Detecting Lady Bits

True Detective - Photo by James Bridges - © James Bridges/HBO

Last weekend, the boyfriend wanted to introduce me to one of his new favorite shows. We ended up watching two shows that were new to me...with mixed results.

True Detective – Although this doesn’t fit my preferred wheelhouse of “happy” shows, I was sucked in from the start. The initial draw is the mystery—who killed a young woman in a grotesque, cult-like fashion and will they do it again—but the show quickly becomes as much a character study as it is a whodunit. The lead detectives, played by Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey, act as our unreliable narrators. As they tell the story of their investigation, we gradually learn about who they are, as well. And who they are is deeply flawed. Granted, that’s expected from a dark show like this—the “flawed detective”—but one of the show’s strengths is how it keeps its characters from becoming caricatures. Each character acts consistently with who they are, yet their actions are often unexpected and sometimes shocking. The writing, directing, cinematography—all aspects of this production—are fantastic. Ultimately, I was so engaged with the story that we powered through all five available episodes at that time. (I do have some issues with the show that affected my engagement, but more on that in a moment.)

Game of Thrones – High on his victory with True Detective, the boyfriend decided to show me the first episode of Game of Thrones. Later, we both agreed that he should have quit while he was ahead. Whereas I’m generally interested in a good mystery, I’m not so interested in medieval-era-like fantasy. (I’m fine with present-day fantasy like Harry Potter or future-set fantasy like Hunger Games.) I think it’s partly a matter of personal taste. The idea of people scheming and battling for higher positions in a kingdom isn’t appealing (frankly, it stresses me out). But an even bigger problem for me is that I find the treatment of women in these stories upsetting. If it were a historical medieval drama, based on actual people and events, then I would understand the need to portray things a certain way. However, if the story is a fantasy made to emulate aspects of medieval times, then it was the writer’s choice to create certain situations for the female characters (and, thus, the actresses), and I’m simply not interested in engaging with this world.

In fact, both True Detective and Game of Thrones have been at the center of debate about their portrayal of women—both tend to show women as objects in their respective worlds and frequently show naked lady bits (breasts and butts). So, what is the driving force for showing women this way? Are they simply trying to push boundaries by constantly showing nudity and placing female characters in brothels, whorehouses, strip clubs, etc.? Do people who pay for premium cable demand to see something they can’t get on broadcast TV, and with all the gruesome blood and violence on broadcast and basic cable, female breasts are the final frontier? Does HBO expect female viewers to be satisfied by a strong story, but male viewers need boobs to engage with the plot? I can’t really say. I just know that the constant nudity in Game of Thrones felt largely unnecessary to me, and perhaps a different director would have made different choices about how to tell this story. In True Detective, the frequent nudity was also bothersome, though not nearly as much as in Game of Thrones. (But am I being more forgiving because I was so engaged in the story?) I could rant on, but instead I’ll share the following links, which frame the matter much better than I ever could:

HBO Should Show Dongs – The boyfriend provided this link to make up for the Game of Thrones misstep. All is well now.

‘True Detective’ and Women: Does the Hit HBO Show Have a Problem With Female Characters? – A more serious exploration of True Detective’s portrayal of women.

And to wrap it all up, here’s what I’ve been reading/watching since last time:

Books:
Catch-22 – Joseph Heller
Shakespeare Wrote for Money – Nick Hornby (finished)
The Writing Class: A Novel – Jincy Willett

TV:
Brooklyn 99 (3 episodes)
Downton Abbey
Game of Thrones
New Girl (3 episodes)
Project Runway: Under the Gunn (2 episodes)
Real Housewives of Beverly Hills (2 episodes)
True Detective (5 episodes)
Vanderpump Rules – Last one of the season. So excited to be free!

Movies:
The Divorcee (1930)
The Lion in Winter (1968) – For the record, this film was everything that Game of Thrones is not. For one thing, it gave male and female actors equal treatment on screen, while still retaining their differing roles as men and women of that era. Katherine Hepburn and Laurence Olivier took turns owning the screen (even talented newcomer Anthony Hopkins could hardly keep up). And I was able to engage with each character’s wit and passion without a single naked bit.