is no definite reason why so many people watch the series. We should talk about the combination of factors and analyze the different groups that make up the mass audience.

― Last year during a public lecture in Gorky Park, you mentioned that popular culture today, including the cinema, attracts audiences with violence, vulgar humor and sex. Do these factors affect the popularity of ‘Game of Thrones’?

― Last year, referring to a young researcher, Vitaly Genarov, I said that today’s popular culture was based on three foundations: sex, violence and vulgar humor. Certainly, sex and violence are reasons why people like this show so much. If there were less sex and violence, it would be an absolutely different show. Would it be less popular? This isn’t something we can verify, but I’m sure it would. Moreover, it’s interesting that there is no vulgar humor in the show.

― What makes the show different from other popular series? What makes it superior to other shows?

― Captain Obvious would say that the show is truly original in the way that other series are original. At any rate, it’s rather difficult to find an analogue. It’s impossible to give a better answer, I guess. As for superiority, who told you that this particular show surpasses other ones? Popular series become popular because they always try to surpass one another and never quite succeed.

― How is today’s political situation connected with the storyline in ‘Game of Thrones’?

― Today’s political situation is not connected to the show’s storyline at all. It would be extremely foolish to analyze the political process through the characters of the series. It’s a boring and vulgar game. Modern politics is difficult to analyze, and it includes many components – interest groups, economics, resources, bureaucracy, non-political assets, the media, and many others. Today’s situation thus has no connection with the series. Politics is represented in the show in its original form; there is no economics in it. The characters play a purely political game without any other resources. The Lannisters do have certain money resources, but this doesn’t complicate their game. It’s a mental experiment that has almost no connection with reality.

― In your opinion, can we apply any techniques used in the show to today’s political practice?

― We can’t apply any of the techniques used in the show to real life politics. It’s just entertainment, not a manual of political methods. ‘House of Cards’, another popular series, contains much more useful information for politicians today. Even Barack Obama tweeted that he doesn’t want to see any spoilers from that show. He doesn’t watch ‘Game of Thrones’, however; or at least he doesn’t promote it.

Anton Maslov