Bloody Noses and Cracked Crowns
Originally published in June 2016. REFLECTION OF THE MOVIE THE QUEEN (2006) We expect much as a people who look up to--or secretly hope for the demise of--those in authority. We want them to play by our rules, demonstrate the optics we want to see, and manhandle them to our whim. We the People tend to forget the institutions set behind such individuals, the centuries of evolution undergone to create the fragile shell of a human we see before us today, with the imperfections and dignity one brings to one's office. In the age of instant media, from daily papers to cable and satellite news, to the Internet, our expectations of optics have skyrocketed. We want domestic and foreign dignitaries to behave as we want them to, not necessarily as we would want ourselves to in the same situation. We want them dragged through the mud of the public eye, a circus act, a show for the masses, to entertain our vainglory desire to feel better about our own lives. We want bloody noses and...