Showing posts with label King. Show all posts
Showing posts with label King. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Richard III and Scar

If Richard III was an animated film character, he would be Scar.

Now, I don't know what the real Richard III was like. Here, I'm just talking about Richard III from Shakespeare's play by the same name.

Scar is a character in the Disney animated feature, The Lion King.

List of similarities:
1. Want the throne.
2. Want the death of their nephews and arrange for their deaths to take place. Richard succeeds; Scar fails.
3. Crafty, silver tongued. Scar weaves a web of lies around Simba. Richard III convinces a woman who whose husband's death he caused to marry him. And that is just one specific example for each...
4. Richard III was a hunchback and walked with a limp. Scar is a runt, he's scrawny and can't even grow a full mane while his brother the king is large, strong, beautiful, and brawny. Scar says, "Well as far as brains go, I've got the lion's share, but when it comes to brute strength, I'm afraid I'm at the shallow end of the gene pool."
5. Both are defeated in the end after a battle.

Simba and Uncle Scar

Monday, May 21, 2012

Healing in the hands of the King

"Alas! If he should die. Would that there were kings in Gondor, as there were once upon a time, they say! For it is said in old lore: The hands of the king are the hands of a healer. And so the rightful king could ever be known." -Ioreth, a woman from the Houses of Healing in The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R Tolkien.

Aragorn
Aragorn, the heir to the throne of Gondor came into the Houses of Healing and treated Faramir, Eowyn, and Merry so that they would not die. He was a skilled healer, using herbs and wisdom to cure his patients. Although he had not claimed the title of king yet, Faramir referred to him as a king. Ioreth heard and said, "King! Did you hear that? What did I say? The hands of a healer, I said." The passage continues by describing the spreading of the news: "And soon the word had gone out from the House that the king was indeed among them."

And so it was that Aragorn's power of healing testified that he was the rightful king of Gondor.

The kings of France justified their right to the throne by a concept called, "The Divine Right of Kings."  Basically, they claimed that God had given the Bourbon line the kingship of France and so their power must not be disputed because God said it was to be this way.   While the Bible does say to submit to governing authorities, it does not mean that a specific line has a right to the throne. God raises up rulers and God also deposes them (Read I-II Samuel, I-II Kings, and I-II Chronicles).  Because of King Saul's disobedience, God did not allow his dynasty to continue but brought David to the throne; he began a new royal line.

Because of the "Divine Right" in France, there was a tradition that the kings had miraculous healing powers. When Louis XVI was beheaded the people rushed forward to capture some of his blood, dipping cloth into it because they thought his blood would heal their sick.

That is some extreme irony right there.

It would seems that the French no longer believed in Divine Right. However, if they really did not believe in Divine Right, then they would not believe his blood had power.

While the blood of Louis held no healing power, and Aragorn is a fictional character, there is a King who can heal.  He healed thousands by the power of God while he was here on Earth.  He healed the lame, the blind, the deaf, the mute, the leprous, among other diseases. He even gave life to the dead.  The miracles he worked showed that he was, and is, the son of God, the King of the universe.
He was executed by the Romans for crimes he did not commit, and in dieing he was a sacrifice before God to cleanse all people from their sins. He rose from the dead and his healing work continues. He heals the scars on our hearts, breaks our addictions, and gives eternal life to those who are in his kingdom. His name is Jesus.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Stone of Destiny

The Stone housed in the coronation chai
          The Stone of Scone, also called, The Stone of Destiny, is a rock on which the kings of Scotland are crowned.  The English stole it from the Scots and began crowning their kings on it too, thereby making the King of England the King of Scotland also.
          Stone of Destiny, a 2008 film, tells the story of the recapture of this Scottish symbol.  In the 1950s, a handful of Scots set out to bring back the stone and awaken patriotism and passion in their fellow Scotsmen.
          Throughout the film, Robert Burn's beautiful ballad, Scots Wha hae, plays in the background. Sometimes it whispers through the scenes light and delicate; sometimes, when it is played on the bagpipes (the epitome of Scottish music), it marches with strength and vigor.
         This song (my favorite) is very appropriate for the theme of the movie.  It is about the Scottish fight for freedom from the English led by William Wallace and Robert the Bruce.  It is a passionate song about standing up to tyranny and fighting and dying for freedom. The film is also about the Scottish fight for freedom.  By retrieving the stone, these men and women hoped to bring hope and pride to the Scottish people and encourage them to join the nationalist cause that was seeking to gain greater sovereignty for Scotland.
         The music winds through the movie, highlighting the same old fight (England Vs. Scotland), the same old problems (cowards and traitors), and the same old passion (the willingness to lay down one's life to liberate one's country).
          One verse of the song reads, "wha can fill a coward's grave, wha will be a traitor knave, wha sae base as be a slave? Let him turn and flee!" (See glossary below).  In the film, Bill excused himself from making the attempt by saying that he was about to graduate and get married and did not want to put his future on the line in an attempt to rekindle the Scot's dream of freedom. By no means a traitor, he would rather be a "slave" so he figuratively turned and fled.
          The stone thieves stood staunchly around the stone knowing the police were on the way to arrest them, almost smiling as the wailing sirens approached.  My heart sang Burn's lyrics:
 "By oppressions woes and pains
 by our sons in servile chains
we will drain our dearest veins
but they shall be free."
          They sought a better future for Scotland, putting their lives on hold: "we shall drain our dearest veins." They submitted to "oppressions woes and pains,"  in hopes of Scotland's future freedom: "but they shall be free."
         Currently Scotland is in control of all her internal affairs while England controls her foreign policy. Yet, Scotland's yearning for sovereignty has not died: steps towards a complete separation of Scotland are currently in the works and the movement recently gained more support. 
Read Sky News' blog post (titled Scots Wha Hae!) for more information: http://blogs.news.sky.com/boultonandco/Post:bdd69b74-a49a-4b85-9fd3-fffc3a94c89f

IMBd Stone of Destiny page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1037156/

Scots wha hae lyrics: http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/scotlandssongs/secondary/genericcontent_tcm4555675.asp

Scot's Dialect Glossary
wha -- who
hae --have
sae -- so

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Chicken à la king

Henri IV, King of France, said "I want the peasants to put a chicken in the pot every Sunday."  The king's kind wish has a striking resemblance to President Herbert Hoover's campaign slogan: "A chicken in every pot and a car in every garage"
Interesting that they both used chicken to represent a good meal, but why not?