Angelina Jolie finally brings down sexual predators (sort of)

Jolie continued: “All too often, these kinds of crimes against women are laughed off, depicted as a minor offense by someone who cannot control themselves, as an illness, or as some kind of exaggerated sexual need. But a man who mistreats women is not oversexed. He is abusive.”

Jolie added that sexual violence is indeed “a critical obstacle to achieving women’s equality and our full human rights. It is cheaper than a bullet, and it has lasting consequences that unfold with sickening predictability that make it so cruelly effective.”

Jolie had more interesting things to say: “Even if we accept that sexual violence has nothing to do with sex, that it is a crime, and that it is used as a weapon, many people still believe that it is simply not possible to do anything about it.”

We all agree that sexual violence is a violation of the moral order and anyone who violates the moral law must be willing to pay the consequences of his or her actions.

But that’s where Jolie and others stop—they don’t want to delve into the fundamental issues because that would essentially ruin their reputation as actors and actresses. My question to Jolie is very simple: how has she been able to make millions upon millions of dollars over the past three decades? Does Jolie really want to tell us that her movies have never contributed to the demoralization of America and much of the world? Does she mean to tell us that she is innocent?

If Jolie really wants to fight sexual violence, will she ever tell the industry to stop producing sexual violence in movies such as A History of Violence, Eastern Promises, Map of the Stars, etc.? Will Jolie apologize for making movies such as By the Sea, which is on the borderline of pornography?

Or how about what seems to be innocent on the surface, Game of Thrones, which by the way unleashes some pornographic material to young children? Is Jolie going to ignore the central issue and then focus on the symptom? Do these people really want us to take them seriously? Film critics themselves have said that Game of Thrones is filled with sexual violence.

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Game of Thrones was created by two Jewish producers, Daniel Brett Weiss and David Benioff. Back in 2015, the Atlantic itself pointed out that “showrunners Benioff and Weiss still apparently believe that their tendency to ramp up the sex, violence, and—especially—sexual violence of George R.R. Martin’s source material is a strength rather than the defining weakness of their adaptation.”[1]

Obviously the Atlantic could make neither heads nor tails of the fundamental issues because they don’t get the idea that people like Weiss and Benioff see themselves as crusaders who will bring about, as Jewish scholar Nathan Abrams would have put it, an “an atavistic hatred of Christian authority: they are trying to weaken the dominant culture in America by moral subversion.”[2]

When asked about some of the sex scenes in the series, Benioff responded: “The Littlefield sexposition scene that some people objected to was some of the best exposition since the monkey with the date in ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark.’” Weiss added:

“We enjoyed it. In the episode following that episode, Khal Drogo rips someone’s tongue out through the hole he just made in their throat. And I never really heard any complaints about that scene.

“It is objectively worse to get your tongue torn out through a hole in your throat than it is to witness or experience what happened in the sexposition scene. If someone had a dramatic issue with it, that’s one thing. But if the issue is the content of it I’m just sort of a bit confused by it.”

The Atlantic moved on to say that Benioff and Weiss “can be very clumsy in their handling of sexual violence…”[3] Numerous scenes from Game of Thrones shows that the statement is actually true. On one occasion, sexual (or pornographic) violence is even shown to a boy who happens to be just ten years old! The Atlantic added:

“Gratuitous sexual violence is bad enough, but gratuitous sexual violence in a ridiculous storyline that not only doesn’t advance our understanding of key characters but rather makes us more confused—that may be the greatest sin of all.”[4]

This is not Jonas E. Alexis saying this. Sexual violence in Game of Thrones serves no purpose, but the industry continues to produce this kind of subversion. Game of Thrones Star Stephen Dillane declared that he was not comfortable with all the sexual violence in the series, adding that it “reminds me of German porn from the 1970s.”[5]

But how does Dillane absolve himself from his moral guilt? Listen to him: “But I presume it [sexual violence] serves a purpose, and the merits of the show far outweigh my concerns on that score.”[6] In other words, fame and power overshadow his moral reasoning.

Game of Thrones actress Emilia Clarke has said something similar. She declared that sex scenes in the series “should be more subtle. I’m British, so I cringe at that sort of thing anyway — I can’t stand it.”[7] Clarke cited one of the girls in the series who left because she said she wanted “to be known for my acting not for my breasts.”[8]

Writer and commentator Charlie Jane Anders declared that Game of Thrones is fraught with “pornitude,” which she also said is tantamount to “pointless nastiness.” Similarly, New York Magazine declared that the series is filled with “torture porn” scenes.[9] Even incest is part of the process. Jaime Lannister rapes his sister and lover Cersei.

Even the Daily Beast, of all places, declared that scenes like this are unnecessary.[10] Anders quoted the Washington Post itself which declared that this “pornitude” “often overshadows or distracts from the actual story.” The Daily Mail has reported that “The Game of Thrones scenes [are] so raunchy they now appear on PORNHUB.”[11]

Most viewers probably don’t know that Game of Thrones producers hired real porn stars and prostitutes for the series.

