What Game Of Thrones Teaches Us About Poverty

Game of Thrones is escapist fantasy at its finest. The sprawling world of Westeros has a rich and complicated history, scores of characters, and enough intertwining storylines to make Greek mythology look simple. The show has been lauded for its ability to transport an audience away from their current lives and immerse them into Martin’s fantasy world.

At the same time, behind the direwolves and dragons, much of the success of Martin’s series lies in the fact that it resonates so strongly with our own world.

From love to loneliness to injustice, the personal feelings of the characters, which so strongly push forward the plot, hit close to home. It reflects the failings we see around us, in our own lives, in politics, and perhaps most disturbingly, in our social system.

Game of Thrones, for the sharp viewer, has important messages to be sent about what it is to wield power and how to do it.

The importance of the poor for security

In Game of Thrones, the greatest threat to the throne is not the various potential usurpers who are vying for it. Rather, it is far more insidious; it is the threat of the people the King tramples and abuses through neglect.

The main motivation for one of the potential rivals, often repeated, is that she has the support of the people.

The raw power of the populace is seen in the scene where the royal family ventures out of the castle, and is set upon by a starving, angry mob. The only thing that saves the Lannister family from their misrule is the arrival of the charitable Tyrells, who floods the city with food, resources, and much-needed PR for the royal family.