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Darren_Mooney's profile
Darren Mooney
Darren Mooney
Darren Mooney
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@Darren_Mooney

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Darren MooneyVerified account

@Darren_Mooney

Member of @ofcs. Co-host of @thetwofifty. Author of books. http://tinyurl.com/ybke6vtc . Columnist at @EscapistMag. Occasional @Q102FeelGood movie guy. He/Him.

them0vieblog.com
Joined February 2012

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    Darren Mooney‏Verified account @Darren_Mooney 13 May 2019

    Right, so. #GameOfThrones, then. Where to start?pic.twitter.com/ZIYDXGNHyo

    10:01 AM - 13 May 2019
    • 2,316 Retweets
    • 6,927 Likes
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    212 replies 2,316 retweets 6,927 likes
      1. New conversation
      2. Darren Mooney‏Verified account @Darren_Mooney 13 May 2019

        I’ve found myself a little frustrated by the tone of the discourse around “The Bells.” Not criticisms of the execution, but criticisms of the idea. Which is something that I find myself tired of in modern discussion of pop culture. Not fear of execution, but fear of ideas.pic.twitter.com/C8SxQAQjJm

        10 replies 121 retweets 844 likes
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      3. Darren Mooney‏Verified account @Darren_Mooney 13 May 2019

        A lot of criticism in pop culture is rooted in the implication that there are some things creators shouldn’t do; not things that they should do carefully, or well. But just some ideas that are out of bounds. And we’re not talking about politics; we’re talking about characters.pic.twitter.com/qPFAmkcU5k

        3 replies 74 retweets 606 likes
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      4. Darren Mooney‏Verified account @Darren_Mooney 13 May 2019

        You see it in a lot of criticism, most notably in criticism of things like “The Last Jedi.” Where fans are like, “That’s not my Luke Skywalker!” Or, “Luke Skywalker would never do that!” Because the version of Luke on screen conflicts with the version in their imagination.pic.twitter.com/DxoLlYoVYm

        16 replies 90 retweets 926 likes
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      5. Darren Mooney‏Verified account @Darren_Mooney 13 May 2019

        Emily Nussbaum coined the term “bad fans” to describe the fans who watched “Breaking Bad” and rooted for Walter White. As he cooked meth, as he murdered, as he sexually assaulted his wife. A lot of fans responded to the character. Because he was well-written and well-realised.pic.twitter.com/uruWzsmVXN

        8 replies 62 retweets 724 likes
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      6. Darren Mooney‏Verified account @Darren_Mooney 13 May 2019

        To be fair, there are other cases where the execution is shakier, but where criticism seems more rooted in fandom’s idea of the character than in the potential or role of the character. But the complaints are rarely “it’s a good idea, done badly”, but rather “it’s a bad idea!”pic.twitter.com/8yX0cyugAk

        2 replies 42 retweets 484 likes
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      7. Darren Mooney‏Verified account @Darren_Mooney 13 May 2019

        For the problems with “Man of Steel”, the loudest complaints came down to, “That’s NOT Superman!” Or how many criticisms of “Batman vs. Superman” came down to the suggestion that the idea of an entitled and violent Batman was inherently “wrong”?pic.twitter.com/Kf9wWB7A99

        9 replies 36 retweets 445 likes
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      8. Darren Mooney‏Verified account @Darren_Mooney 13 May 2019

        Or Marvel’s decision to have Steve Rogers become a fascist and have a black man become Captain America in 2016. All ideas that - ignoring issues with execution - had merit to them in the context of the modern world. All of which were immediately rejected on a conceptual level.pic.twitter.com/ae3iQ70ZjO

        6 replies 23 retweets 439 likes
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      9. Darren Mooney‏Verified account @Darren_Mooney 13 May 2019

        It should be noted these waves of complaints kicked into high gear with things like the MCU selling itself on fidelity and Disney setting up a working group to define and codify “Star Wars” canon. When fans started getting exactly what they expected.https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2016/04/enough-with-the-true-canon/477837/ …

        1 reply 26 retweets 409 likes
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      10. Darren Mooney‏Verified account @Darren_Mooney 13 May 2019

        It’s worth noting, for example, that modern fandom would never tolerate something like “The Wrath of Khan” or the Burton “Batman” movies. We know because there were fan objections to them similar to what you get today, but they were just ignored.pic.twitter.com/sNIihAy2rm

