Queen Elizabeth I in the Movies
Friday November 6, 2009
Queen Elizabeth I of England is one of the most fascinating women of history. Taking the throne in her own right was unusual for the time -- the only previous female Queens in England (that is, other than Queen Consorts) were Elizabeth's older sister, Mary I, the Nine Day Queen Lady Jane Grey who never had a chance to really wield any power, and the never-crowned Empress Matilda. During Mary's reign, there was significant conflict over religion. Jane Grey's very brief reign ended with her imprisonment and later execution. Matilda was recognized as Queen by many but her cousin Stephen seized power instead, and Matilda only briefly during the ensuing civil war actually held power, never making it to the coronation ritual. Elizabeth I, in contrast, was able to do what her predecessors had not been able to do: be recognized as Queen Regnant of England and wield the power of that office. She's been depicted in film many times; here are a few choice and recent examples: Queen Elizabeth I in the Movies
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Too often women approach the topics of religion and politics as if they were each insular, and independent, and of course, what we learn from England’s history and our own, is that they are not. They are one and the same except for the rather obscurely defined attempt to separate state and religion through the Constitution – which hasn’t worked all that well. Republicans and the Christian right won’t allow it because to do so, they would have to create an alternative to religion as the humane form of mass government that works for everyone, and apparently they are incapable of doing so without sounding like Democrats – which they surely do not want to do.
For women, however, who are well acquainted with the distinctions of how the state can aid women and children that has more to do with the choices of mankind, rather than religion, the distinction is more clear. Women know that it is not God who bears children, and not God who raises children to live in a very demanding society of men, not Gods.
For women, the choice is one of a fair and humane society rather than a privileged and non-privileged society as the Republican Party sometimes gravitates towards despite the justice denied through trade and labor imbalances.
For women, the choice should be clear in that they and their children can continue to rely upon the illusory promises of men who spout the rhetoric of submissive women and the silence of children while society confers its wealth upon men alone who make all decisiions – according to the Bible and its biases – or they must challenge the status quo as ethereal and impractical for living, breathing human beings that includes a future for children, and a participating body of women entitled to assist in making those decisions – in church or in government.
It’s probable that women are just as capable of running the world but most are content at this point to have a say in how it is being run. Must they prove they can run it in order to have the credibility denied by men?
Must it be a competitive political hurricane in order for women to be heard?
The frustrations for women about their condition and the state of being relegated to subordination by men is one of the most difficult situations that women confront, and most are rendered innocuous by the inability of the system to accommodate them – at work or in government – especially where equal pay for equal work is an issue that appears to threaten male jobs.
Women are foolish in not recognizing that world stability is the reason for the status quo, and that ending the status quo without suitable substitutes makes no sense and leaves women more vulnerable than not.
Logic that can advance the human side of history suggests that few women are interested in the social disshevelment that would occur by knocking men off their perch, whether earned or not. Finding suitable alternatives and demanding rights of participation, however, is the only rational approach to the current dilemma of women, and in the future, of girls.
Every woman should be behind this effort – to enjoy living in the real world where centuries old religious dictates do not dominate their real and very practical lives.