What is Game of Thrones?
Is there anyone au fait with the world of pop culture, anyone who watches television, or anyone who has access to the internet who does not know what Game of Thrones is?

For the people who have somehow managed to escape, if not watching then knowing of, Game of Thrones, allow me to inform you, quite simply, that, contrary to descriptions used by other people, that Game of Thrones is more than just a television show. Game of Thrones is, in fact, a phenomenon. Usually the term “phenomenon” is overused, but considering that the show’s fan base is truly global in scope, that the show has created history through its massive ratings and by being the most nominated show at the Primetime Emmy Awards – which rewards primarily television shows. To understand why this matters, you must know that we are currently in what television scholars are describing as the second Golden Age of Television – meaning that even though Game of Thrones is on the air along with a lot of other great shows, it often comes out top, highlighting its superiority over the many good work that is currently on television. There are other ways in which the show has had an immense impact on the lives of people. Among the more frivolous includes the rise of legions of fans all over the world, even here in Guyana and the Caribbean, who host conventions and Game of Thrones viewing parties. Of course, the show is much more important than all that, especially for a Guyanese audience, but before we get there, the question must be answered for those who do not know: what is Game of Thrones?

It is a television show that airs on HBO. It recently ended its sixth season. The show is based on a series of books called A Song of Ice and Fire (ASOIAF) by George R. R. Martin, and is set in a medieval-type fantasy world where several warring clans fight to gain control of the throne and become ruler of the continent of Westeros. The show has one of the largest casts on television and is packed with heroes, villains, antiheroes, and characters that are so morally ambiguous that they are equally loved and despised. The sheer scope of the show is one that cannot be accurately summed up here and, for now, it would simply have to be described as BEING epic, and also AS an epic. While politics is the main theme of the show, it also focuses extensively on morality, death, feminism, religion, the loss of innocence, and complex human relationships. Herein, in the themes and the presentation of them, lies the importance of Game of Thrones to the Guyanese audience.

Why is Game of Thrones important to us?
The importance of Game of Thrones, it must be understood, comes to us solely because of the fact that the show itself is a work of art – a combination of writing, acting, directing and other artistic elements – that, like any good painting or piece of literature, offers us a plethora of lessons, ideas, and ideologies to discover.
The first lesson, and the one being discussed in this article, has to do with politics. This is especially important for us, the Guyanese audience, because of the fractured and fragile political landscape we have in our own country. The show offers us a way of experiencing political entities and perspectives that, although being not close to the Guyanese experience in its presentation of a war-torn medieval continent besieged by kings and queens with dragons and giants, does offer some insight into politics and the political train of thought. After all, can the motivations of politicians, whether to serve and protect a country and its people or to usurp power from the people, not be reduced to certain, basic core tropes that can be used to express the motivations of a great majority of politicians, whether in fiction or in real life? Is fiction not always based on some aspects of real life? Can we then not contend that the political ambitions being displayed by various characters on Game of Thrones offer some idea of how the political mind, and politics, work and what role the common man has in the mechanisms of the few who use the title of “politician” to make decisions which influence the way we live? The answer to this question is in the affirmative because the parallels between the real world and the world of Westeros are too obvious to dismiss. Take, for example, from the show, the character of Daenerys Targaryean, who has risen from being oppressed and enslaved to the point where she is now a deliverer of the oppressed and enslaved and, because of this, is at the point where her legion of followers have ensured that she has become Queen of the city of Mereen. Daenerys’ followers are with her because she saved them, but it can also be assumed that many of them rally at her side because her narrative is one that they feel connected to; her life story, she herself once was in situations similar to ones she rescued many people from, is something that reminds her followers that she, their queen, was once like them and this, in fact, may be one of the very reasons why they stand by her. Perhaps it is human nature to feel a sense of security with that which is similar to, or the same as, ourselves. This could explain the pattern of race-based voting that has been prevalent throughout Guyanese history (with the East Indian faction voting for the PPP and the Africans voting for the PNC) and this notion in politics of staying with what is the same, what is familiar, or similar to oneself is definitely reflected in Game of Thrones in the way the former slaves, and other characters who have been oppressed and marginalized, such as Tyrion, her chief adviser, stay close to the side of Daenerys. However, as we in Guyana know, there are pitfalls to choosing only your own simply because they are your own. Daenerys is not a perfect ruler; she makes bad decisions and might even be accused of having an almost tyrannical streak running through her, and yet, she is the one poised to rule all of Westeros. In much the same way, here in Guyana the advocates of race-based voting are heavily, destructively flawed and yet will (continue to) be imbued with power if their supporters continue to adhere to the perspective of choosing their politics based on what is the same or familiar and do not become more analytical in their choice of leaders. This parallel is also reflected on Game of Thrones in the way certain royal families (such as the Lannisters) cling religiously to their own, refusing to give up power, refusing to share that power and doing everything possible to ensure that they are the only ones who accumulate power – which itself is another trait, the accumulation of wealth and power in specific families, that can be found in the Guyanese political arena.

The way in which Game of Thrones intertwines religion with politics is also quite interesting. The show is able to offer to the audience one perspective which tells us how religion can be used in politics to manipulate the fears of people in order to ensure that they become submissive and bend easily to the will of the ruler/dictator. In the show there is a beautiful and powerful priestess named Melisandre. Her religion has been accepted by one of the kings vying for the throne and she uses that religion as a mechanism with which to both instill fear into people and to coerce them into following the king she chose instead of all the other kings. Now, in Guyana, can there really be found an example of religion being used as a political tool? Shockingly, such an example does exist. Did Bishop Juan Edghill not once say that voting for the PPP is something that Jesus would do? If we examine the pertinence and applicability of Edghill’s contentious contention then the role of religion, its purpose in the field of Guyanese politics, becomes blatantly evident.
Another interesting political insight the show offers is through its presentation of the Baratheon brothers (all of them rulers at various points) and how the presentations of the brothers, counterparts of all of whom have been reflected in Guyanese politics at some time, is almost a guide to what the perfect ruler should NOT be. Take, for example, the eldest brother, Robert Baratheon and the way his rule was marked by excessive spending and indulging in the good things in life, which led to the kingdom almost becoming bankrupt. Of interest is also Robert’s choice of advisors and the way he was manipulated, puppet-like, by smarter politicians. The second brother is Stannis Baratheon who is a brilliant strategist and rigid ruler. His flaw being that he is often seen, despite being just and morally upright in the beginning, as too emotionless and cold, which initially distances the populace away – proving that the image of the politician and the way he/she interacts with the common man is of the utmost importance. Then there is the third brother, Renly Baratheon who reflects the politicians in Guyanese politics who are all talk and no action. He is charming and skilled with words, but lacks vision and a desire to really be of any help to anyone other than himself. In observing these three types and applying them to local politics, the Guyanese equivalents should become apparent.
Clearly, there are lessons for the Guyanese people that can be found in Game of Thrones, which itself only means that there are lessons in art for all people. The show serves to entertain, to teach and to cause the audience to react, emotionally or mentally, to what they see onscreen. It is the job of the thinking audience, something we should all aim to be, to glean what we can from the works of art that are presented to us, apply them to our current situations, and extract from them every lesson, every piece of ideology and every bit analysis that will teach us more about the world we live in.