BadgerPod NerdCast One: Karen gets nerdraped!

Works Covered:

Summary of Song of Ice and Fire Series aka A Game of Thrones by GRRM(by Kristal Garcia)

A Song of Ice and Fire series is a fantasy story written by George R.R. Martin. Within it lies a world of Dragons, Kings and Queens and the brutality of survival. Some of the most vibrant characters are born of this series. Daenarys Targaryan, Khaleesi Queen of Dothraki and mother of Dragons, is hellbent on revenge and reclaiming the Iron Throne of Westeros. Tyrion, the powerful dwarf of the Lannister family is witty and knows how to manage his warped sister Queen Cersei and her twin brother/lover Jamie. His mother died giving birth to him, something his father Lord Tywin will not let him forget. Tyrion is a brave fighter and seems to fear no one. Arya Stark, one of the princesses of Winterfell, wishes to be a warrior. She was kidnapped but escaped and now searches for her family and plots her revenge. And many more vibrant and vicious characters stir in this story, all caught in the war of thrones.

This epic story has been brought to life on the TV Series ‘A Game of Thrones’, named after the first of the 5 books in Martin’s series. Now, in this series there is the saying which means ‘All Men Must Die’. It is a saying repeated throughout the book, in high Valyrian it is ‘Valar Morghulis’. Jaqen H’ghar gives a coin to Arya Stark and tells her to use the words ‘Valar Morghulis’ if she wants to find him by handing the coin to any man from Bravos and saying those words. Arya uses it to open the temple of the Many-Faced Gods, a slave says it to Daeneyrs and she replies ‘But we are not men’. This campaign leaves NYC streets and buses and trains with signs that say ‘All Men Must Die’. This would never be acceptable if it said ‘All Women Must Die’.

See more of Kristal’s “Men Must Be Loved” campaign here.

Review of “The Day the Laughter Stopped” (by Jess Kay)

Do you wanna play a game?

Game designer, animator and writer Hannes Flor has created a “game” reminiscent of the classic ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ books, except Flor’s game is the worst choose-your-own-adventure ever. This “game” is nothing more than a narrative in which the “player” is given options in how to proceed – or should I say that the “player” is given the illusion of options in how to proceed. But we’ll get to that.

The narrative unfolds from the perspective of a 14-year-old girl in high school who has just come to the realization that an older boy in school – handsome and popular – has not only noticed her, but has taken an interest in her. The “game” aspect is introduced when we are given options of how the protagonist may proceed at different junctures of her interaction with this boy. At every juncture, the player is given two choices which essentially boil down to ‘proceed’ or ‘decline.’ However, it quickly becomes clear that the narrative attached to the choice made by the player does not truly represent that choice.

When the player makes the conscious decision to ‘proceed,’ they are met with a reluctant narrative; when the player makes the conscious decision to ‘decline,’ the narrative essentially proceeds regardless. In this sense, the agenda is very clear that the author believes all roads lead to rape. Regardless of whether the protagonist consciously consents or actively removes themselves from the situation, they will still get raped. Agency? What is that? Women are clearly objects that are only capable of being acted upon. Despite their disdain for the objectification of women, feminist rhetoric continues to boil down to women being incapable of making rational, healthy, intelligent decisions for themselves, instead only being capable of reacting to actions performed upon them.

Extended Review

Badgertalk review…

Adventure Time episodes “Wake up” and “Escape from the Citadel”

Adventure Time is one of the few shows on television with a positive portrayal of male friendships and relationships. So it was a massive disappointment when the Finn’s biological father turned out to be a stereotypical deadbeat dad. This is not the first time that a character on the show has been distant from their father. When Marceline the vampire queen was forced to see her estranged father, the two managed to reconcile. However in this episode, Finns father was revealed to have been trapped in an interdimensional prison. He was a criminal who cared little for Finn’s existence and left him to die.

While I disagree with the way this particular episode went, I have not lost faith in the series. Jake the dog consistently fills a fatherly sort of role for Finn and this is the first time a father character has been outright terrible instead of merely misguided. Though there is still time for things to be settled and even if Finn’s dad is never seen again, we know that Finn will be better for this experience. Because one of the themes in the show is not that father’s are not needed, but that positive father figures can come from anywhere and change our lives for the better.