The concluding episode of the HBO drama, Game of Thrones (GoT) airs next week, which will put an end to the anticipation of the exhilarated fans around the globe. The show follows a cataclysmic quest among several noble families to either gain control over the throne or attain independence from it, in the mythical land of Westeros and also features a story arc of an impending threat to humankind from supernatural humanoid creatures. Beyond the fantasy and mystical allusions like dragons, resurrection, zombies, green sight etc, it is the perfect metaphor for the modern world that we live in.
In recent developments, the island nation of Indonesia floated a plan of shifting its sinking capital of Jakarta following several warnings regarding disastrous flood risks, owing to rising sea levels. It is a premonition for all the nations around the world, that heightened carbon emissions pose a serious threat to our very existence. Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old climate activist, who came into prominence for skipping school and protesting outside the Swedish Parliament for immediate action to combat climate change, gave out a message to Narendra Modi to take climate change seriously and act on it. The Westerosi folk in Game of Thrones, not acknowledging the imminent threat of white walkers and a long winter full of hardships mirrors the denial of climate change by the international community. The noble houses in the show have been too busy squabbling over the Kingdom to recognize the real existential threat they are facing- the Long Night, which may well be an allegory to abrupt change in weather patterns and depletion of the biosphere. It is about time that climate change scepticism be put to rest and the entire world lobby to save the realm.
GoT’s most obvious parallel with our own world is the increasing awareness of political corruption. Last week, South Africans voted Cyril Ramaphosa in for President, who had vowed to tackle corruption within the African National Congress (ANC). The ANC secured only 57.5% of the vote- a sign of growing distrust in its leadership, which has suffered scandal after scandal in recent years. The character of Littlefinger in the show, has been embezzling money and some of the houses had rose up in rebellion against the Crown, owing to Lannister malversation. GoT further parallels the rising fanaticism throughout the world by juxtaposing the acts of the Faith Militant to that of the radical religious groups at the moment. The Easter suicide bombings in Sri Lanka, Christchurch Mosque shootings and the bombing in Quetta are instances of such dogmatism. The Northerners erecting a wall to keep out “savages with no loyalty” is reminiscent of Trump equating migrants to animals and adopting stringent measures to resist them. Just yesterday, a boat carrying a dozen migrants capsized off Tunisia, which highlights the need for a more symbiotic relationship between nations, just like the Wildlings and Castle Black in the show.
Lastly, GoT represents a “consciousness shift” evident in today’s world where the future lies in the hands of the newer generation and young characters like Bran, Daenerys, Arya, Yara and Lynna Mormont who are destroying archaic systems like slavery, pillaging, despotism and patriarchy.
Meaningful insights . Mature penmanship.
Thank you!