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Arts
Monday, April 15, 2019 — 5A
Tonight is the highly anticipated premiere of “Game of Thrones”
Season 8, which has been a great topic of conversation over the
last few days (weeks, months). From a storytelling standpoint,
“Game of Thrones” has become a stand-in example for a number
of categories, perhaps the most common among them being brutal
TV shows with merciless rates of character death.
“Game of Thrones” is unforgiving, and that’s something those
of us who watch the show seem to love about it. All these recent
conversations about season 8 have carried a similar trend of
excitement that verges on betting: Who will live? Who will die?
It’s gotten me thinking about why this is something we care about
so much in fiction, and how many different forms death can take
and roles it can fulfill in a fictional setting. Is character death a
fun plot twist, or the exciting climax of an action-filled scene? Is
it a beautiful send off to a beloved character? Is it grueling and
horrifying? Is it cheap, or is it dark and serious, something meant
to truly affect us on a deep emotional level and propel us to think
about our lives?
The through-the-roof total of different deaths so far in “Game of
Thrones” makes it the perfect case
study for exploring these questions
because really, death isn’t one of
these things; it’s all, or any, of them.
So, in the spirit of the season, here is
a list of the wonderful possibilities
of death in fiction, and why, in spite
of their awfulness, they appeal so
deeply to audiences and draw us
back in again and again.
*Major Spoilers Ahead*
Plot Device:
This is by and large the biggest
reason, and the one we probably
care about the least. Did anyone
really shed a tear when Robert
Baratheon got attacked by that
boar, or when Jojen Reed was killed
by a wight in season 4? I only even
remember those because I looked up
a list of “Game of Thrones” deaths before writing this.
But they moved the plot forward, which was nice. If Robert
hadn’t died, we never would have gotten to see his awful son
Joffrey as king, and then where would we have been?
Advancing Another Character’s Development:
We all remember Khal Drogo, but from the beginning, he
was clearly only there as one rung in Daenerys Targaryen’s long
ladder to world domination. His death was an example of one less
important character being offed in order to aid in the development
of a much more significant character, by moving her along to the
next stage of her journey.
“Game of Thrones” has a lot of examples of this — Shae is
another one. Her’s is an interesting case compared to Drogo, in
that their likeability progressed in opposite directions leading up
to their deaths. Drogo started out as a complete villain, assaulting
Daenerys in the first episode, but leading up to his death, the
show took care to show the two of them bonding so that his
eventual death felt like more of a personal sacrifice or milestone
for Daenerys. Shae, on the other hand, was very sympathetic and
likeable during her early relationship with Tyrion Lannister. The
decision later to have her betray Tyrion later on feels like a primer
to make her death more favorable and digestible, in addition to a
spur motivating Tyrion to move on.
Keeping the Energy Up:
This might sound callous, but on the other hand, there’s a reason
the Red Wedding is still one of the most talked-about events of
the show, coming up on five seasons later. A big part of watching
the show is exactly that: We like the excitement of tuning into
an episode and not having any idea what to expect, knowing that
anything could happen.
We Like Getting Our Hearts Broken:
Why else would Ygritte have to go like that? There’s no other
explanation.
Genuine Emotional Consequences:
Death is really heavy. There’s no way around it, and it can’t
always be a box to check off or a wild, out-of-nowhere thrill. One
of the first genuinely memorable deaths was that of Ned Stark: It
wasn’t the first death in the show, but it established the overarching
precedent of “Game of Thrones” that no one is safe. It remains one
of the show’s most powerful moments, and there was no fanfare,
no extra or unnecessary drama. It was cold and surprising and
relatively quiet. At its core, this is where the emotional investment
of the show comes from: We see characters go through very real
suffering and loss, like the rest of the Stark family, and we want to
know that they’ll make it out of it at the end.
Of course, on the other hand, we also want to see the tables turn.
Sometimes Deaths Are Just
Satisfying:
Joffrey Baratheon being poisoned
at his wedding! Ramsay Bolton
being eaten alive by his own dogs!
Arya Stark killing Walder Frey,
and later Littlefinger! It’s almost
hard to remember a time when one
character killing another by pouring
hot gold over their head would have
felt completely out of nowhere,
but Viserys’s demise in season 1
was only the first in a long line of
characters who just plain needed to
die. Sometimes that’s what we need
out of fiction — when we sign on for
all of its darkness and gruesome
horror, we’re going in with the hope
that eventually that darkness will
work in our favor.
Why we love watching people die, according to ‘GoT’
LITERATURE COLUMN
LAURA DZUBAY
Daily Literature Columnist
A stage name is special.
Oftentimes,
it’s
a
unique
representation of a creative
identity that an artist feels
his or her given name does not
properly personify. While some
pseudonyms
are
randomly
generated
nonsense
(i.e.
Childish Gambino), an analysis
of many stage names can
inform the art associated with
them, helping us consumers
further
personalize
the
creations we consume. With
this idea in mind, we’ve decided
to take a dive into the world of
fake names, exploring where
they come from and what, if
anything, they’re supposed to
represent.
—
Mike
Watkins,
Daily
Music Editor
When people hear the term
“stage name,” they typically
think
of
pop
superstars
like Elton John, Drake or
someone of similar acclaim.
These figures chose their
stage names so they could
make
themselves
more
recognizable, while also being
simple enough for anyone
to
remember.
However,
in the black metal world,
specifically in the infamous
Norwegian scene in the 1980s,
stage names serve an entirely
different purpose.
In Norwegian black metal,
stage names are chosen to
advance a band’s aesthetic
and
sound.
