George RR Martin on the lack of Black Characters in Game of Thrones

[@98kag]

I'm Greek and I'm offended that Lannisters always pay their debts

[@mignonthon]

Young Kag Official good one ;)

[@98kag]

@@mignonthon 😁💸

[@alexanders.170]

I'm german and i am offended now will report that

[@MohammadAli-iz9ld]

Lmao

[@hq3473]

They don't. It's just propoganda.

[@nishantbiswas7335]

I am indian and I am offended that no group of people broke into sudden coordinated dance number ever in GoT.

[@Elilan2167]

Lol

[@DeadInside-ct6dl]

I'm Indian and I'm offended that the marriages weren't held for a few days and drained kingdoms of their treasuries. But the Red wedding had a sufficient amount of Red, 10/10 representation.

[@Kal_sengupta]

😂🤣😂🤣

[@darrenmc1986]

😂😂

[@Dominic-fd2wz]

Nishant Biswas but pleased by all the shit in the streets?

[@user-sl1wt1dv4y]

As a Chinese man, I am satisfied by the wide array of disappointed fathers in the series. Tywin is so relatable

[@remembergandhi1434]

As a german with the same "problem" i liked that Tywin did not get away with it!

[@imapotato8010]

Y u no docta yet 😑

[@emusaurus]

Emotional damage!

[@diro5910]

EMOTIONAL DAMAGE

[@andressparks9853]

Randyll Tarly too

[@davidcoffman321]

As an American I’m offended by the lack of fast food restaurants in Westeros

[@Klongu_Da_Bongu]

There is McJoffrey's and Iron King. Don't forget Danereys (Wendys)

[@piotrczubryt1111]

There are very good fried chicken. kzbin.info/www/bejne/qZu2fnSirNGkjdk

[@Clippidyclappidy]

@@Klongu_Da_BonguYou forgot Bobby B’s Burgers, and it’s sister chain Burger King.

[@Skrimlo]

​@@Klongu_Da_Bongu "Can I get uhhhh McPoison with no onions and extra pickles" - Joffrey

[@TheKosstImogen]

@@Klongu_Da_Bongu My brain just went "What about Wendell Pierce?", and then I remembered that that's an actor with a lordly sounding name and not actually a Westerosi lord. Perhaps I've consumed enough media for today 🥲

[@mastermonke1177]

As an Irishman, I’m pleased with the amount of drinking in the series.

[@pipitameruje]

You're not offended by the deliberate erasing of gingers in GOT when compared to ASOIAF?

[@gypsysoul.]

Ye ye 🍻

[@NostyFripples]

“Irish widsom preserved in bible & pyramids” ~ Conor MacDari

[@snakey934Snakeybakey]

And as a Jew, I am pleased with the boring dialogue reguarding sales and finance in GOT

[@Fey44]

HAHAHAH

[@woah284]

As a Middle Eastern I am offended by the lack of international conflicts over crude oil in Game of Thrones

[@johnhawthorne2201]

charles s. Considering it’s an older style of show it captures the Middle Eastern conflicts perfectly with the slave trade lol. Fuck your obvious joke btw I’m gonna ruin it 😀

[@paulroys5019]

In that case, you should check out Dune if you haven't already.

[@Eeter26]

John Hawthorne fuck you.

[@TheGreatGodPan]

Middle-East is pretty well covered as Dorne seems to be influenced by a mixture of Jews, Arabs and Persians and the influence they had on Europe, plus the free cities of Essos are clearly based on Byzantium and the boundaries between East and West.

[@freddo9800]

@@ukrainiansareproto-mesopat9235 international relations expert Ivan analysing one of the most complex regions in a KZbin section, that's that sorted then

[@TBullhouse]

As an Antarctican, I'm very happy they added more and more ice and snow in the latest seasons. It's nice to see my culture being represented.

[@brandonpatterson5717]

😂🤣 this is my favorite one.

[@robertsmith2110]

This is an amazing comment

[@Molmen07]

As an arctic, I am offended the you have taken snow as your culture. 😉❄️

[@thomasschulz8477]

@@Molmen07 as a Belgian I am happy that they included rain in this series. Finally We are beung represented.

[@braden9893]

TJBullz that’s northern snow, which is genetically superior to your southern snow

[@sned_dunes]

As a Brazilian, I'm satisfied with the amount of violence in the series. Warms my heart to see a reference to our culture 🇧🇷

[@drfaisalkamal1275]

Yep

[@angel91485]

I thought representation of, Brazilian steak on a spit.

[@indorilneravar4470]

Brazil mentioned 🌎

[@ernestocaro9802]

Hahahahaha

[@diro5910]

As a Mexican same. MÉXICO NUMERO UNO DEL MUNDO EN HOMICIDIOS!!!!

[@JaxSinz]

As a white girl I am relatively content with the amount of Starbucks coffee cups shown in GoT.

[@noodles1930]

i legitimately laughed hard at this

[@ddfstar7588]

Rare to see a girl that's funny

[@TheGreatGodPan]

I don't know, that one starbucks cup is still outnumbered by the bigoted horn cups. Westeros needs to get with the times and be more inclusive with its anachronisms.

[@TripleMMr]

They put one token cup and you call it progressive, please

[@AbuHajarAlBugatti]

@@ddfstar7588 Of course its rare when you a fat lonely loser that never leaves his parents house

[@dirtybanana3]

As a canadian i am offended that the characters in GOT are not nicer to eachother

[@GiuseppeM]

dirtybanana3 😂

[@loki2240]

This was the first genuinely funny post I saw.

[@JM-mq5pr]

😂😂

[@sen73nced]

Funny, where I live, Canadians are not nice. But it’s a big country, who knows

[@doumc3584]

@@sen73nced I'm Canadian too, but to be honest, I'm only nice to Larry or Sally... Maybe you know them???

[@snehaprakash8097]

As an Alabaman, I’m completely satisfied with the level of incest in this show. Representation is important

[@randomrandomer4924]

Sneha Prakash ALABAMA 100

[@borgue]

Alabama, Pakistan?

[@snehaprakash8097]

Bjorn does my name look Pakistani to u loooool

[@sarahb4104]

Lmao. This is gold

[@RectumPunch]

Roll Tide, Brother!

[@guicaldo7164]

As a German, Dany's season 8 character arc really spoke to me. 10/10 representation

[@DerAykac]

As a fellow german leftist, i can only agree that people in here do be like that sometimes. 10/10 realism.

[@manasdhanpawde496]

☠️☠️☠️☠️

[@remembergandhi1434]

I am also german, also leftwing and yes i liked the end very much. Not one more stupid disney happy end fantasy :)

[@xabisombilini5440]

Heil.

[@angel91485]

lol!

[@dannemannen18]

I'm Swedish and I'm really offended by the lack of ready to assemble furniture in Game of thrones.

[@dan4856]

SKOLL!!😂♥️🍻

[@alex-sm2iw]

so glad they fixed this with Bran’s new wheelchair

[@ella_encantada]

🤣

[@dannemannen18]

Why is the throne forged by dragons!? What kind of racism is this!? It should be from IKEA

[@dannemannen18]

@@alex-sm2iw hm guess your right. Maybe they changed it in last second after my comment.

[@SurvivingAnotherDay]

I'm J.K Rowling, and I'm offended that Robert Baratheon and Ned Stark did not have an *intense sexual relationship*

[@lucasbenson7500]

Winged Scapula hahahahahahah comedy gold

[@eMikerism]

Lmao

[@alecnichols7845]

Haha fuck her

[@sgt.hugostiglitz9838]

Winged Scapula 😂😂😂

[@MagikarpMaestro]

Best comment I've seen all day. Going through a very rough time and this made me literally laugh out loud.

[@MalevolentFae]

I'm Finnish and I'm offended by the lack of representation of finishing the book series! FINNish it!

[@basilumeh2458]

I see what you did there, internet props

[@boggers]

I'm Russian and I am quite happy with the pacing of season 8.

[@erenliebert4576]

@@boggers и почему же, в чем тут то прикол

[@boggers]

@@erenliebert4576 heh, I had to translate your comment. It's a play on words. In Australia we drop the 'G' so rushing and Russian sound exactly the same. Season 8 was very rushed.

[@erenliebert4576]

@@boggers aaa, understood mate, it definitely was rushed

[@seamussmyth1928]

As a Canadian I'm very disappointed that Walder Frey didn't apologize for the red wedding

[@cellulairerare]

sorry

[@EPWillard]

as a fellow canadian however i did find it very cathartic when the north declared war on their southern neighbour.

