Game of Thrones rape scene complaints prompt creators to change their approach

IT’S a show famous for its brutal storylines. But Game of Thrones may be toning down the scenes of sexual violence that have made it infamous. SPOILERS

IT’S a show famous for its gory storylines of blood, guts and brutality.

But Game of Thrones may steer away from the explicit portrayals of sexual violence that have made it infamous.

The outcry over the shocking rape scene in season five — where Ramsay Bolton raped Sansa Stark on her wedding night — has led to a rethink, says director Jeremy Podeswa.

Speaking at an event held at Sydney’s Fox Studios, Podeswa — who directed the controversial rape episode and is set to direct the first two episodes of season 6 — said he was “aware ahead of time that it was going to be disturbing”.

Wedding night ... the infamous scene sparked a global debate.

“But we did not expect there would be people in Congress talking about it,” he told the audience.

Podeswa described the rape scene as “difficult and brutal” and that he knew “it was going to be challenging for the audience”.

“But it was very important to us in the execution that it would not be exploited in any way,” he told the Sydney audience.

“To be fair, the criticism was the notion of it, not the execution. It was handled as sensitively as it could possibly be; you hardly see anything.”

Brilliant @Screen_Producer session with @GameOfThrones Director Jeremy Podeswa this morning #GoTSeason6 pic.twitter.com/uPX0ldKigV

— selinagovan (@selinagovan) December 17, 2015

Podeswa said the outcry over the depiction of rape in HBO’s hit fantasy series had led creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss to reconsider how the show will approach the subject in the future.

The creators “were responsive to the discussion and there were a couple of things that changed as a result,” Podeswa told the audience.

“It is important that (the producers) not self-censor. The show depicts a brutal world where horrible things happen. They did not want to be too overly influenced by that (criticism) but they did absorb and take it in and it did influence them in a way.”

Fans in uproar ... Sophie Turner as Sansa Stark and Aidan Gillen as Littlefinger. May viewers were angry over the depiction of Sansa as a victim.

The brutal rape scene sparked global debate — many fans were angry that producers had chosen to humiliate Sansa and subject her to violence as a female victim, rather than allow her to grow into a more complex character.

Many viewers and critics objected not just to the rape, but the way the scene was shot — the camera was set on a male observer during the act.

The rape storyline also departed from the original George RR Martin novels, a fact that angered Got purists.