Societal Monthly

In this issue:
SOCIETAL MONTHLY
Societal Fears and Desires Represented in
Game of Thrones
Fears
Xenophobia and Racism
-Mexico, Illegal Aliens and Syrian Refugees in America
War
- America vs. Muslims after 9/11, The War on Terror,
People of color vs. the Police
Desires
Freedom
-The human need for autonomy, the American want/right of
freedom, fear of losing our freedom (freedom of speech,
freedom to carry guns).
Stability
-America’s desire for a stable job, home, income, life and
mind.
Justice & Revenge
-Jails, school shooting and the eye for an eye mentality.

Fear tends to change the way that
we think so that we can avoid things
that will make us even more fearful.
It leads us to shut others out who do
not look or act like us, and can drive
us to irrational thinking and stereotyping.
These consequences of fear
are why xenophobia and racism are
so prevalent in our society and why
our fear of others unlike us is one of
our biggest societal aversions.
Societal Representations:
The arguments being used in some of the current
political campaigns as well as the notion to keep
out Syrian refugees.
The societal attitude towards Mexico and illegal
aliens has become increasingly hostile. Many feel
as if they should not be helped or cared for, but
simply sent home “where they belong”.
An us versus them attitude has begun to emerge
through the idea of a literal wall being built between
America and Mexico. This shows we are
“us” and they are “them”, and we do not welcome
or want “them”, which feeds into our xenophobia
as a society.
Representations in Game of Thrones:
Those in Game of Thrones literally took a page
out of Donald Trump’s book and built a massive
wall to keep the “others” (white walkers and wildlings)
out.
The night’s watch are extremely xenophobic towards
the wildlings and would rather let them die
than help them and let them onto their land, much
like with illegal aliens and the Syrian refugees.
At one point Jon Snow asks his men to allow the
wildlings to pass through because otherwise thousands
of them will die, to which one man replies
“Let them die, we have our own to worry
about”.
Watch a video showing the xenophobic relationship between the Night’s Watch and the Wildlings here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnKlAb4ODKg&nohtml5=False

W
A
R
Our fear of war is both literal and figurative, and has
been brought about by the multiple types of “war” going
on within our society for decades. When given cause,
whether it be through attacks of radicals, media hype, or
an unnecessary
death, hate and fear
erupts throughout
society which leads
to war. We have
seen these types of
war break out time
and time again,
striking fear into the
heart of society.
Societal Representations:
One example would be America versus Muslims after 9/11. This lead to the
“War on Terror” which caused great terror in itself. Rather than looking at the
situation as America versus Al Qaeda, it became “real Americans” versus Muslims
as attacks on Muslims and Mosques skyrocketed.
Another example would be the Black Lives Matter movement which represents
Black Americans against the police and unequal treatment. There has been an
outcry from both sides of this war with people of color being upset over their
treatment and many whites wanting to silence the movement by saying that all
lives matter. People in America often fear these “wars” because war often
leads to change depending on who wins, and those who are on top often want
to stay on top.
Representations in Game of Thrones:
One of the biggest representations of the societal fear of war in Game of
Thrones happened with the beheading of Ned Stark. Things had finally seemed
to be stable in the seven kingdoms, and Ned was doing what he knew was best
for his family and his kingdom. His untimely death at the hands of Joffrey the
irrational and clearly mad king sent the kingdom into an uproar. Everyone
feared for the worst, especially his privileged family who no longer felt safe in
a place where they had once been on top because they were now the disadvantaged
group. This is the exact fear that most privileged white people in today’s
society have, played out on the screen for them to see.

Societal Representations:
Freedom is in our constitution and is a
part of our everyday lives. It is a right
that we cling to desperately, and it is often
the infringement of freedom in one
form or another that leads to the wars
that society fears as a whole
The topics of freedom to marry who we
want (gay rights) and the freedom for
women to do what they want with their
bodies (abortion and the de-funding of
planned parenthood) are a
few topics that illustrate our
desire for freedom.
Representations in Game of Thrones:
Daenerys– In the beginning of her story
she was controlled by her brother and
wished for her freedom. She was forced
into an unwanted marriage and was given
no autonomy in her life. However
she is now a queen who grants others
their freedom by liberating slave states.
Tyrion– He wants to be free of the responsibilities
and stigma that come with
his last name and wants to be free of his
father and sister.
Jamie and Cersei– They simply want to
be free to love each other and live their
lives.
Freedom
There are three fundamental psychological human needs: relatedness,
competence and autonomy. Although they are all important to be
happy and fulfilled, autonomy is the most important of the three. Therefore,
one of our strongest societal desires is freedom. There is a reason
why America is referred to as the land of the free and the home of the
brave, and Americans take their freedom very seriously. As Americans
this desire is closely tied with our fears, because we hold the right to be
free above all else and therefore fear losing our freedom.