[@jamaalellison3076]

😂

[@whocares_bear]

Sore-ee

[@Gabrielg2012]

I'm brazilian and the lack of flip-flops in this show offends me.

[@PATRIOTxx3]

good one lol

[@heloisa944]

Socorro, esse nome Thammy Impala e essa foto são tudooo! Eu preciso dissoo

[@c93636]

Thammy Impala looooool the only one that made me laugh

[@Gabrielg2012]

@@heloisa944 KKKKK Acho que você foi a primeira a entender o trocadilho. Minha obra finalmente foi notada!

[@heloisa944]

@@Gabrielg2012 mano, manda isso pro melted vídeos no insta q vc vai brilhar. Voa jovem

[@coffeeknight6148]

As a black man, I'm offended that there aren't any Black Walkers.

[@thelouisfanclub]

Coffee Knight 😂😂😂 stop

[@hauntologicalwittgensteini2542]

Oof

[@Mbrace818]

Underrated comment right here.

[@Alfre1899]

Cause bad guys are always white people, thats why white walkers

[@Mbrace818]

@@Alfre1899 Then make the black walkers good guys xD

[@pdapdp7913]

As a paraplegic white man, I'm offended with the whole "white walkers" thing...

[@Nina_InXs]

This one got me LOL

[@Mbrace818]

At least we have Bran the Broken.

[@NkataM]

😅😅😅🤣🤣😅 this one knocks it off the park

[@alex23reyes16]

White rollers

[@F1fan4eva]

Mbrace and Prince doran

[@BD76EandM]

As a black man, I love this. Create the art from your experience and garner support. Don't change the unique visions of others.

[@thezerowulf2046]

To much work ill just whine till people change their works to fit my ego.

[@marcospatricio8283]

@@thezerowulf2046 Bitch, have you heard the interviewer's questions? He didn't demand change from Martin, he asked "why shit so the same". Stop whining about people who want to see more stuff.

[@yassinemiri3555]

@@thezerowulf2046 And they did :D Amazon, Netflix : The Witcher, The Wheel of Time, the rings of power.

[@yassinemiri3555]

Even the Sandman

[@VV-iu9eo]

@@yassinemiri3555 and that sucks

[@theBlackhanded]

As a Black Man, I am disappointed Tupac wasnt revived as a White Walker.

[@jhamod556]

@Lenny Lee let him identify whatever he wants and youtube is a safe space now ... it was a joke btw and so was this

[@harrywakatipu2547]

As a white man, I am offended that white walkers are called white walkers.

[@WorldSurvivalist]

Or even q black Walker

[@lyrimetacurl0]

@Lenny Lee it's funny because wang means (you know the rest)

[@skefsongames]

Tupac is the night king

[@stevepellow8618]

And I'm offended by all of your comments that dont allow me to come up with anything I'm uniquely offended by

[@LordEmilous]

as someone who was just about to write a comment similar to yours, I'm offended because you beat me to it.

[@thewhitewolf8167]

I feel like this comment section is feminist and as a straight white male I'm offended

[@jakedeeyah1640]

Ugh, here's take my like you bastard...

[@AmberKingmusic]

SAME

[@KingDavidTBE]

🔥🔥🔥

[@ScipioWasHere]

I'm Korean and I'm offended by the lack of kpop in GoT

[@JonDoe-fo3kl]

Theres no koreans in his fictional world. He created that world.

[@er6205]

😂😂😂😂

[@mrworldextrawide2815]

@@JonDoe-fo3kl isn't that the whole problem?

[@JonDoe-fo3kl]

@@mrworldextrawide2815 well to be fair i think some of the white walkers look korean.Especially the knight king

[@meocean5499]

African Americans are part of America, and don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of black fantasy books, they just don’t get the same attention, but is of course on purpose that he wrote a fantasy about GB, and the other races will fight for Daenerys only to give her the 7 Kingdoms. No one seems to see this.

[@dianamay8600]

As a British person I’m offended by the lack of books about Harry and Megan on the maester’s shelves

[@ThaYoungChad]

I'm hispanic and I'm grossly offended that there are no street tacos on every corner in Westeros *how can we change that?*

[@OscarMarohn23]

Hispanic =/= tacos Cubans and Colombians don't eat tacos....

[@ThaYoungChad]

@@OscarMarohn23 fuck you I love tacos

[@ezeee3147]

MALI lmao 😂 for real who cares if their aren’t any black Hispanics Asian characters, game of thrones is the shit fuck outta here is your race card

[@OscarMarohn23]

@@ThaYoungChad not my point but whatever

[@ariel_alves_dutra]

Good answer

[@ekansh131]

I am a flat earther and I am offended by Arya Stark travelling to west of Westeros knowing that will lead to her fall off the planet earth

[@germanvisitor2]

"It's not flat Earth. It's _fat_ Earth. Flat at the top and delightfully plumb at the bottom." - Creationist Cat

and also knowing that north is cold but south is not, i mean, we also have south pole.

[@seeker296]

@@germanvisitor2 plump* but I understand the mistake based on the German pronunciation of "b" :)

[@germanvisitor2]

@@seeker296 Yeah, it's a five letter word I have to look up every single time.

[@LisaAnn777]

Flat earth stuff is the worst. Along with young earth creationism.

[@Nemesis_T_Type]

Westeros The North: Scotland The Riverlands: North France The Vale: Switzerland/The Alps The Reach: South France The Westerlands: England/Wessex The Stormlands: Christian (North) Spain Dorne: Moorish (South) Spain The Iron Islands: Scandinavia King's Landing: London Wildlings: Celts Essos Valyria: Rome Qarth: Constantinople Volantis: Carthage Myr, Lys, Tyrosh, Pentos, Braavos: Italian city states, Braavos being Venice Norvos, Qohor, Lorath: Perhaps Eastern Europe or German city-states Dothraki - Mongols/Huns/Timurids/Other people from the Steppes Lhazar - Israelites Yiti - China Mereen - Egypt Summer Isles - South Africa Where is the monoculture?

[@bryangrimes824]

... gods below ... I'm still a little green at this KZbin thing; how does like 'Like' a post more than once?

[@simohayha6031]

North is Scandinavia and iron islands is Scotland and Riverlands Netherlands also.

[@simohayha6031]

Riverlands north France? Germany and Netherlands fits much better

[@simohayha6031]

Summer isles feels more Caribbean and great and lesser Moraq perhaps Madagascar. Sothoryos is Africa as a whole kinda. Jogos Nhai is more Mongol and dothraki more Turkish/hun.

[@Paladine777]

Lys, Tyrosh, Pentos and Myr can't be compared to the Italian city states WESTEROS North ---> Scotland (buildings) + Scandinavia/Russia (climate) Riverlands ---> Germany, Poland, Flanders Vale --> Switzerland, Austria Reach ---> France, Northern Italy Dorne ---> Moorish Spain Stormlands --> Northern Spain, Britanny, Normandy Crownlands --> Southern France, Central Italy Westerlands ---> England and Wales Iron Islands ---> Scandinavia + Ireland (climate) King's Landing --> Constantinople (layout, climate) + London Oldtown --> Alexandria + Genoa Eyrie --> Neuschwanstein + Three Castles of Bellinzona "Fookin'" Tarth ---> Sardinia Dragonstone ---> Stromboli, Vulcano (but far larger) ESSOS Braavos ---> Venice (layout), Amsterdam, Flanders' trading towns (climate) Tyrosh --> Tyre and Phoenician cities Lys --> Cyprus, Rhodes Myr --> Ephesus, Miletus, Halicarnassus (Hellenistic cities) Pentos --> Thessaloniki + Palermo Lorath ---> Hanseatic city (Riga) + Far Oer/Lofoten (trade) Volantis ---> India Norvos --> Russian medieval cities Qohor ---> Georgia, Caucasus Sarnor ---> Kingdom of Hungary, Wallachia, Moldavia Qarth --> Baghdad-on-Sea Meereen ---> Ancient Egyptian cities+Cairo Yunkai ---> Moroccan cities (Fez, Marrakech) Astapor ---> Tunis Vaes Dothrak --> Karakorum Valyria ---> Atlantis + Roman Empire Ghis --> Assyrian + Carthaginian Empire Yi-Ti ---> Chinese Empire Lhazar --> Nomadic Central Asia tribes Summers Isles --> Madagascar, Zanzibar Ibben ---> Iceland, Siberia Sothoryos ---> Central Africa

[@TristanBehrens]

As a Jamaican I'm very happy with the level of representation of magical and medicinal herbs in the series. Thanks, George!

