Desensitization of the Lebanese audience to the portrayal of violence on Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad: A case study

This research investigated the desensitization signs shown by the Lebanese audience to the violence portrayed on Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad. The research’s study was a qualitative case study of the theory of desensitization applied on two Lebanese participants, each watching respectively the series Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones. The participants were chosen based on the fact that one had never watched Breaking Bad and the second had never watched Game of Thrones. The participants were interviewed pre-series, and then throughout the exposure to several episodes. The descriptive experiment led to the results that after repeated exposure to Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad, the Lebanese viewer, even if already tolerant to on-screen violence, showed desensitization signs to the violence, drugs, incest and rape portrayed on-screen in the two series.   Key words: Television series, desensitization, Lebanese audience.