Stability
The stability that we desire as a society can also be abstract or concrete.
As Americans we desire a stable government and job as well as a
stable income. As humans we also desire a stable mind, a stable life and
stable health. We search for stability in
our relationships with other people because
we want the comfort and ease of
mind that often comes with it. According
to the Bhagavad Gita the outcome of
mental stability is immediate clarity of
thought and intelligence and therefore if
we have stability of mind it will bring
about “undisturbed peace and unending
calm” which does not allow sorrow to
bother you.
Societal Representations:
America is not too far out of a recession in
which many people’s stable lives were
turned upside down. Jobs and homes that
were once stable were shattered and lost,
and people not only fear that loss again, but
desire to keep the stability that they have
rebuilt. Therefore as a society we are
searching for stability in our lives and in our
mind to bring us peace in this ever changing
time. Even our environment has become
unstable with the threat of global warming
and mass extinction. We also have candidates
like Trump and Sanders running for
president who want to change so much
about our country and society.
Representations in Game of Thrones:
Stability seems to be an elusive desire for
Margaery, with her first seeking it in marrying
King Joffrey and securing herself in the
secure position as queen. However, when he
dies on their wedding day she is forced to
work her way back into the marriage bed
with his younger brother Tommen. This
same incident uprooted the little bit of stability
that Cersei had built for herself in King’s
Landing, as the death of her oldest son left
her mental state in shambles. Margaery’s
foundation is once again shaken when she is
arrested for knowing that her brother Loris is
gay, which finally begins to chip away at her
mental stability.

Societal Representations:
We have seen this concept played out in school
shootings such as Columbine and others where
kids felt bullied or that they had been labeled as an
outcast, and so they exacted their revenge. As a
whole, our society wants to see people get what
they deserve and pay for what they have done.
This is why jails and the death penalty still exist,
and why we love movies like Taken and Braveheart.
We root for justice and revenge, and we
want to see the bad guy get taken down.
Representations in Game of Thrones:
The death of Joffrey was one death that felt so deserved
and had so much revenge behind it that all
who have been emotionally invested in the show
gave a standing ovation. The bad guy had finally
gotten what was coming to him, and everyone was
elated. It seemed that Joffrey had done so much
wrong that the only right thing to do was to kill
him. His death was revenge for Ned Stark, and
for all of his wrong doings that had made audiences
and characters in the show love to hate him.
Rob Stark, Ned’s son, set out to exact revenge on
Joffrey and take his throne. He knew there would
be no justice for his father unless he made it for
himself, and in the end Rob’s murder along with
the murder of his pregnant wife and the majority
of his family made Joffrey even more hated and
fueled our want for revenge as viewers, as well as
for those in the show.
These two concepts are linked in numerous
ways, and in our society it is seldom
to find one without the other. Justice
refers to the concept of giving someone
what they deserve, and is related to
revenge in the sense that through justice
comes revenge. When justice is not
served to our liking, or we do not feel
satisfied with the justice that was served,
that is when we turn to revenge. Many
within our society have the eye for an
eye viewpoint, and when the mob mentality
kicks in or when people feel they
have been wronged justice and revenge
are concepts that almost anyone would
be on board for.

In Conclusion
Why do we need to see these fears and desires played out on our
screen for us to view?
For some of these desires and fears the answer is quite obvious, we
cannot always achieve them in real life, thus we feel the need to satisfy our
desires and fears by finding them in our entertainment. For example, revenge
or justice may not always be applicable in the way that we would prefer so
watching the characters in Game of Thrones exact their revenge on those in
the show that we hate can help to satisfy our thirst for these societal desires.
Expressing xenophobia and racism is not always considered acceptable within
our society and therefore we feel that we need this show in our politically correct
world to satisfy us. As humans we tend to search for connection and relatedness,
thus through watching our own desires and fears in Game of
Thrones we are able to relate to the characters and their struggles. Our societal
fears and desires are the inspiration for the types of shows that are presented
to us, with some like Game of Thrones being better representations that
others making them more likely to be popular. People see their own fears and
desires played out before them in Game of Thrones, and can consequently satisfy
the freedom, stability and justice/revenge that they desire and the xenophobia/racism
and war that they fear.