[@kearwin]

I'm American and I'm offended by the lack of guns in GoT

[@trihardcmonbruh9016]

HELL YEAH BROTHER KKonaW

[@captain_torket3254]

They have napalm... green napalm

[@XHitsugaX]

@@pandarue but they got freedom dragons raining freedom on kings landing

[@steamingwillybeaming]

I'm European and I'm offended by the lack of terrorist attacks and acid attacks in the book

[@poisonsquid37]

@@captain_torket3254 Napalm baby

[@sele0j086]

As a Nigerian, I’m offended by the lack of corruption in game of thrones..........wait.

[@Superstariso]

I'm Nigerian and I'm totally vexed that they didn't eat eba and drink palmwine🌴 🍷 in GOT. How dare they?

[@negvey]

loled

[@felipevargas953]

As a Brazilian i feel the same way

[@doumc3584]

I loled...

[@Zeeno]

Cercei should be telling Joffery the kneel down, raise his hands and close his eyes lol

[@PaintMeLikeABanksy]

As a Texan, I'm offended by the lack of firearms in GoT.

[@ravik007ggn]

They showed Balistas. They count?

[@showcase-me]

How would you define dragons then? That's a heck of a firearm wouldn't you say? 😅😅

[@PaintMeLikeABanksy]

@@ravik007ggn No. Rate of fire is too slow.

[@PaintMeLikeABanksy]

@@showcase-me Those are some flying armadillos.

[@CINTERPOL]

Oh yeah let's all get those long thick BLACK rifles I bet we can't get some real pleasure and live action

[@Lorenzo-bw9bc]

I love Martin. He's basically telling everyone complaining about representetion not to play the victim, but to write their own stories, to elevate their own cultural heritage and to not demand that to be done from other people, who would probably not even do a good work at it.

[@mildlycurious8333]

Yeah don't tell people to do what you want.

[@jpetersgoyanks]

No, he’s not.

[@jeemale9207]

No he's not, he's telling them to go out and buy literature from POC authors and with POC characters. Telling people to write their own books if they have a problem with yours is a .stupid argument and grrm isn't .stupid.

[@rleonardgreen78]

It's a fantasy with dragons and magic, none of this shit is real, so it's not based off anyone's cultural heritage and there were more brown people In those times than Europeans especially after GOD kept trying to kill them off with the plagues. So its not beyond reason that they ran across and possibly mated with people that weren't white.

[@ben1ben2ben1]

LOL that isn't what he is saying at all you dumb fuck. You are hearing what you want to hear

[@davideghisu7226]

I'm Italian and I'm offended by the lack of hand-gesturing, loud-mouthed, pizza-eating people with moustaches!

[@Knicols]

Sono io, Mario! Hai insultato la mia nazione e mo ti prendo a sberle.

[@MrAlumni72]

boopity boppity bippity?

[@gabrielenicoli5065]

Stavo cercando proprio questo commento ahah

[@LoScudoDiCapaneo]

What about Syrio Forell?

[@dustgreylynx]

I'm blue eyed, and i'm offended how our people are represented in asoiaf

[@clixiedust]

stay back he’s got blue eyes!

[@telamere2043]

My eyes were always blue!

[@arthurdayne8029]

As an Italian I feel quite well represented by the number and the variety of corrupted governments in both books and show.

[@stard00]

I'm Mexican and I feel represented by this comment

[@ToyotaNutjob]

Mexicans of europe is Italy

[@karlasouza6104]

@@stard00 second that.. X2

[@MrAndersson579]

Lack of pizza

[@shashooitznc5860]

As an Israeli I share this sentiment

[@Yugigreg]

As a dog owner, I’m pleased with the Hound.

[@HakaiKaien]

As a chicken eater I'm quite pleased with the Hound

[@Drakotar]

As an Englishman I’m offended by the lack of top hats and licences.

[@Mae_Dastardly]

Oi. U got a loisence for that offense?

[@Kidcrowley]

English gentleman*

[@TheGreatGodPan]

I'm English and I am offended by the lack of real ale breweries in Westeros, that's clearly poncy craft beer they're drinking.

[@DPR1777]

If u are ofendes make a referendum and exit westeros

[@bee1978]

one of the weaker "i'm offended" comment.

[@harryturner8701]

Its based on European mythology... But even game of thrones does have ethnic characters; in the eastern storylines from the Dothraki Qarth and Slavers bay.

[@huriale1617]

Dothraki are more culturally central asians people in the books and are played by morrocans and irishs guys in the serie Qarth and the Slave bay are more a mix of north african, middle east and persian cultures But, i'm remember we have a black king at the court of king Robert Baratheon in the books

[@huriale1617]

@@moelester2797 There were Muslim Vikings in Andalusia if you really want to be inclusive lol

[@obibear123]

Harry Turner yes!

[@MamadNobari]

"Slavers Bay" :D

[@gamefreak457]

FUNNY_RUDY_INVESTMENTS For real. People have been trying to bring sjw politics into game of thrones a lot lately. The interviewer probably hasn’t read the books carefully enough. Westeros is predominantly white, and Essos is a continent with individuals of a predominantly darker skin tone. I can’t believe people have been trying to criticize Martin along these lines. He’s one of the most progressive writers around when you consider a lot of who the central characters are in Game of Thrones.

[@JaredBared]

I love how he basically said: stop being lazy and write your own fantasy novels.

[@kaneqost]

Yes! Why didn't anyone think of that before! He said: " *I* am not qualified to write about these people. It is not *My* place to talk about them. In other interviews, he says Majority of good stuff is always buried because *people like whaf the majority of surface level stuff is, superficial appearances and mistreated on that basis* That is basically saying the undesirable societal groups are lazy!

[@HippoHannah]

that's not what he's saying. He's saying more of them need to be published, and we as the public need to read them. But if you go to the fantasy section in waterstones i bet 90% of authors are white men. Until publishing houses introduce more equality in the genre then it will stay the same.

[@JaredBared]

​@@HippoHannah This is a man who uses "niggardly" in his works earnestly. He has little concern about poc's getting published or their feelings on his works. That's why he is directing poc to create their own works and own characters rather than asking a white man to shoehorn them in. White men created and cultivated modern fantasy and are also the largest demographic of readers. Of course they are going to dominate the fantasy landscape. Fantasy publishing houses know this. But they also know those white readers would read Game Of Thrones if it was created by an asian woman. The cream will always rise to the top.

[@ayami123]

@@HippoHannah it's what sells duh, you could always write django or blade, but people can't do it. it's just that simple.

[@maxdamagusbroski]

@@HippoHannah White men? Have you been to a book shop lately, it's all trash fiction by catladies.

[@arghunqon3774]

I find a lack of asians in Black Panther and want more sushi restaurants in Wakanda

[@burn_out]

Arghun Qon well technically they filmed in Korea, no?:)

[@hauntologicalwittgensteini2542]

@@burn_out only Koreans ? As a Southeast Asian, I am OFFENDED by that fact that we are always cast over

[@WZOO1224]

@@hauntologicalwittgensteini2542 As an asian, I'm offended that you're offended.

[@joshuaj.chinda9873]

Arghun I found a lack of blacks in samurai epics idiot is black Panther set in Asia?

[@SenorGuina]

@@joshuaj.chinda9873 A pretty big section of black panther is actually set in Asia, yes

[@olivierlanglet1932]

As a French, I'm offended by the lack of soldiers who don't surrender immediately.

[@deadlypyre]

Lmfao

[@garywhitehead9246]

Excellent.

[@Phoenixwizard77]

Don't forget about Renly's men. They surrendered to Stannis pretty quickly. Lol There, French equivalent. Lol jk

[@SCharlesDennicon]

I don't believe you. Frenchmen aren't that self-loathing.

[@olivierlanglet1932]

SCharlesDennicon You’re right, I’m Corsican :-)

[@pratikt5702]

I'm Donald Trump and I'm very happy that there is a wall

[@rolebo1]

was

[@MatthewOlls]

@@rolebo1 Technically still is. Just a gap in it but its still there ;)

[@AragornSonOfArathorn12345]

and it's HUGE

[@allenbrx4016]

I wanted to like your comment but if I did, I would've been the 666th like and illuminati confirmed

[@pratikt5702]

@@allenbrx4016 👁️

[@Zoevandyne]

As a white man, I'm not offended by the lack of white actors in Ghanian movies.

[@bundubashing2591]

FFS. As an African this makes me cringe so badly. If you want African characters then read African literature, it's as simple as that. We can't even enjoy fiction without bringing race into it.