        9 replies 242 retweets 994 likes
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      11. Darren Mooney‏Verified account @Darren_Mooney 13 May 2019

        And again, I’m not talking about criticism of “well the execution was awful.” I’m talking about “even doing this thing in the first place was completely out of bounds.” Which where a lot of this comes from. “You CAN’T kill Spock!” “You CAN’T make the Penguin a circus freak!”pic.twitter.com/Fno5rzb6r7

        4 replies 26 retweets 483 likes
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      12. Darren Mooney‏Verified account @Darren_Mooney 13 May 2019

        Which is a concept of which I’m wary, because it’s growing stronger and stronger. Are there issues with Daenerys’ descent into destruction and devastation? Undoubtedly. It’s rushed, it’s hypercondensed. It might flow better if the show had three more episodes, but it doesn’t.pic.twitter.com/1M4F95oJ22

        5 replies 90 retweets 1,026 likes
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      13. Darren Mooney‏Verified account @Darren_Mooney 13 May 2019

        Are those criticisms of it unfair? Absolutely not. I’d agree with some criticisms of the pacing and connective tissue in “The Bells.” Incidentally, I’d agree with similar criticisms of “The Last Jedi.” What’s interesting is that this or not the tone of a lot of the criticism.pic.twitter.com/n8vSFuGAlT

        3 replies 30 retweets 515 likes
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      14. Darren Mooney‏Verified account @Darren_Mooney 13 May 2019

        There’s a weirdly strong sense that “The Bells” represents a fundamental betrayal of Daenerys’ character. Like on a primal, fundamental level. It’s not that it’s rushed or that connective tissue is missing. It’s that this development is fundamentally, morally “wrong.”pic.twitter.com/5gXqp0sphJ

        16 replies 63 retweets 647 likes
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      15. Darren Mooney‏Verified account @Darren_Mooney 13 May 2019

        And, like the reaction to examples like Luke and like Superman and like Batman, and even like killing Spock, I think that’s a primarily emotional response. Which isn’t a bad thing, to be clear! Stories move us! They make us feel! We emotionally invest! And this is great!pic.twitter.com/9raJAKfNku

        3 replies 29 retweets 513 likes
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      16. Darren Mooney‏Verified account @Darren_Mooney 13 May 2019

        I’m not being flippant. Emotional investment in characters is great and has meaning. It’s genuinely touching that so many people care about Luke or Superman or Daenerys. And it’s not wrong to dislike a development because of that emotional attachment. You like what you like.pic.twitter.com/Feh5PlOpY2

        1 reply 37 retweets 493 likes
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      17. Darren Mooney‏Verified account @Darren_Mooney 13 May 2019

        But there’s also an acceptance that your version of the character is not the only version that exists, and not the *right* version against which all must be measured. I love “Doctor Who”, but there are large swathes of it that are “not for me”, and that’s fine.pic.twitter.com/4ISVI1IMFf

        5 replies 85 retweets 676 likes
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      18. Darren Mooney‏Verified account @Darren_Mooney 13 May 2019

        But, back to “The Bell.” This is very much where the story has been going, pretty much from the outset. The wheel is integral to “Game of Thrones”, and this is the mirror of the Lannister/Baratheon sack of King’s Landing at the end of Robert’s Rebellion.pic.twitter.com/8C4hD7fqDJ

        3 replies 41 retweets 548 likes
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      19. Darren Mooney‏Verified account @Darren_Mooney 13 May 2019

        It’s also recalls the Targaryen conquest of Westeros. No matter how romantic the fantasy of conquest of Westeros by TWO foreign armies and a dragon, it was always going to end like this. That has always been how “Game of Thrones” works, teasing fantasy and delivering horror.pic.twitter.com/DpzivjRyB3

        4 replies 136 retweets 1,063 likes
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      20. Darren Mooney‏Verified account @Darren_Mooney 13 May 2019

        Worth noting that “Game of Thrones” is riffing on “Lord of the Rings.” Here, the series is playing with the Scouring of the Shire following the climactic battle against Sauron. Martin is a big fan of the Scouring. Except in this case the Scouring is the point. Not Sauron.pic.twitter.com/fWhMMLDoWt

        6 replies 57 retweets 670 likes
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      21. Darren Mooney‏Verified account @Darren_Mooney 13 May 2019

