People tend to come together forming groups and societies that are linked by a common interest. The groups and societies are normally oriented towards achieving similar goals and objectives. They can then be classified as a discourse community.
According to John Swales, a professor of linguistics at the Michigan corpus academy of spoken English at the University of Michigan, a discourse community can be referred to as the continuously increasing assumption that there exists a discourse operating within conventions that are defined by communities or social groups (Swales 217). He classifies the characteristics of a real discourse community into six groups in his genre analysis. The six main characteristics include; exchange of information within the group, exhibition of common goals, it must also have developed participatory mechanisms; showcase a highly specialized terminology, and a high general level of expertise in the specific genre.
Discourse communities include organizations such as sororities, football fans movie, and comic book fans that create a whole culture off of a single genre. It is also important to note that a majority of the members in a discourse community are adults who have chosen the way of life; they then come up with specific objectives that they work towards as a way of boosting the culture, and improving the specific genre. Discourse communities are important because they aid in the creation and subsequent promotion of the literary practices of specific fandom’s including events.
This paper provides an analysis of the Game of Thrones books and film series and how they adopt discourse community. It offers an insight into the six main characteristics specific to this discourse community, and it also identifies any challenges the community may be facing and whether or not it is evolving with the entry of new members from the younger generation. It will also touch on the behaviors’ and personality traits of members in this discourse community.
The Game of Thrones fandom came into being as more and more interest in the book arose from the creation of the TV series on HBO. This channel of literary works distribution was able to reach out to more people, thereby creating a larger fan base and this drew people into buying the book to read in between seasons. As people started discussing the series and the book too on different forums, the fan base was able to create texts and a language through the sharing of common goals.
Indeed, the members of this community are predominantly adults and young adults who have in-depth knowledge on Game of Thrones mostly from reading the book. Other people who may also be part of the group are those whose interest was provoked by watching the series. Most people who have only read the book usually develop an interest in watching the film and this then result in them having more knowledge during discussion forums because the film does not incorporate all the details of in the book. Moreover, in some occasions it changes sections of the book so as to develop twists in the films story. The community also includes members who have only watched the films without having read any of the books.
The Game of Thrones discourse community fulfills all the Swales six characteristics. The first characteristic is that they exhibit common goals and aims. The members of the community are known for critiquing the showing about details that are altered or left out from the book. They are particularly observant that the show has continuously killed off characters that are still alive in the movie, while at the same time failing to introduce the new emerging characters that can be found in George R Martin’s original books.
Another aim is to get a forum where they can openly speculate about events that may occur in coming episodes and seasons. These can be based on the books and or mere fan speculation and prediction (Shuey 2).It is also exchanges information amongst its members. The members are able to hold discussions and shares information on social media and websites such as http://www.winteriscoming.net, which acts as a meeting location for all the community’s discussions. They also hold conventions or comic cons where they are able to interact with cast members as well as directors and producers of the film as a way of interacting with their idols, and also as a way of getting their questions answered by the films staff writers.
There also exists You Tube channel where the members share gossip, speculations, complaints and compliments about the show. The discourse has developed a particular language that they use to communicate with each other. This specific lingual mechanism usually incorporates words and phrases from the show. During the comic cons, the communities’ members usually dress up like their favorite characters on the show as a participatory mechanism. These comic cons may also hold a trivia to determine which members are better versed with the culture of the particular genre.
These discourse communities are sometimes faced with a couple of challenges. Those who have never read the book may not be aware whether or not the show digresses from the book and this may create conflict within the community. Another thing is that this conflict may make it difficult for old timers in the discourse to agree with the new timers, mostly because a majority of the old timers started by reading and loving the book and this is what draws them to watching the show. However, for most new timers they only read the book to quench their curiosity in between episodes and seasons. The different points of view may make interaction within the community difficult to handle and therefore cause conflict. All the members tend to have authority in the forums however there is an elected board that works with the film’s producers to organize for comic cons.
New comers into the community are attempting to use the winter is coming reference in most seasons as a way of proving a mode of belonging. Thus, they predict what the winter will be like and when it is bound to appear in blogs, and platforms in the community so as to gain acceptance and appear relevant to the older generations. The stereotype that members of this community will change how they talk to match the timeline in the game of thrones is applied. This discourse community serves as a good example of a typical discourse community since its traits are in line with the proposed six characteristics of a basic discourse community.
I have previously worked with the community through conducting of research for blogs and I look forward to making it into part of the organizing committee of the comic cons. Furthermore, investigation is required on the community to determine whether the show can be regarded as fantasy film or as a medieval action film since this issue has been debated upon for a long time
Works Cited
Shuey, Alyssa. "The Game of Thrones." Prezi . 2015. Print.
Swales, John. "chapter 2:individual in community." swales, John. The context of a discourse community. Cambridge press, 1990. Print.