[@infinitedreaming222]

Katlego Techie Ok so then they shouldn't take any African fighting techniques for the show. Battle of the bastards included Hannibal Barcas fighting strategy and they reference him in the after show commentary... but they can't take the same creative license to write a character equal to him? Cognitive dissonance And I doubt your African - Africans love referencing their tribe or country over just referencing the continent.

[@bundubashing2591]

@@infinitedreaming222 so you're suggesting that they should just add a bunch of black characters just cause they took inspiration from Hannibal Barca's? Are you even African or are you some white knight who's trying to tell me what should offend me? Go jump. The source material for the show was written in the 90's by the way. I'm a black South African. Nice try tho.

[@slightlyallthetime]

Infinite Dreams "but they can't take the same creative license to write a character equal to him?" That's the dumbest thing I've ever read.

[@anthonyaurel6001]

Why does it make you cringe? He does not suggest that he should include African characters... He just asked him about the reason there is lack of them in fantasy literature and Martin provided rock-solid argument there. What is cringy about it? Someone might be thinking the same and this is answer for them.

[@SScoupe1]

Eish. People love to tell you what to be offended by when you're African. They must voetsek, south Africans have our own problems.

[@frizie474]

As Russian I'm offended that no one wears adidas tracksuits.

[@ggregory2584]

Nobody knows how to squat properly

[@Falkenhorst2000]

And they don't play hardbass

[@jamil908]

😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

[@fromrussiawithlove9665]

That's not Russian culture you dumb sack of shit

[@Qwerty-ly8qk]

@@fromrussiawithlove9665 That is the essence of Russian culture my brother.

[@helplessiguess]

as a Vegan i am offended by the lack of vegetable main characters in GOT

[@baggerjanus]

You already have Bran

[@rosemarieholt2261]

NEEPS

[@ssh1487]

Khal Drogo was a vegetable which Daenerys even barbequed :)

[@hauntologicalwittgensteini2542]

@@baggerjanus burn

[@Seawalls]

@@baggerjanus they HAD Bran. We got him back

[@Coeurebene1]

Jokes aside, this was a really good answer. He must be tired of the politically corrects bothering him with their quotas. You write about what you know, you feed it with your own experience.

[@aesir1ases64]

Yeah you could see how careful he had to be because if he says anything remotely close to being "oFfEnSiVe" well we all know how cancel culture works and how the media feeds on spreading non sense. Good for Martin dealing with class with bullshit.

[@nuncapasaran9374]

I mean there's definitely the opposite side of that coin which is fucko reactionaries who get pissy when anyone asks about representation, and literally believe that "western culture" aka white european hegemony is superior to the rest of the world and history. I think George is actually pretty subversive to any kind of one dimensional thought, either from shallow observations of his work or of shithead alt right white supremacist bullshit. He seems pretty progressive to me, and I think he's encouraging people of color to write their stories and for people to buy into them. in other words he seems careful not because he's trying to avoid offense but because he's careful with his thoughts in general. He simply is thoughtful.

[@nemesis9378]

Good that someone can dare to do it... World need more people like him.

[@donovan4222]

No one “bothered him” with any “quotas” he was asked why fantasy is so white, and he explained why, and how that’s changing. You’re inserting your own politics into it.

[@enigmafiresup4658]

⁠​⁠@@donovan4222Oh yes it was clearly bothersome. He and the crowd were visibly uncomfortable answering that question. And when you’re put on the spot like that in front of thousands, it’s just not appropriate.

[@ianperez5122]

I love how he basically said to fix the problem that the people have to expand to other writers and make them better known. He basically told everyone if they want a specific culture to go read a book written by a person of that culture... Helps out his fellow writers and tells everyone its on them to change it

[@edmilsoneletrica]

These diversity quota demands are annoying. He writes about what he knows which is, just like you said, his own culture. He couldn't write about my culture because he doesn't know about it. I'm from Brazil, btw. I don't feel left out. I take it for what it is: a fictional world. Not a 1 on 1 depiction of the real world.

[@luckwhisker]

Yeah, because the reason that movies don't get made about people of color is they do so badly at the Box Office. Look at Black Panther!

[@invisalats841]

@@luckwhisker ummm I'm pretty sure there are plenty of movies of color, the real issue now is only the award shows. Also Black panther is a superhero movie and not indicative in any way of the success or lack there of of African American films. There is an issue in that for much of my life at least, any minority based movies were largely either not advertised well or they were but largely centered around gang violence and culture. While those types of movies are fine to kick back and watch at home, I'm certainly not gonna buy a movie ticket to see it. Also the idea that it's up to others to give you a seat at the table is wrong, you either make yourself a spot at the table or you make your own table that's what opportunity is about.

[@yeetnama9094]

@@luckwhisker So you're demanding that more old white men make entertaining stories for you about *YOUR* people and culture. Alrighty then 😆

[@picollojr9009]

@@luckwhisker good movie with black people? Simple... blade.

[@thefoxtempter6338]

As a dragon I am offended by the societal pressure regarding Wing size as perpetuated by this mans books

[@RizztrainingOrder]

It’s not the size of the wings but how you use them. Overcompensate with your roar or fire bro!

[@nimishrai257]

Best

[@thezerowulf2046]

Small wing energy

[@amberagarwal8396]

We have a winner

[@Truckingwithcam]

😂

[@noxluxe8674]

It's a mystery to me why people are so confused and offended by the fact that popular western fiction based on western historical periods mostly features... westerners... in the fictional regions corresponding to the... west. It's like watching Mulan and wondering why half the main characters aren't white, or complaining that there aren't enough Asians in the Old Testament. Madness. Madness and stupidity. Martin is totally right. If you want non-white fantasy then encourage other awesome fantasy traditions, don't bitch about white fantasy being white.

[@wiikinger76]

I agree to 100 % with your statement. But since Israel is, as far as I know, an Asian country, I would suggest swapping Asian with e. g. Aborigines or Native Americans in your example. ;-)

[@alfieshepherd6522]

@@wiikinger76 It's a middle Eastern country inhabited mainly by Jewish and Muslim people

[@deathbymazda]

They aren’t really offended. They’re just virtue signaling because they’re apart of a toxic ideology that must call everyone and everything racist.

[@conwaytwittyer2667]

Pretty sure all the people in the Bible are Asian, ya know central Asian, but ok.

[@Sylmarys24]

I completely agree. This argument would NEVER be had for an author of a series based on 8th century southern africa on why there are no portuguese, greek or roman people.

[@justincase7848]

His answer is very honest. Not apologetic for himself but explaining where he came from and supporting the widening of the genre from other artists

[@naimakbarov6374]

As A Russian I am offended that there are no walking bears in the streets of Winterfell:(

[@bearhall4919]

There is a dancing bear in Kings Landing...

[@naimakbarov6374]

@@bearhall4919 u took it too serious man

[@SuperCosty2010]

There was an undead bear other side of the Wall though :) And Mormonts - the whole House is built around bear symbol

[@freakjob0]

Does a Zombie bear count?

[@freakjob0]

Does "Little Bear" count?

[@Nnnnn636]

The funny thing is lots of regular black people probably dont give a shit about this. It's the media that tries to make it a issue.

[@Nnnnn636]

@wagner1va huh?

[@abradolflincler3762]

wagner1va Blame the Jews a bit less and people will take you more seriously.

[@theblancmange1265]

@wagner1va You can do better than that. The original Deus Ex game explains stuff logickally and without ever mentioning 'them'. Here's a great example: kzbin.info/www/bejne/o3jcaGePe7qWg5I

[@doofbabe527]

Donald Trump! The savior of The USA! I love your username

[@TimtimRobles777]

I don't care if its all blue people.

[@MasterJTLS]

I'm British and I'm offended by the lack of tea in Game of Thrones.

[@damiendehorn6350]

As a Brit I’m happy to see every nation speak fluent English, even though it’s set in fictional world with multiple nation’s. correct representation is important.

[@muhammadeisa1459]

@@damiendehorn6350 they speak French in French translations, Arabic in Arabic translations, Mandarin in Chinese translations. If you think about it, the Westerosi speak in whatever language the reader is reading the books in 😅

[@carlostrudo]

I love how he is not apologetic about it. In the end he says how it is, if black authors or characters succeed than you will have more of it, simple as that, if it makes money it will get published/produced.

[@donovan4222]

That’s why it’s ironic when “anti woke” white peoples get furious whenever there’s a fantasy series with black peoples in it

[@fastcanoe105]

I don’t recall anyone asking him to apologize. It’s not an offensive question and the answer is honest and helpful.