        There’s something effective in how “The Bells” gives the audience something they thought they wanted - a big bad, Cersei gets what she probably deserves, Daenerys taking the throne - and makes it genuinely nightmarish. Because that’s the point of it. It’s meant to upset.pic.twitter.com/8qlHLZzU2n

        6 replies 225 retweets 1,431 likes
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      22. Darren Mooney‏Verified account @Darren_Mooney 13 May 2019

        You see it with Cleganebowl, which a lot of online fans *really, really* wanted. But it just becomes sad and pathetic. Sandor even seems to realise this, telling Arya as much, but also seeming frustrated at how unsatisfying it is to him during the fight. There’s no winner.pic.twitter.com/l4zyNfo26v

        3 replies 57 retweets 976 likes
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      23. Darren Mooney‏Verified account @Darren_Mooney 13 May 2019

        “Game of Thrones” is far from the first fantasy book to point out the uncomfortable subtext of sci-fi/fantasy novels; the details that are often obscured, the subtext often unarticulated. “The Iron Dream” always comes to mind, sci-fi/fantasy tropes through the lens of fascism.pic.twitter.com/fD0RHn69uA

        4 replies 23 retweets 372 likes
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      24. Darren Mooney‏Verified account @Darren_Mooney 13 May 2019

        A recurring motif of “Game of Thrones” is that it would suck to live in a fantasy world, but especially if you weren’t royalty or a chosen one. Again, the execution is less than ideal here. It drifted out of focus in the past three seasons, but is always present.pic.twitter.com/8wZKLo8XM1

        2 replies 29 retweets 456 likes
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      25. Darren Mooney‏Verified account @Darren_Mooney 13 May 2019

        And, again, the execution is flawed. Indeed, one of the reasons I am as fond of the show’s “difficult middle seasons” is that the diffused focus allows the series to touch on the lives impacted and shaped by the affairs of kings and lords.pic.twitter.com/k4TPQYQeSL

        5 replies 27 retweets 528 likes
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      26. Darren Mooney‏Verified account @Darren_Mooney 13 May 2019

        It shouldn’t need to be said that monarchy is a terrible way of governing that lends itself to political chaos and brutality, no matter how alluring fantasy makes it seem. Then again we live in a time experiencing the pull of authoritarianism. So maybe saying it is a good thing.pic.twitter.com/ilR6ebNwln

        3 replies 71 retweets 715 likes
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      27. Darren Mooney‏Verified account @Darren_Mooney 13 May 2019

        Incidentally, this is why I have soft spot for “Man of Steel” and “Batman vs. Superman”, despite their myriad flaws. They make the power fantasy of the superhero deliberately and consciously uncomfortable in a way that few other blockbusters do.pic.twitter.com/ab1wiiJJtV

        10 replies 48 retweets 612 likes
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      28. Darren Mooney‏Verified account @Darren_Mooney 13 May 2019

        Which brings us to Daenerys, who is interesting as a character. Martin’s prose is highly subjective, allowing the reader to align themselves with the character in focus. Television naturally has a harder time doing that, but...pic.twitter.com/DpKk4v6slJ

        2 replies 15 retweets 348 likes
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      29. Darren Mooney‏Verified account @Darren_Mooney 13 May 2019

        It is notable that “Game of Thrones” is structured to isolate its two most classical heroes until the final act. Both Jon and Daenerys are kept away from Westerosi politicking and essentially placed in their own plots for a lot of the story. Jon at the Wall. Dany in Essos.pic.twitter.com/UyeFOwmzqU

        1 reply 40 retweets 544 likes
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      30. Darren Mooney‏Verified account @Darren_Mooney 13 May 2019

        This has the luxury of leaving them “unsullied” (so to speak) by scheming of other major characters. It means their stories are largely their own, not shared with other view point characters. Their narratives are also more traditional. Jon the chosen one. Dany the exiled queen.pic.twitter.com/CezPvBkGnK

        1 reply 35 retweets 490 likes
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      31. Darren Mooney‏Verified account @Darren_Mooney 13 May 2019

        Bringing both characters into the main series narrative forces their stories to collide with others. Jon is the chosen one up North, but he’s a political/military liability as soon as he comes back South. Dany is the hero of her own story in Essos, but an invader in Westeros.pic.twitter.com/EsB2y1u16M

        5 replies 72 retweets 759 likes
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      32. Show replies

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