The popular HBO series Game of Thrones stirred a tempest in a teapot when it placed an ill-disguised replica of George W. Bush’s head on a pike. The network of course issued a profuse apology. Creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss followed up with a huffy one.
Hollywood’s disdain for, and even hatred of, George W. Bush isn’t news. What is surprising, however, are the reactions of liberal media outlets. I09.com calls the revolting scene “one hell of a dragon egg.” The tone of a Huffington Post article is one of poorly restrained glee, the first line gives no hint of revulsion or even recognition of Benioff and Weiss’s poor taste: “For those who ever wanted to see former President George W. Bush’s head on a silver platter, ‘Game of Thrones’ is serving up something possibly even more gruesome,” suggesting that the desire to see a another human being’s severed head paraded around on a stick is a perfectly reasonable feeling, not one to be discouraged.
Had Benioff and Weiss chosen to use Barack Obama’s head instead of George W. Bush’s, it’s quite a stretch to imagine the Huffington Post shrugging it off with the line, “Who would have believed [King Joffrey] was a Republican?”
The pic is below the jump for those interested.
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