[@martinmikula6036]

I stopped watching when I found out that there is no black Lannister, no gay Stark, no transgender Targaryen and no elephant that identifies as Apache helicopter. #letJKrewriteGoT

[@oldencreek6587]

How much does Rowling still have of her earnings? How much is game of thrones worth? The only way she would be able to do that to GoT is finishing rewriting the harry potter books and virtue-signaling so hard that it would get her a few billion, but that's only IF she is lucky enough with it. Only then will that soulless cretin be able to afford the rights to GoT.

[@WorldhopperSterbb]

i wanted those elephants

[@MR.BRODYMAN]

Lol

[@MRCHRISROYAL10027]

You are a liar who seem to just not want to watch the show. Because there actually has always been a transgender elephant that identifies as an Apache helicopter in it. #StopHatingOnNonBinaryElephants

[@Who_765]

i found out that there is no black caucasian person in this world.. the world is such a racist place smh

[@ahmedas1991]

As an Arab, I'm offended that there is no hijabi woman in GoT. Olenna: Am I a joke to you!!!

[@lyda145]

Ahmad Mohammad this one is good😂😂

[@adm7998]

What about Sansas septa in season 1?

[@Cheeriot]

Arab =/= Muslim

[@jackmehoff4429]

That's not really hijab .. many old Christian women wear scarf on their head.

[@Adamopoly]

Golden, Black people always want black actors, When theres a chance to victimize something, it'll happen.

[@xoriun8638]

I'm European and I'm offended by the lack of universal Healthcare

[@jamiegreyy]

I noticed that. I also noticed the lack of welfare in Westeros. Triggered the fuck outta me.

[@ghostyglover]

Fuck

[@ochubacollins3181]

Im black and portraying characters with diverse heritage, black, asian, e.t.c ruins the immersion sometimes, either they keep the characters uniform or dont make it obvious Its just how ive felt since i was a kid

[@cinnamonstar808]

Europe is wholly BLACK. just like the history of America. late arrivals need to seek solice in CENTRAL ASIA history ( just like the nazis had to) because all history is BLACK he sat there and wrote all those Yoruban mother of dragons white. white hair is accurate but Eurasia is flank by 2 groups of DRAGONS. Wales 🐲 👸🏾 + China 🐲 👸🏾 : he knows they were all black families: that rule Eurasia. because they got the CREST and the story correct. its impossible to ignore those black faces on it.

[@Ressuu]

This. I don't care about the race, but I DO care about immersion and continuity. It doesn't make sense for a medieval city to have a wildly diverse population except in some special cases.

[@donovan4222]

“Diversity ruins the immersion” Why does a fantasy series need to be an ethnostate for you to be immersed in it?

[@donovan4222]

@@RessuuIt doesn’t make sense for a medieval city to have flying lizards that breathe fire, it doesn’t make sense for a medieval knight to go to battle in helmets with dragon wing decorations on them, it doesn’t make sense for corn to exist in a medieval world where corn wasn’t discovered yet. It’s fantasy, you can make up whatever world you want, there is absolutely 0 reason “continuity” needs to consist of only white people, or only one race.

[@Ressuu]

@@donovan4222 Diversity in itself does not, but it is rarely plausible in most cases and that's the problem. Eg: Having black and white hobbits in the same village. Why are they so different? Clearly black and white hobbits originally must have been born very far apart and then the two people came together, but how and why? Oh that's right, woke agenda, that's the only explanation and since woke doesn't exist in middle earth it reminds me of the real world and thus breaks my immersion.

[@NileshRamphal]

As an Indian im highly offended by the lack of currry in game of thrones

[@MrAlumni72]

Wait for Hotpie's next recipe.

[@shubhendunayak]

nah their tastebud not evolved yet😂

[@vojtechflidr9157]

Why are all the characters in anime asian? Can't figure it out...

[@Agarwaen]

This is blatantly untrue.

[@simohayha6031]

@Admire Kashiri you replied to the wrong person.

[@simohayha6031]

@Admire Kashiri vojtech says: all anime characters are Asian can't figure it out. Then a guy called DE posts "this is blatantly untrue" and you tag him saying "do these look Asian to you?". Shouldn't you have tagged vojtech

[@IsomerSoma]

@@Agarwaen No it isnt. If there is a "forgeiner", they usually are depicted as blond. Especially popular with italians which is very untrue to reality but it is just sth to make it visually distinct that they are from outside of japan. Yes most are japanese. In AOT i believe most are supposed to be german and just the mc is japanese but generally japanese anime features japanese characters. Shocker. GOT also has numerous different ethnicities but the main continent where the story takes place is westeros and to no ones surprise it os very european and really no one should be offended by it.

[@Agarwaen]

@@IsomerSomaYou're trying to prove the claim that all characters in anime are asian by pointing at how they depict some that aren't.. you're not the cleverest person around are ya?

[@crhettbuttler1]

I am Iranian and I have an issue with the lack of Persian rugs in Game of Thrones. How could they really leave those overtly detailed decors without the delicacy of Persian art?

[@JokerL1000]

You should be mad theres almost 0 persians on tv.

[@codycomstock3260]

Are you referring to rugs as vaginas?

[@saeedvazirian]

Actually GoT and ASOIF are largely inspired by Iranic concepts, religion and mythology: The name Arya (the Aryan nobility/ethnicity), the name Shireen (literally sweet in Farsi), the name Daario (after Darius/Daryavoush), the Azor Ahai (inspired by Ahura Mazda, Jamshid, etc), the entire Lord of Light religion (based off of Zoroastrianism - monotheistic dualism with fire as a common symbol) and the dragon mythology is quintessentially obtained from Persian concepts of dragons (laid eggs of Azhi Dahaka), etc.

[@samdoesvids1339]

@@JokerL1000 PrankInvasion bro!

[@presidenttogekiss635]

I mean, Im pretty sure Melissandre is supposed to be the Got equivalent to persian, and her religion the equivalent to Zoroastrism.

[@ttecnotut]

How can you not love this guy? He answered that question so perfectly.

[@rgonzales1657]

As a Filipino, I’m offended with the lack of karaoke in the GOT pubs and parties especially the Red Wedding.

[@majormalfunction0071]

I'm dying like Robb, you bastard. Played me like a damn fiddle!

[@bollywoodoverhollywood8139]

Bahahahahahaha

[@bshbbth24199]

I’m offended by the lack of characters named tito boy or tita baby. 😢

[@steviewonder0850]

And I'm sick of having predominantly Asian characters in most kung fu, ninja, samurai, shinobi, etc. films and media, why is that? How can we change that? What a stupid question. Not to mention, there ARE people of colour and differing cultures in GoT anyway....

[@ultrafire5330]

In my opinion George R R Martin handled this question perfectly. If he would have said it's because of a book being based of of Europe needs European characters he would have been burnt at the stake by liberals. He told these snowflakes what they wanted to hear and I give him props for answering an utterly retarded question.

[@ultrafire5330]

@@PotatoeSnow I'm sorry but I dont really understand what you are trying to say

[@nathanking6670]

FireRam420 Matt Damon, Great Wall. Bam.

[@doumc3584]

American Ninja in the 80s. Bam. It sucked, but Bam.

[@steviewonder0850]

I feel like you guys are either missing the point, are being facetious, or don't understand the word 'predominantly'...

[@Butho_04]

I'm Zimbabwean... and I'm offended by the sheer lack of inflation discussions when it comes to Lannisters and their debts. I believe my Greek and Venezuelan friends feel the same?

[@blankblank2370]

@Read Father Seraphim Rose Grow up dude. Everyone is joking aroubd, don't use that to spout racist shit.

[@kingkunta617]

I'm Venezuelan and I do feel the same

[@Truckingwithcam]

😂 I hope the inflation things change for everyone

[@ChadKakashi]

🇹🇷 feels the same too.

[@beback_]

There was a lot of inflation after the war started!

[@fayeharrison1741]

"You based your series on white people, why are there so many white people?" "Because there were white people from what I based on it, people of a different colour were on another continent" Saved you 4 minutes.

[@bencarlson4300]

Same with Tolkien

[@fayeharrison1741]

@@bencarlson4300 Literally. I can't see a darker coloured person as an Easterling in LOTR. Dark eyes, hair and skin? You come from the east. It isn't racist. But these days I'm called racist if I say Easterling come from the East. Even if they do. It's like being called European Olive. Yes. I am, aaaand? I get there are Asian and African Americans, but bro, c'mon. You know your parents are from Korea or Egypt or half-cast (like me) As much as I am born in New Zealand, this Ukrainian and Russian War is disgusting. I am all for my Ukrainian people, I still know where I can belong. Much love to my people and fight the next Stalin! Prost! Le Heim! and Glory to Ukraine!

