Two Doors for the Tudors

The Tudors on BBC America is quite interesting, in that loosely based on historical events soap opera kind of way. First and foremost is the way they can pick the hottest Irish kid on the planet (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers) to play the most grotesquely gout ridden bulbous pig ruler of England. And trust me I don't carry a torch for him just because he once played Elvis... though it's obvious why with that dark hair, those blue eyes, the alcoholism... but I digress. The show is very well done. Costuming is tremendous! There is no shortage of interesting scenery and I'm not just talking about the cast of beautiful people.

Of course you have to ask yourself some questions when watching these sorts of things. For instance: just how powerful was the catholic church? How inextricably linked to ALL of the monarchies was it? Seems like if you wanted to retain power and share in the wealth you didn't want to piss off the church ladies... er men. Back then only men were worth a damn. Well that is until King Pig decided he wanted to divorce... I'm sorry that wouldn't do now would it? He wanted to annul his 24 year marriage to Catherine of Aragon. One of those pesky marriages based on convenience, money, estates, money, aligning of interest, money...did I already say that? Turned out she was one smart slice of cake. Smart enough to cause the separation of church and state in England long before anyone came here stating that reason. Yes Catherine used her husband's mistress, not the first or the last mind you, as a lever; jammed into the glory hole at the base of the catholic church's foundation to crack it beyond repair! Now there's a woman after my own heart. But even today we are still running political races based on religious notions. Go figure, yet another lesson not learned. But then according to this program you can thank Anne Boleyn for the emergence of the church of England which picked up where the catholic church left off only with the king and his personal agenda at its head. After all what good is religion if it doesn't serve you? And isn't that what we subscribe to today; just the parts that suit us?

And so comes into question the importance of marriage. Was it an other worldly binding of souls or a financial arrangement more about estates than emotional states? Well back then the church was so entangled in the state there was no telling where one ended and the other began. The whole idea of marriage was arranged to enlarge the collective estate and retain control of land, power, and money. Makes me wonder why we are still arguing over who can and can't use the term marriage. Seems to me no one can sully it quite as much as pompous ass chaser Henry VIII.

But don't worry they are going to obliterate marriage and all of its sanctimoniousness in every single episode. Adultery runs rampant amongst these unhappily married and in order to make them seem worthy of the favor of the church, there is rewriting of religious doctrine, re-interpreting of biblical text, buying of bishops, carnage wreaked on cardinals, and papal pummeling is brought to the level of science. It's freaking great! How anyone can watch it and still believe in the sanctity of organized religion is beyond me!

It stuns me that people still hold a place of reverence for the monarchy after knowing all of the back stabbing, self indulgent, intensely evil goings on that made it what it is today. It's kind of like people still believing in the pope, because as I've mentioned the church was the state and the state was the church and not just in England but in every country. Think about it, there are always two doors, behind which does your allegiance lie?

Be safe.