House of the Dragon has proven to be a worthy successor to Game of Thrones, thanks in large part to Matt Smith, who plays the outspoken and morally dubious Daemon Targaryen.
In private, he is apparently as outspoken as his character, and he has previously criticised so-called “trigger warnings”, which tell us what to expect from films and TV series episodes. Now he has criticised this again, and in the Sunday Times he blasts the concept:
“That’s the fucking point. We should be telling morally difficult stories, nowadays in particular.”
To avoid trigger warnings, Smith fears that studios will start releasing watered-down productions that simply don’t feel the same, and he continued:
“It’s OK to feel uncomfortable or provoked while looking at a painting or watching a play, but I worry everything’s being dialled down and dumbed down. We’re telling audiences they’re going to be scared before they’ve watched something.”
Smith wasn’t done there either, and went on to say that the purpose of art is to be moved in different ways, and if you’re not, there’s no point:
“Isn’t being shocked, surprised, stirred the point?
Too much policing of stories and being afraid to bring them out because a climate is a certain way is a shame. I’m not sure I’m on board with trigger warnings.”
What do you think about the concept of trigger warnings in the entertainment industry?