[@Charlie-qc6su]

Wow, 4 minutes! I can do so much with 4 minutes!

[@yeetnama9094]

@@fayeharrison1741 Are you really trying to equate Putin with Stalin? 😆 Pretty sure it's actually Ukrainian leadership with much more in common with Stalin.

[@fayeharrison1741]

@@yeetnama9094 you check out history on Putin's past. I mean it's impressive in a sick way, I thoroughly enjoyed watching the fucked up shit the USSR did. Did you know Putin was born a year before Stalin died? He would have grown up hearing about that tyrant was "glorious". There also 1 story about him convincing people, but I'll let you find that on your own if you don't already know

[@branislavraskovic9788]

As a Serbian i am offended because no one in the books or the show ate sarma

[@therealzilch]

Hey, in real life, I eat sarma, and I'm an old white American, so there'a hope for the world.

[@osmanceylan]

there is sarma in Serbia? what

[@user-ts2ny8jg9d]

@@osmanceylan yeah. we get a lot of cuisine from back when we were occupied by the ottoman empire

[@therealzilch]

@@user-ts2ny8jg9d And here in Austria we're lucky to have lots of Serbian cuisine. Mmmm.

[@Jackspiring]

Im not Serbian but i am equally offended.

[@bartsimpsonyellowmenace3780]

As a cartoon I'm offended that people in game of thrones die so easily.

[@thesenate433]

As a human, I am thankful for the comment section

[@tathagatabishayee9345]

Gooood.

[@24xv555]

Indeed

[@procrastinator99]

As The Senate, are you offended by the lack of Westerosi voting in GoT?

[@thesenate433]

@@procrastinator99 yes indeed, for I love democracy

[@procrastinator99]

@@thesenate433 And, of course, The Republic.

[@MABO07]

I would love to watch more movies and tv shows that have a basis in African mythologies. I also appreciate the creativity and purity of the story that’s pulled from the cultures and countries that are used as reference and inspiration in GOT. I don’t see why people get so up in arms about cultural diversity and inclusion when some stories don’t really make sense to put a variety of cultures and races in for the sake of political correctness. That’s not how good stories are written. Political correctness and “wokeism” is a plague on authenticity, freedom of choice, and personal autonomy, which funnily enough is what the politically correct claim to be all for.

[@pedrolevipereiracarvalho5832]

It's hard to create something innovative and creative inspired by other cultures when some people don't judge these works by their merits and demerits and make absurd and ridiculous criticisms (when they don't attack the actors and producers).

[@69SalterStreet]

Why doesn't African sculpture include more classical Greek statuary? 🤔

[@bartsimpsonyellowmenace3780]

As a greek Im offended.

[@ttimeforgaming]

In dead and i am very happy with all the represantation my race has gotten in the last season of GoT

[@brandonhill4197]

You have to appreciate his honesty. Anyone else would have immediately started back pedaling and apologising but he gave an honest answer to a loaded question, that comes with no right answer you can give that doesn't come with backlash. Even if he tried to do it then everyone would be going over every page with a magnifying glass looking for any thing that could caste that culture in a negative light, which let's face it all of his characters are morally unambiguous at best. So it would only be a matter of time before he's accused of misrepresentation. P.S. i don't want to miss out on the trend here so... As a Jewish man I'm offended by the lack of representation of the iron bank lol

[@gokujr6932]

Lmao as a descendant of the proud and glorious Jewish race, I second the reason why you're offended.

[@cattya4406]

its not a loaded question. its a stupid question asked by stupid people. its set in a medival western world so of course it would be mostly white people and also an author has the right to create whatever characters or world he/she likes, and instead of hijacking other people's work, they should just make their own works if they dont like it.

[@gokujr6932]

@@cattya4406 I wholeheartedly agree.

[@mangalutv2928]

@Robin Elliot theres wayyy more than 4%

[@ReddoFreddo]

"Why don't you stop beating your wife?" is a loaded question, learn what a loaded question is. It's true that there aren't many poc characters in ASOIF, you may not like the question or think it's stupid, but it's not a loaded question.

[@Kurigo]

" mono cultural " Germanic, Latin, hispanic, greco, slavic, scandinavian, breton, irish, wealas and more.

[@nikol3442]

I don't know how people look at Tolkien, a man who introduced elves, dwarves, orcs and hobbits(which is a race so specified, so deeply analyzed in his books) and think "There are only white people in there." Also, I don't know many atheist characters in books or films, but I don't sit here bitching about this. I can still relate to characters, you know.

[@zTheWizard]

So... do you agree that it's ok to have black people as elves on the upcoming show? Since race isn't a problem and Tolkien never specified skin color. A legit doubt of mine.

[@nikol3442]

@@zTheWizard If there is an explanation how they got to be black. I mean, what region did they live in. If your whole family is white, every single person, how can you be black? But I think it's not that much of a deal and people should stop caring so much about that.

[@si2foo]

@Dwarf Shortage okay by your point of view every African movie sett prior to colonization by white men should also have white men because got to be in keeping with this multicultural bullshit because we don't give a shit about how much sense it makes for X character to be of the same colour as there previous iterations like how domino is now black for some fucking reason

[@zTheWizard]

@AssasinArsenal47 uhmm... exactly? Do you see "white-skinned" written there? The Elves are described as creatures of light. And fairies, even though they originated from european folklore, doesn't mean shit about the skin color. I don't go around bothered that old media has a lack of representation. Pop culture before even being pop culture was pretty racist, but fuck it, that is in the past. But trying to pull this shit argument nowadays when there is no specification of their skin color, it's bullshit.

[@henryrodriguez6260]

There certainly are not only northwestern European-ish white-skinned people in Tolkien's book. Hobbits are described as having a variety of skin tones, with brown being the most common (though no black skin tones, admittedly). Many non-Dunedain Gondorians are described as olive-skinned. The Druadain (i.e. Woses) are certainly distinct (in my mind akin to aboriginal peoples from the Amazon). And the Haradrim to the south share similarities to people in our Middle-East. The Easterlings are varying degrees of asiatic and those in Lake-town likely have some mixed heritage with these people given the history of third age migrations into Rhovanion by the likes of the Wainriders. So the books are not so monolithic on this point. The movies mostly failed to present this variety.

[@mishl7]

He looks so sick of answering these types of dumb race questions in relation to his books. When you write a book it is the creative inspiration that comes to you, not some ideologically driven political climate and historic wrongs that happened to one particular race.

[@globaldigitaldirectsubsidi4493]

This was done by the wall street journal for you to have a false idea of the left. Because the real left threatens these bankster criminals.

[@Kibatsume1]

Well consider he's been getting these questions about his books being racist or sexist for the past couple years now I can imagine he is tired of it. If you was racist nightflyers would not featured a black woman as the lead considering the book was written in the 80s if I recall

[@infinitedreaming222]

mishl7 i don't think the issue is with the books it's really with show. They take ALOT OF CREATIVE LICENSE. They take from African history for better imagery on screen. If they can do that then they can put a small group of moorish mercenaries in the show. Battle of the bastards included Hannibal Barcas fighting strategy and they reference him in the after show commentary... but they can't put powerful strong black characters? Miss me with the cognitive dissonance.

[@th2k864]

@@Kibatsume1 - as Infinite Dreams says, the problem is the show. Anyone who has read the books knows what the Games Of Thrones world is really like and as a Black person I feel it is inclusive enough. Martin wanted to let it be made into a show and he has to deal with whatever the show runners put out here. So it's not really a question for Martin but DB and David.

[@mishl7]

I'm South East Asian and I love the show. I'm not so narcisstic as to need to see several other Asian people to feel included in the club. It is what it is and not every story in the world needs to be inclusive and intersectional according to certain feminists. That is just unrealistic and is not creating art - it is creating political propaganda.

[@mattmoves5920]

One day I went to Africa. I visited a nice village in Congo. I meet the elders there and they started to tell me some ancient stories. Nice stories, traditional tales about magic and heroes. Then I complained about lacking of white characters in their stories. I mean come on, it was so MONOCULTURAL.

[@sophisticatednebula4236]

@@boboddyb2217 You must be fun at parties

[@mattmoves5920]

@@boboddyb2217 Daddy, chill

[@katarinoroncevic2232]

@@boboddyb2217 jesus fucking christ, chill the fuck out, that text is just a fucking joke, you moron, and dont like your own comment you virgin.

