HBO's long-running drama series "Game of Thrones" might have a lot of devoted fans, but there is also a growing number of upset viewers who have called for boycotting the show for "normalising sexual violence" and for turning graphic depictions of rape and torture sex into "mass entertainment."
These upset viewers have started an online petition, sponsored by The National Center for Sexual Exploitation (NCSE), which seeks to weaken the show's ratings by discouraging people from viewing it. In it, HBO executives and "Game of Thrones" producers David Benioff and Dan Weiss are taken to task for not dealing "with subjects like rape with sensitivity and gravity."
The petition points out that the show "routinely uses graphic and explicit depictions of rape, incest, orgies, prostitution, sexual violence, and gratuitous allusions to child sexual abuse."
NCSE Executive Drector Dawn Hawkins told Life Site News that the show "has consistently crossed the line of decency by grotesquely depicting rape, incest, prostitution, and sexual violence in a manner that turns viewers into vicarious participants. For its incessant themes of sexual violence, 'Game of Thrones' would be more aptly named 'Shame of Thrones.'"
Hawkins acknowledged that the Season 6 premiere episode entitled "The Red Woman" did not show explicit sexual violence, but she argues that "one episode does not constitute a trend."
The show is known for depicting gruesome battle scenes and torture techniques. Some scenes that have really enraged fans included Sansa Stark's rape scene in Season 5 as well as the sacrificial death of Shireen Baratheon, also from the same season.
Even U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill admitted that she was a huge fan of the show—until Ramsay Bolton raped Sansa during their wedding night. "OK, I'm done with Game of Thrones," she tweeted at the time. "Gratuitous rape scene disgusting and unacceptable. It was a rocky ride that just ended."
