Abstract:
In the contemporary world, the genre of the Television Series has become one of the
most popular forms of art. Scenes with sexuality and the barbarity are frequently used
in TV series. Sexuality is a cultural response to biological needs. Different types of
sexual activities can be found in TV shows like sadism, machoism, voyeurism etc.
Extreme cruelty and uncivilized behavior are called as barbarity, which is used by
western world to make a distinction between them and primitive cultures. Barbarity and
violence go hand in hand, which is very common in TV shows. Sexuality and barbarity
seem to have a cross-cultural appeal, a fact crucially exploited by the capitalist entertainment
industry. This research explores the use of sexuality and barbarity in the popular
TV series from a psychological and postmodern perspective. In this study my main focus
is with HBO’s “Game of Thrones” & Showtime’s “Dexter” as these two are based on two
different societies and meanwhile they have reached top ratings as well. The study is
based on postmodern theory on art, psychological references and television statistics.
The visuals of sexuality and barbarity have enough force to satisfy and fulfill the hidden
uncivilized desires and sexual dreams of civilized men through awaking them. Thus,
main objective of my study is to discover the way sex and barbarity are portrayed in
contemporary TV series and to examine whether they are used as a tool to hold the popularity
of the show.