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The Schmooze

Major Backlash Over ‘Game Of Thrones’ Creators’ New Series About Slavery

HBO announced yesterday that it will be producing “Confederate”, a show that will imagine a world in which the South won the Civil War and slavery is still a legal institution. The series is the brainchild of “Game of Thrones” creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.

The hype, however, was overshadowed by major ire as the masses took to Twitter to let HBO know exactly what they thought.

“Confederate” is the latest of its kind that networks have recently been producing. “The Handmaid’s Tale”, “Man in the High Castle”, and “Black Mirror”, three shows that take place in an alternate dystopian universe, have all enjoyed stellar ratings so it’s no surprise that HBO would race to green light yet another show that relies on this theme.

But much of the backlash “Confederate” is getting focuses on the race of the showrunners who have conceived of the show — two white Jewish men. This is what sets the show apart from that of “Handmaid’s Tale”, based on a book written by a woman, and “Man In The High Castle”, created by a Jewish man (the former is about female slavery, the latter is a depiction of a world in which the Nazis had not lost). When it comes to identity politics, these two series get a pass.

“Confederate”, however, is being taken to task.

Neither HBO nor Weiss or Benioff have as of yet responded to the outcry.

Becky Scott is the editor of The Schmooze. Follow her on Twitter, @arr_scott

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