“An actress who played a prostitute in Game of Thrones is actually a real-life hooker who charges up to £900 for her services. Saeeda Vorajee, 41, starred in the first two series of the hit show as a prostitute called Armeca where she took part in a controversial lesbian sex scene and acted alongside Jerome Flynn.

“However she is also a £40-a-go real-life escort and offers her services online under the name of Sahara Knite. A Sun on Sunday investigation also found that she offers sex for cash and visits clients in hotels.”[12]

Game of Thrones Jessica Jensen, 23, is also a porn star. So are Samantha Bentley, Sibel Kekilli, Aeryn Walker, and Maisie Dee.[13] Game of Thrones, the Daily Mail tells us, “picked up a porn award for Best Newcomer winner 2012. Samantha has also made an award-winning turn in the industry as she won an award for starring in the ‘most obscene sex scene.’”[14]

Will Jolie challenge the creators of Game of Thrones? Will she challenge people like Eli Roth, who said quite explicitly that the primary intention of his movies is “fuck an entire generation”?[15] Will she tell Sofia Vergara to stop bragging about having “a great ass” in magazines such as Women’s Health? Will she tell Vergara to stop titillating men by saying things like “I’ve always been known for my boobs”?[16]

Vergara puts the sexual equation into proper perspective when she says: “I’m Latin, and in our culture, we dress to pick up guys, or for our boyfriends or husbands, rather than for other girls.”[17] In other words, certain clothes are designed to attract men and to tell them to “look at my boobs.” They are designed to sexually arouse them and to compel them to put their pants down.

But when men do get excited and act upon their lustful passion, they get to be told that they are wicked people by the same people who promoted sexual liberation in the first place! Game of Thrones Actress Emilia Clarke herself declares that “Most sex scenes you see in films or on TV are gratuitous and they’re usually just to attract an audience.”[18]

Anna Holmes of the Washington Post had similar views, saying that the sex scenes in Game of Thrones are titillating men. Holmes added that “These scenes seem not only forced but also exploitative.”[19]

Well, if you are intended to attract an audience through sex, don’t you think you are partly responsible for what happens after the audience gets attracted? Don’t you think that some people in the audience will have an urge to suspend their moral intuition and unleash their libido? Is Clarke that unintelligent? Does she know about Ted Bundy?

That indeed is a vital contradiction which can never be reconciled. We will deal with this issue in more detail in the future, when we discuss actress and neuroscientist Mayim Bialik’s article, which was published by the New York Times.

• [1] Spencer Kornhaber, Christopher Orr, and Amy Sullivan, “Game of Thrones: A Pointless Horror and a Ridiculous Fight,” Atlantic, May 18, 2015.
• [2] Nathan Abrams, “Triple-exthnics,” Jewish Quarterly, Winter 2004, Number 196.
• [3] Ibid.
• [4] Spencer Kornhaber, Christopher Orr, and Amy Sullivan, “Game of Thrones: A Pointless Horror and a Ridiculous Fight,” Atlantic, May 18, 2015.
• [5] Ibid.
• [6] Ibid.
• [7] Sophie Jamieson, “Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke: ‘I can’t stand sex scenes,’” Telegraph, September 14, 2015.
• [8] Ibid.
• [9] Allison David, “Game of Thrones Couple of the Week: Tyrion and Shae Are Never Getting Back Together,” NY Magazine, May 12, 2014.
• [10] Melissa Leon, “The Rape of Sansa Stark: ‘Game of Thrones’ Goes Off-Book and Enrages Its Female Fans,” Daily Beast, May 19, 2015.
• [11] Thomas Burrows, “The Game of Thrones scenes so raunchy they now appear on PORNHUB – as producers take legal action to stop porn site using the images,” Daily Mail, May 31, 2016.
• [12] Gaby Bissett, “Actress who played a naked prostitute in Game of Thrones is a real life escort called Sahara Knite,” Daily Mail, June 12, 2016.
• [13] Lee Morgan, “British porn stars cast as prostitutes in HBO’s ‘Game of Thrones,’” NY Daily News, April 7, 2014; “Meet the 6 porn stars of ‘Game of Thrones,’” NY Post, April 8, 2014; “’Game of Thrones’ porn star cast members revealed,” Fox News, April 8, 2014.
• [14] Nola Ojomu, “It’s set to get a whole lot raunchier! British porn stars Jessica Jenson and Samantha Bentley ‘cast as prostitutes’ in Game Of Thrones,” Daily Mail, April 17, 2014.
• [15] Stuart Dredge, “Netflix series Hemlock Grove: ‘People want their horror horrific,’ says Eli Roth,” Guardian, April 10, 2013.
• [16] Helen Zhao, “’I have a great a**!’: Sofia Vergara, 41, shows off her perfect figure in a seductive shoot for Women’s Health,” Daily Mail, April 16, 2014.
• [17] Ibid.
• [18] Ibid.
• [19] Anna Holmes, “Skin is wearing thin on HBO’s ‘Game of Thrones,’” Washington Post, April 26, 2012.