The Glorious English Reformation

Mark Shea:

Steve Greydanus really--I mean *really*--doesn't like Elizabeth: The Golden Age

The triumph of the Anglican monarchy over the Church and the people of England is best described, I think, as a the revolt of the rich and powerful against the poor. It is one of the greatest examples of Stockholm Syndrome in history that, at this late date, the consolidation of power, the theft of so much property that had once been common, and the enslavement of so many poor people in the service of the Tudors and their group of toadies should *still* be portrayed by Hollywood as a glorious triumph of liberation.

Imagine if Hillary Clinton, say, should deliberately cultivate a cult of worship by identifying herself with the Blessed Virgin Mary while systematically despoiling hospitals, food banks, and homeless shelters to enrich herself and her cronies. Then imagine the children of the victims of her depredations adoring her for it and telling stories of the monsters who used to share their food and educate their parents. That's more or less the history of post-Elizbethan English Protestantism and this movie continues that marvelous triumph of Big Brother Love.