[@PaladinDusty]

@@boboddyb2217 I have a book on African folktales. It's exactly what he just said it is, except for those stories that were brought there by Muslims. Those traditional tales largely are history-inspired fiction. Spend some time studying folktales from around the world and a little less time being outraged at jokes. Also, using autism as an insult makes any attempt at appearing self-righteous or intelligent pretty much impossible.

[@Wumbo57]

Boboddy B the Congo is a place. And there’s a whole lotta “villages and elders” so fu

[@simple8670]

I am Dutch and completely aggrevated by the amount of mountains in GoT

[@KingFuego]

The answer is pretty simple. Fantasy stories are inspired mostly by Europe's mythology (Elfs, Ogres, Dragons etc..) so it can really kill the vibe of the story if you include different ethnic groups in a culture that doesn't belong. Aside from that I believe GoT has done a great job with the placement of different ethnic groups so I don't know why this interviewer felt the need to ask that question.

[@innesg8458]

Yeah this is true. Not only is mthology a factor but also heavy inspiration is taken from medieval history where generally movement of people was much less, and there was far less variation in ethnicity from place to place. People within game of thrones are also heavily tied to their families and where they are from; it makes up part of their identity so they don't often move very far away from where their families are based. Additionally the different regions in a world like westeros have distinct climates, cultures and people, and the idea of certain ethinicities generally being found in these regions plays into the world building aspect of fantasy storytelling. Theres an argument to be made that it distinguishes one part of the world from the next. In a very divided kingdom it would be strange for everywhere to be a cultural melting pot.

[@hazzmati]

And like grr Martin said, other writes are welcome to write their own stories where a more diverse range of characters could be created. Grr martin is not responsible for that

[@Dragontron20]

A knight with a sombrero charging at a dragon with a mustache would be great. Call him HispaKnight 😂

[@ДартКсенос]

I think that Westeros is Europe and near countries but all other continents are rest of the world, but as most people don't know about most of the world of ASOIAF as they watch show, they don't know about these places

[@talvindersingh2354]

It fully kills the vibe when I see a black knight in medieval Europe. It takes away any authenticity no matter how well scripted, produced or directed the piece is.

[@micheleandreolidisovico2209]

As an italian, i'm very offended by the lack of pasta, mafia and mamma mia in game of thrones

[@miety111]

che tragedia

[@puneetmishra4726]

Leaving out Mamma Mia is an absolute crime

[@therallybeard]

"What killed the dragons"? "I thought it was a meteor" Paulie Walnuts - "DEY Were ALL MEAT EATEAZ"

[@Truckingwithcam]

😂

[@lofi_genius]

As a white man, I'm.. well I'm actually quite pleased with GoT

[@abuibu]

I feel offended the villains are called the "White Walkers"... Total racism...

[@theworldoverheavan560]

@@abuibu lol

[@brandonlewis8454]

@@abuibu I'm offened by your name. Where tf do you live?

[@abuibu]

@@brandonlewis8454 I'm from Dorne

[@admin.slayerenryu]

@@abuibu Dude people think I live in an imaginary land. Except this one land with a ship called Sun...chaser? She was cool.

[@kayday6598]

As someone from the Southern Hemisphere, I'm offended by the overuse of the word "North" in GoT

[@InfidelProductionz]

This question will be the death of The Witcher Netflix Series

[@pehenry]

Infidel Productionz nope. Witcher is already fully diversified.

[@crimsontriangle1578]

Patrick Henry they already tried to get a black actress to play Ciri so yeah even if the Witcher is fully diversified they still tried to throw that one in their and the only reason they decided against it was because of the backlash they got

[@eyecred4153]

@@crimsontriangle1578 The show is ruined already.

[@SuperNugget92]

@@eyecred4153 isnt there 2 black man cast members ?

[@MrGamzi91]

if the show fails maybe Sapkowski will emerge from his own asshole

[@TheEpicPaco]

Its based on medieval europe... it doesnt need diversity. There are also no jews in game of thrones, LOTR, etc. why does everything have to be racially charged now a days? Why does politics need to seep into every aspect of society?

[@igor953]

New lotr series is fucked

[@morpheusm8066]

@SHATTERPROOF GAMING on YT Why do you say its racial politics? Would it kill anyone to include more black characters in lead roles? I don't think so. It I don't think it would hurt the story.

[@aceambling7685]

@@morpheusm8066 it hurts the story when you shove them into a preestablished lore in a manner that is incongruous and illogical. Should we just remake Black Panther with an Asian actor playing T'Challa? Would that make sense to you?

[@morpheusm8066]

@@aceambling7685 It wouldn't be illogical. There were black people in medieval Europe. I think you know that.

[@volgawolfhounds741]

No it is not based on medieval Europe. SOME of the imagery might bring to mind knights and such but ONLY some. To say different is to lie and deny the man his power to argue this exact point.

[@KaibaCorpYT]

I'm black and I'm happy with the amount of black characters in both Lord of The Rings & Game of Thrones... I like diversity... But not when forced....

[@Markuden]

Lets be honest. If there would be a random black guy in the Lannister family we would at least expect a backstory or explanation.

[@Adrmeisterwerk]

Yep. And especially I think adding a black person in GoT/ASoIAF is not as easy as Netflix movies, that usually forces that to happen. In ASoIAF we can't have one black person between all the houses that are exist in Westeros because we'd need an explanation. It can't just be black for the sake of diversity, there must be some background stories that explain it. Like everyone'd be asking if there's a black person in a Targaryen family, the lore is already written. So if a black person exists, the whole house/family race must be changed too.

[@ultrafastidious6497]

White men writing about white men - "Why don't you write about people of color?!" White men writing about people of color - "You can't never understand our experience!"

[@thomasrosendahl2783]

Game of thrones is heavily inspired by "war of the roses" which took place all over England in the 15th century. That could also explain why there is almost no people of colour in GOT.

[@catinthehat906]

Credit to Martin he deals with this identity politics nonsense perfectly. Actually it's untrue there are no significant characters of color, Grey Worm and Missandei being two examples. It is as deft as his response to another interviewer who was offended by the idea that Daenerys was a 'white saviour' to coloured slaves, he had to explain the slavery in GOT is akin to Roman and Greek era slavery that was non racial and the extra's in the film for the scene at Meereen were all Moroccan because that was where it was filmed. On that occasion audience broke out into spontaneous laughter and applause.

[@Markuden]

There is a lack in westeros, not the other parts. Also if there was a black person in the lanister family or whatever family I atleast expect a backstory. If there is just a random black family member I would be like; uhhh.... really no story?!

[@jurgenparkour9337]

My man Robert the King used to have some really drunk parties with my Prince Xalabhar Xho from the Summer Islands.

[@marcospatricio8283]

@@catinthehat906 Asking why monocultural universes that are based (or "based") on medieval europe and Tolkien's work are so ubiquitous isn't nonsense. It's just a question about pop culture. Said response you mentioned came after he said "when we were recruiting extras we didn't think this image could be passed. Our bad" and followed by "yeah, i can't think of any non-inconvenient way to fix that". He aknowledged that this was a possible interpretation from just watching the series and not reading the books. And watching the show, it's a plausible interpretation. We aren't told about Slave's Bay history and the origin of the slaves, we don't see the societal chaos that came from Dany's conquest, we don't see the pain that aflicts everyone, nor the sacrifices she has to make. In the books, we can see that slavery in the reagion isn't racially based, and Dany's a foreign invader who failed to adapt and establish legitimacy. Slavery isn't black and Dany isn't a savior. In the series, she's a savior rejected by the saved people's barbarism. Now, i'm not saying there isn't bullshit identity politics in the world. But both cases you mentioned were of valid questions, that Martin took sensibly and answered seriously.

[@catinthehat906]

@@marcospatricio8283 The problem is with these questions there is always the implicit charge of racism, which in the case of Science Fiction or Fantasy is unfair, particularly as a writer like N K Jemsin has been given the Hugo three times. If someone wants to write a fantasy novel based on Nigerian mythology it would be ridiculous to suggest it should include white or asian characters for the sake of some diversity target.

[@ivandybek]

As a French I'm happy that a big part of the characters in the show are arrogant, it's nice to see my culture If only there were some white flag it would be amazingly parfait

[@mitsukifrancis.forever2617]

Don't mind me asking but whats this joke about the French surrending. I find it funny of course but I don't get why a French person would call surrending a representation?

