Media Man Powers

Hi there! Welcome to I’m So Glad My Suffering Amuses You, a blog about whatever damn thing pops in my head.

 

Yesterday, the damn thing that popped into my head was Game of Thrones. So I wrote a post about the last two episodes of the series.

 

I did this, as I so cheekily confessed at the end of the post, without ever watching a single episode of Game of Thrones. 

 

So what’s up with that?

 

I have what I call “Media Man” powers. I have a broad working knowledge of a lot of TV shows and movies, many of which I have not actually seen. 

 

Sometimes I’m asked for some arcane piece of pop culture trivia and when I have the answer, the follow up inquiry is “How could you possibly know that?”

 

Basically, I’m a pop culture sponge. I just glom all sorts of news and history about the worlds of TV and film. I devour episode guides, behind the scenes books and shows, film reviews,  almost anything to build the vast and mostly useless accumulation of knowledge on TV and movies that provide my power as “Media Man”. 

 

It is a gift AND a curse. 

 

I will, for example, read recaps of TV shows I don’t watch but I’m sort of kind of interested in.

 

Game of Thrones comes under that heading.

 

GoT was a show that should’ve been right up my alley, rooted in fantasy and layered with political intrigue. But from what I’ve heard, there were elements of the show that I found potentially distasteful and off-putting. I do not have a predilection for watching people being tortured and brutally murdered in things I watch for entertainment. I have a low tolerance for torturous and graphic violence being perpetrated against others, particularly against women. While the premise of GoT may have held some interest for me, it’s execution (pun very much intended) did not.

 

Also, I do not have HBO. 

 

But operating in the circles I do, interacting with fans of Star Trek, Star Wars, Doctor Who and more,  Game of Thrones kept intersecting with my awareness. I kept running into jokes and memes based on GoT knowledge and I hated being left out. 

 

So like a complete Bran Stark, I flitted on the edges of Game of Thrones, reading episode recaps.

 

Without ever seeing a single episode, I was shocked by Daenerys' heel-turn as she decimated King’s Landing with her dragon.

 

Without ever seeing a single episode, it was still gut wrenching when Daenerys met her death at the point of Jon Snow’s blade.

 

I don’t know if there’s anyone at all like me out there, amassing information on TV shows and movies never seen.    

Perhaps I am the only one of my kind. I am singular. I am alone. I am Media Man.

 

And I am so glad my suffering amuses you.