How
could
someone be in a band with a
name like Darkthrone and
be named Leif Nagell? They
couldn’t be. To combat this
issue, the members of these
bands started to adopt stage
names,
some
more
over-
the-top than others. None,
however, could beat Dead of
the band Mayhem, not even
his fellow bandmates, with
names like Euronymous and
Necrobutcher.
Sure, “Dead” isn’t the most
creative name, but it fits the
atmosphere and attitude of
Mayhem so well. Dead’s story
is complex and troubling,
after all: He was allegedly
announced to be dead for
several minutes as a young
boy, but his story is also
easily researched. However,
what needs to be explained
is exactly why his name fit
Mayhem’s music so well. Dead
was the Mayhem’s frontman
and lyricist. He wrote the
lyrics
for
bone-crushing
tracks like “Buried by Time
and
Dust”
and
“Freezing
Moon,” in which Dead utters
the
scene-defining
lines,
“Everything here is so cold /
Everything here is so dark.”
Dead’s
signature
tortured,
inhuman growl was also the
defining voice in the entire
Norwegian scene. No one
else could replicate Dead’s
sound, his lyrics, nor his
stage presence. In fact, for
many fans, Dead was black
metal. His every move, from
his on-stage self-harm to his
use of “corpse paint,” was
deployed by other bands. He
wasn’t trying to be cool or
pure. He was doing exactly
what he felt he needed to
do. Dead truly believed in
Norway’s
scene,
and
his
suicide changed its course
forever. Without him, there is
no black metal, which is why
Dead is the most important
pseudonym in the genre.
— Jim Wilson, Daily Arts
Writer
MUSIC: PSEUDONYM WEEK
Pseudonym Week: A look
at Mayhem & black metal
Is character death a fun plot twist, or the exciting climax of an action-filled
scene? Is it a beautiful send-off to a beloved character?
If I had been told five years
ago that Nike Air Force 1s
would ever become too basic
to purchase, I would have
laughed in your face. How
could oversized, clunky shoes
that strayed a bit too much
from the status quo ever
become the new normal?
I could not have been more
wrong.
In the past half decade,
and especially in the past
year, Nike Air Forces (as
well as their cousins, Adidas
Superstars)
have
taken
college campuses and the
wallets of Generation Z by
storm. Their utterly basic
style is truly unlike any
other shoe and yet that is its
greatest appeal. The shoes fit
absolutely anyone, regardless
of gender identity or atheltic
status — their versatility is
unmatched.
How did people begin to
see them this way as opposed
to
weird
shoes
that
the
hipsters wore at school? The
answer lies in the effect of
mob mentality.
In the ’80s, Nike Air Force
1s achieved fame due to their
widespread popularity among
basketball players. Nike was
the provider for basketball
players
both
professional
and amateur, and to promote
their new shoe, they called
upon the power of six stars of
the time: basketball players
Moses
Malone,
Michael
Cooper, Jamaal Wilkes, Bobby
Jones, Mychal Thompson and
Calvin Natt. This marketing
campaign was so iconic that
it was emulated on the shoe’s
25th anniversary in 2007 —
with the more contemporary
stars LeBron James, Steve
Nash, Paul Pierce, Rasheed
Wallace, Chris Paul and Kobe
Bryant, among others.
However, just as trends
come and go, this one faded
out in the next decade as new
sneakers came out that could
replace the old.
History
in
the
fashion
world has demonstrated this
theme to us on countless
occasions: Trends rise and
fall. Though trends disappear,
many of them make a return
later on. Oftentimes, trends
return about a decade later,
causing people to forget the
demographic group of which
they originated from.
At
the
onset
of
their
return, Air Force 1s were
worn by people who wanted
to stand out. This was largely
due to the industry that
reintroduced
them
—
not
basketball this time around,
but rap music. Industry greats
like Jay-Z and Fat Joe donned
the shoe, and their rejection
of what was “popular” at the
time seeped down to their
young fans. Diverging from
the traditional sneaker of
choice was a risky move that
would
instigate
comments
of
shock
and
primarily
judgement.
Breaking
the
status quo was a risky move
in high school unless one
truly embodied the “I don’t
give a fuck” persona.
It
wasn’t
until
this
headspace became something
that people strove to embody,
rather than a unique quality,
that this aesthetic became
basic — and, therefore, so did
Air Force 1s.
The funny thing is that
the
people
that
brought
Nike Air Force 1 sneakers
back are no longer wearing
them
today.
The
areas
where Nike Air Force 1s
found
their
popularity
—
basketball and hip hop — are
industries
associated
with
and dominated by the Black
community. This “trend” of
Air Force 1s isn’t a trend at all,
but rather another element
of youth culture, alongside
things
like
popular
slang
terms or musical methods,
started by and stolen from
the Black community. The
trend started among Black
artists and industry leaders,
as adopted by Black teens and
eventually was appropriated
by white influencers and teens
until the trend expanded and
became accepted by a greater
percentage
of
the
young
population until they became
a staple.
Air Force 1s aren’t the
only trend in on this theme.
Oversized hoodies. Sneakers
worn
as
formal
wear.
Scrunchies. The list goes on
and on. They have always
been around — it’s just that
white people weren’t into
them until recently.
Therefore, it is fair to make
the case that the majority of
recent trends are not new in
actuality. They are merely
revamps of clothing from
another
decade
that
has
notably become of interest to
a new demographic. Perhaps
we should start giving credit
where credit is truly due.
Looking unique to basic:
The rise and fall of trends
STYLE NOTEBOOK
SOPHIA HUGHES
Daily Arts Writer
History in the fashion world has demonstrated this
theme to us on countless occasions: Trends rise and fall.
SEASON OF MIST
MIKE WATKINS
Daily Music Editor
JIM WILSON
Daily Arts Writer