Use of Sexuality and Barbarity in Contemporary Television Series with Special Reference to ‘Game of Thrones’ & ‘Dexter’

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.