[@boltmix7294]

@@mitsukifrancis.forever2617 It's because they surrendered in ww 2 The joke is preety old, unfunny and inacurate Especially considering France has won the most battles and wars out of any country in the world

[@mitsukifrancis.forever2617]

@@boltmix7294 oh thanks man . And that's pretty cool. I guess people never forget the negitive aspects in history to make jokes bout.

[@ivandybek]

@@mitsukifrancis.forever2617 cause it's a joke (self-mockery about what french generals did during the WW2) and i don't really care about what people from other country think about mine, it will not change my life that some fat-americans takes this joke seriously and think that french people are cowards it's the same with arabs joking about how much arabs are stealers(or blacks in the usa), everybody knows that's not true for every arabs (cause it's a joke) except some retards who think that it's real

[@ivandybek]

@@mitsukifrancis.forever2617 one of the objective of jokes is to make fun of negative things, if u want jokes that are only positives , go to tumblr ^^

[@chijen2010]

As a Chinaman, I am offended there is no Great Wall in GoT to keep out invaders... Oh wait, never mind.

[@seriouscoffeecup5516]

@Paul It really isn't but his username looks Chinese and if he's just not fluent with English norms... well, Chinaman is a direct translation of 中国人 (中国 is China, 人 is member of humankind), the most basic term for someone from China

[@malovela]

@@seriouscoffeecup5516 That's intersting to know. Thanks.

[@dominiccarrano9513]

"Why is the fantasy genera so racially monoclomatic?" Maybe because all the popular fantasy stories are based off European culture/fantasy tales. If you want diversity in fantasy, pressure studios to adapt fantasy stories from other cultures rather than alter the content of already established fantasy.

[@donovan4222]

@@dominiccarrano9513 Who said anything about “altering content”? The skin tone of a character in a fantasy world is no more important than hair or eye color. Half of the things in game of thrones didn’t exist in medieval Europe, and just because it’s based off of something that may of came from Europe, doesn’t mean everyone in the story has to be white…

[@beback_]

Even then it will not be diverse. It would be another monoculture, just from somewhere else.

[@jamessarvan7692]

He said it, because WHITE men wrote it and it's based on WHITE history and heritage. If you want black fantasy, then go write it yourself? Don't try to force white writers to write YOUR story, go write it yourself if that's what you like. I think there would be a market for it, I actually do, so go do it.

[@geranball9678]

Exactly its not as if there hasn't been good books based off african mythology, neil gaiman wrote a great book about it. Problem with people is they'll bitch all the time about representation but never make the effort to create good content, merely ruin what already exists

[@zaclewis9466]

chill tf out

[@stevem2323]

@@zaclewis9466 You chill the fuck out.

[@s_1408]

If a white writer wrote about black characters/stories it would be labeled as "cultural appropriation" or him trying to be a "white Savior". Black folks would say "How dare you try to tell my story. Your white privilege won't allow you to relate." So it's a case of you are damned if you do and you're damned if you don't. I'd suggest they don't do it because in the end they will just be called racist.

[@chinpan4359]

Not really sure how it would be anyone story as it's fantasy, but you are right tho black people should write more.

[@tenitri5023]

Thank the Old Gods and the New for KZbin comment sections 😂

[@thewhitewolf8167]

There is only one god and his name is death!

[@mateusmartinsjunior6506]

the NIGHT is DARK and full of TERRORS

[@ashleyofnaath]

I would also like to point out that in George's novels, there are some kick ass characters of color. There's Sarella Sand, Oberyn Martell's daughter who's half summer islander, currently posing as a boy and studying at the Citadel. She's one of the most intelligent acolytes and the first woman to study at the Citadel. Missandei is far more nuanced and could possibly be a faceless man. There's the Black Pearl of Braavos (a mixed-race Targaryen), Moqorro (He's far more competent than Melisandre. Actually the 2nd highest ranking red priest within that faith). Strong Belwas (advisor to Daenerys), Brown Ben Plumm (semi-advisor to Dany and leader of the Second Sons). And that's just naming a few. George is not at fault for David and Dan leaving these characters out of the show. David and Dan are at fault.

[@rezaF_]

and grey worm

[@artiescree4241]

Truth. I get the sense that the people who are pushing this criticism haven't spent a significant ammount of time with the novels or are being intellectually dishonest. In addition to the characters that you mentioned, I always found the descriptions of the Summer Islanders to be extremely well fleshed out despit them playing a minor role in the narrative. It functions primarily as a means of world building (we can see the same level of detail in the way food is described) but it still should count as representing if that is the type of thing that one is concerned with.

[@K0bbii]

Impressive memory i wish i could remember details like that

[@ericknunez8472]

I wouldnt call Stong Belwas an advisor... more like a comedic personal bodyguard

[@defer114]

@kagsgirl Westeros is based mostly on English medieval history. There were no black nobles in 13th century England.

[@UnderBarrowBog]

George is such a class act.

[@birkengberg1387]

Im Norwegian, and im upset that there are no happy people in GOT

[@ShawnChapman]

Euron smiles alot.😃

[@zeph6182]

I mean, the people aren’t happy in the moment, but look at The Mountain off set - that’s a happy lad.

[@saeedvazirian]

Funny that youmention that: the stories of the Iron Islands are partly based on the Norse sagas.

[@MrSirFluffy]

Ramsey and Joffery seemed happy enough :)

[@sideephects]

You should be upset by the lack of corpse paint

[@AverageAlien]

I'm an alien and I'm offended that we are not represented on the show as there are no space ships or laser guns

[@telamere2043]

I'm pretty sure they are in the far North where the wights have a city made of ice. Books only though.

[@carybeweary7209]

Hey! You're not supposed to be watching Game of Thrones! The Big Giant Head said to monitor humans! Get back to your station at once,Nanu-Nanu! Before I report you to Visser 9!

[@coffeeknight6148]

@@carybeweary7209 Friggin' Nanu-Nanu always slacking off. I've had it.

[@akaakaakaak5779]

"...and what can be done to change that?" not so subtly sneaking in your biases there, maybe it's this way for a reason, perhaps because fantasy setting are typically based on medieval Europe?

[@Shyhalu]

No, its because black people don't go into writing as much as others to make their own works of fantasy. Same reason you see tons of black rappers and music artists.

[@johnallen9439]

Liberals quit being subtle years ago. They Indoctrinate and brainwash children in school from 1st grade all the way up through college. 95% of the news media pushes liberal hypocrisy. Not to mention almost everything coming out of Hollyweird. The liberals have in their control the largest and most powerful propaganda network ever created by man. Joseph Goebbels would be envious. They quit being subtle a LONG time ago.

[@volgawolfhounds741]

No it isn't. There is a multitude of variety of race and culture.

[@johnallen9439]

Oh that's fresh a fucking liberal tool saying I'm playing the victim. Where in my post did I say whoa is me, I'm so discriminated against or I'm not getting my share free shit. NOWHERE ASSHOLE ! Exactly which of my problems did I say this was to blame for ?!? Then quit making up bullshit and unfounded insults. Liberal pussies like you are the ones who play the victim card at every turn, you fucking moron. I merely called the left out for the brainwashing propaganda it spews. And as obvious as it is, you're one of the the most retarded people in this world if you cannot see it. But instead you have to spew out and believe unfounded allegations and insults so you can justify then dismiss anything I say. So go ahead now, call me a racist. Or is that mound of bullshit overplayed.

[@Sealwithwificonnection]

Chayrsone "n-no u" typical libshit tactic. Either you're a shill or you genuinely don't see the biases in the media, in which case your pretty fucking dumb.

[@MrPastige]

If there are no people of colour in your story you get accused of discrimination, if there are people of colour in your story you get accused of being unqualified to write those characters because you don't share their ethnicity

[@fallendeus]

And if you add only a few (even if it makes no sense) you get accused of tokenism, and if you do too many (especially if it makes no sense) you are just pandering. I think when it comes to stories people need to just stfu. The comment you made about "being unqualified" would really annoy me if I saw that shit in relation to fantasy especially lol. I would laugh so hard, and brutally harass tbh, at someone who said GRRM wasn't qualified to write the Dornish characters because he doesn't share an ethnicity... Oh? And what ancestor of yours was from Dorne?

[@WaaDoku]

Exactly. You literally can't win with these ppl

[@danfr444]

No one is accusing him of anything, the guy just asked a question, it's ok

[@braemtes23]

@@danfr444 He didn't accuse, but he did imply.

[@danfr444]

@@braemtes23 No he didn't, you implied for him, which is quite frankly rude.

[@cognacmind9928]

This comment section is GOLD 😂😂😂

[@dvmusicworks374]

I’m offended by this comment section because all of these comments are witty AF and I didn’t write ANY of them!