Anti-gay Russian politician Vitaly Milonov wants the Kremlin to outlaw HBO’s popular Game of Thrones due to themes of incest, homosexuality, and rape.
“Every tenth character in it [‘Game of Thrones’] is a sexual deviant,” he stated. “It is precisely through this kind of content and its popularization that a new model is introduced in our conscience, leading people to believe that certain things and events are normal.”
The show is adapted from George R. R. Martin’s series A Song of Ice and Fire about a power struggle between families to obtain the Iron Throne. The show is very graphic with mature themes, but it is clearly meant for an adult audience.
“Certain ideological things are skillfully edited into everything,” he continued. “They do not affect the content so as not to appear obsessive. What’s more, ideas that were previously unacceptable are treated as absolutely normal. For example, there might be a lesbian or a homosexual in a film.”
He lashed out at television and the Internet, specifically in the West, and described them as a danger to young Russians. He insisted these forms of entertainment are the “most dangerous weapons in the destabilization of a nation.”
Milonov’s name should be familiar to those in the West. He was one of the main architects behind Russia’s infamous anti-gay propaganda law that passed in June 2013. The law banned people from handing out “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations” to minors. It also made it “illegal to equate straight and gay relationships, as well as the distribution of material on gay rights.”
Russia has seen a rise in censorship within the last year. After Moscow invaded east Ukraine and annexed Crimea, Russian President Vladimir Putin shut down any news outlet that dared to question his motives. The Kremlin then banned all “profanity” from the arts, but did not define profanity. They also expanded the personal data law to make it illegal to post memes using the likenesses of public personalities.