Over two semesters we carried out a survey and an experiment, and I followed that work up with a second experiment.įor the survey and experiment we recruited participants through social media. My students and I set about devising ways to test for such an effect. I wondered: If Appel found that fictional narratives with happy endings increased belief in a just world, could exposure to the repeated injustices of “Game of Thrones” do the opposite and reduce audiences’ tendency to believe in a just world? The show taught audiences to never get too attached to any one character because that character, in all likelihood, would meet a cruel and unjust fate. Plot developments included a sadistic young king ordering the beheading of the lead character a slaughter of unarmed guests at a wedding physical and psychological torture and marriages forced on young girls, who are then raped and sexually assaulted. It went as far as possible in the opposite direction, feeding viewers a relentless diet of cruel and brutal injustices. It didn’t just abandon the typical plot in which protagonists are rewarded for doing the right thing. When it debuted in 2011, “Game of Thrones” wasn’t like most other shows. Rather than force someone to grapple with the complex emotions evoked by these victims, this worldview operates like a shield – why devote emotional energy and resources to these people if they deserve what they got? Can ‘Game of Thrones’ color your worldview? The belief in a just world seems to be activated as a psychological response to experiencing the discomfort of witnessing victims of abuse, crime, economic catastrophe and war. It’s also been associated with negative feelings about the poor and support for authoritarianism. Not surprisingly, the worldview has been associated with lower support for antipoverty programs and affirmative action.
For example, if you believe in a just world, you would probably believe that poor people deserve to be poor. This worldview then influences support for certain policies. What does this belief have to do with politics? Well, when you believe in a just world, you tend to think that good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people.
In a 2007 study, communication psychologist Markus Appel showed that the more fictional narratives people see, the more likely they are to believe in a just world.
HAPPY GAME ENDING TV
For this reason, most stories developed for mass audiences – whether they’re books, films or TV shows – will conclude with the protagonist rewarded for doing the right thing.Īll those happy endings, however, have political consequences – at least according to one researcher. People prefer stories with happy endings.
HAPPY GAME ENDING SERIES
It wants the White Walkers to overrun the North and kill Jon Snow and Daenerys, or Cersei to betray the heroes after they battle the army of the dead, leaving no opposition to her claim to the Iron Throne.Ī study I recently conducted with some students on “Game of Thrones” colored my views on unhappy endings, revealing that perhaps television series and movies need more of them. But a different part of me – the part that researches the political effects of entertainment – is pulling for a final season that is as brutally unjust as the first five seasons of the series. With the final season of HBO’s “Game of Thrones” commencing, I imagine most fans are harboring hopes that things will turn out well for the remaining heroes in Westeros.Ī large part of me hopes for the same.