Criticsâ Reactions to the Sansa Rape Scene in Episode 5.6 of Game of Thrones
The show has creators. They make the choices.They chose to use rape as a plot device. Again. - Jill Pantozzi, The Mary SueÂ
It is possible to write fantasy without falling back on the harmful cliché that an old-timey setting offers a free pass to show women getting raped all the time. -Everdeen Mason, Refinery29
The issue with the show returning to rape as a trope is not simply because there have been thinkpieces speaking out against it, and is not solely driven by the rational concerns lying at the heart of those thinkpieces. Itâs also that the show has lost my faith as a viewer that the writers know how to articulate the aftermath of this rape effectivelyâŠÂ -Myles McNutt, AV Club
We already knew that Ramsay Bolton was a sadist and an abuser of women, we already knew that Theon Greyjoy was his tormented puppet. Showing Sansaâs dress ripped, showing her face shoved down into the bed, hearing her screams did nothing to reveal character, or advance the plot, or critique anything about Westerosi society or about our own conceptions of medieval society that hasnât already been critiqued. - Steven Attewell, Salon
In general, Iâm not a big fan of people getting raped in entertainment as a manipulative way of heightening the stakes, but Iâm even less of a fan of people getting raped in entertainment when it accomplishes absolutely nothing. Â - Laura Hudson, Wired
What character development could be wrung from this tragedy that could not have been created without a violent rape? Why does Game of Thrones â and so much popular entertainment â revert to this horrific crime when they want their female characters to âgrowâ? - Michal Schick, Hypable
Was it really important to make that scene about Theonâs pain? If Game of Thrones was going to go there, shouldnât they at least have had the courage to keep the camera on Turnerâs face?âŠBut the last thing we needed was to have a powerful young woman brought low in order for a male character to find redemption. No thank you.  - Joanna Robinson, Vanity Fair
To show Sansa being raped as the kicker to an episode â and then to cut to Theon, as if itâs his view, his reaction, his internalizing of the moment that matters â just felt like more of the same old same old weâve been getting since Ros died, since Tansy was hunted, since Cersei was raped. - Nina Shen Rastogi, Vulture
There are thousands of ways to make a character and a series compelling without having to humiliate and dehumanize her with sexual force. Come on, Game of Thrones, you should know better than that. - Rachel Semigran, Bustle
Now with Sansa and Ramsay, Game of Thrones is seemingly confirming that it has no idea how to use rape as a storytelling device â crass as it may sound, fictional sexual violence can be extremely powerful if managed carefully (see: The Americans) â and rape is just about the worst storytelling device to deploy clumsily. - Jen Trolio, Vox
Welcome to cable drama, where a womanâs rape is an opportunity for a manâs character developmentâŠ.what really makes the wedding night rape of Sansa Stark notable is the fact that as brutal and honestly unnecessary as the moment is, the show doesnât even have the courtesy of letting Sansaâs emotions about the event serve as the center of the momentâŠ. This was a choice and the choice was to marry off a teenage girl, rape her, and not even have the dignity to care primarily about her feelings about her fate. - Libby Hill, Salon
The show pretty much added a new, and in my opinion, entirely unnecessary victimization to her story. More concerningly, after Jaimeâs rape of Cersei last season, itâs yet another rape Benioff and Weiss decided to add to the show that was not in the text and at this point, we donât need anymore. - Lauren Morgan, New York Daily News
There have been numerous plot points and characters from Martinâs novels that have been omitted from the series; Iâd love to hear what the showrunnersâ arguments are for not only keeping the brutal assault of a young woman, but changing the storyline so that it happened to a beloved character. Iâll be waiting for an explanation, but like Jaime Lannisterâs guilt [over raping Cersei], Iâm not expecting it to actually arrive. - Casey Cipriani, Indiewire
There were so many ways around this very horrible and very predictable outcome and D&D decided to use what would shock viewers the most. Â Maybe Iâm naive and hope too much for the good things, but Iâm also a fan of good writing and creative characters who grow. Sansaâs âweddingâ involved neither.- Jen Stayrock, Workprint
Bad enough that the assault upon the Stark princess by ghastly Ramsay Bolton was explicitly presented as an exercise in voyeurism, with Theon Greyjoy forced to watch as Sansa was violently assailed. Â What made the scene worse, and perhaps unforgivable, was that the rape was in the context of Sansa displaying increased maturity and independence. - Ed Powers, Independent.ie
Personally, Iâd really like Game of Thrones to be a good 30-40 per cent less weird about women (and having Warrior Princess fighting girls in Dorne isnât quite what Iâm after, chaps). - Chris Bennion, Independent.co.uk
âFans have a direct experience with the crime than with murder or other really serious violent acts.  Often you can tell exactly what the story line was because itâs prompting calls about a certain issue or from a certain group of survivors.â  - Scott Berkowitz, president and founder of the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN)  The hotline which receives a noticeable increase in calls every time thereâs a portrayal of rape on a popular show.  Support is available 24/7 through the National Sexual Assault Hotline: 800-656-HOPE
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