Friday, June 01, 2007
Kings, Celebrities and Tony Blair
Today when we were speaking about Kings and Celebrities during class, I couldn't help but think of King Louis XVI who was the King of France before being tried for treason and beheaded around the same time that France became a Republic (if I have my facts straight). If a King is seen as the body sanctioned by the people and his body representing the state, then his beheading could almost be seen as the severing of the "head" (literally) of state hence the end of a monarchy. So beheading a King or Queen is more than just putting them to death but highly symbolic and totally compatible with Kantorowicz/Foucault's theory. Does anyone agree? Does this even make sense or am I just speculating?
Also with regards to the movie The Queen, maybe I did not watch it closely enough (or maybe it's just been a while) but as I remember it, Tony Blair was originally not too impressed with the image of the Queen where before their formal introduction he envisioned her as just that: The Queen of England. It was only after meeting her and seeing her strength and determination to maintain the traditions of the monarchy was he then enthralled with her aura. So it was not her image he was attracted to and defended from the press but rather her aura. Again, any opinions?
Also with regards to the movie The Queen, maybe I did not watch it closely enough (or maybe it's just been a while) but as I remember it, Tony Blair was originally not too impressed with the image of the Queen where before their formal introduction he envisioned her as just that: The Queen of England. It was only after meeting her and seeing her strength and determination to maintain the traditions of the monarchy was he then enthralled with her aura. So it was not her image he was attracted to and defended from the press but rather her aura. Again, any opinions?
# posted by Stacey Thompson @ 7:14 PM 
