Game of Thrones: brutality in TV programming and Josh Groban

So the Saturday, May 3, NY Times had an article about the TV program, "Game of Thrones."  The article discussed a controversy that has been brewing about the rape scenes in the show.

I have never watched this show, but I have heard of it, because Josh Groban has said it is his favorite show, and I'm a Grobanite.

I did, after hearing Josh praising this show, purchase the book, I assume the first book. 

I stopped reading the book five chapters in.  By that point they had murdered an innocent, devoted pet in cold blood, for defending her mistress;  and willfully maimed a child, during the course of an attempted murder, because he happened to witness some conspirators discussing their nefarious plans.  At that point, I was convinced that this book was too brutal for me and that I would not gain any pleasure from continuing to read it.

This was a hard decision for me to make, because I tend to want to experience content that Josh recommends.  

Of course, this would hardly be the first time I didn't like something he recommended.  

I went out and purchased two albums by the French, group, Deep Forest.  Josh described them with great enthusiasm, and he collaborated with them in writing a couple of songs.  I wasn't wild about the Deep Forest albums I purchased.  I listened to them once or twice and then let them fall into disuse.

Actually, I would say that most  of the time Josh recommends musicians who I don't particularly like to listen to. It's one of those little mysteries, how I can like Josh's music so much and yet not like what he likes to listen to; and, moreover, how much I can like the music that resulted from Josh's collaborations with Eric Moquet, from Deep Forest, while not being wild about the stuff that Moquet writes for himself. 

I saw still photos from the TV show, Game of Thrones, and noticed what wonderful, romantic costumes the characters were wearing. Prior to this article, I had hoped that, perhaps, the show wasn't as bad as the book.  I don't get cable, & don't even receive much TV, so I wasn't about to watch it.

So the NY Times article, unfortunately, dashed my illusions that the TV show was somehow gentler and less brutal than the book that I put down and never wanted to look at again.

So, for me, this raises the question about why Josh would have such a brutal show, with repeated violence against women, be his favorite show.  His songs tend to be gentle; and his "War at Home, "Living below the line. " and "Weeping," which are socially conscious songs, seem to indicate a horror of brutality and injustice.  What does Josh get out of this viewing experience? How does he feel about all this brutality?  I find this all especially intriguing in view of the sweet nature of Josh's music. I wonder what his brutal side is like.