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#Microblog Mondays 111: The Crown

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The ChickieNob and I have been waiting forever for the BBC to release The Crown, and it will finally be here at the beginning of November.  We are going to devour that series while speaking to each other in British accents and eating scones and wearing sweater sets.  So excited.

But…

What gave me pause was wondering how the Queen — who is still alive — processes art made about her life.  It’s one thing to have a show made about you after you’re gone, but it’s another to have your life dramatized for entertainment or educational purposes.  I know she lives in the public eye, but it gave me pause to think of her bothered by (or maybe she loves it?) the show.

What do you think of biographical movies made about people while they’re still alive?

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10. Conceptionally Challenged 21. Traci York, Writer
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24 comments

1 Nabanita { 10.10.16 at 6:24 am }

It would be interesting, I feel, to see how people potray you and interpret how you are. But only you’ll know how wrong they are probably:)

2 anks { 10.10.16 at 6:46 am }

For someone who has been in the public eye from that young an age, who has had every step watched and commented on, this is probably just another interpretation of the her persona…

3 Obsessivemom { 10.10.16 at 7:23 am }

It has happened here in India a number of times and generally the celebrity has had plenty of say in how the script goes. In such cases I think they’d be fine. But if the film has something about them they don’t like or agree with I think lawsuits may follow. It would certainly feel weird.

4 Middle Girl { 10.10.16 at 8:12 am }

People in the public eye are practiced at relishing or shrinking from portrayals, I would think. Or perhaps simply avoid.

5 Kaeleigh { 10.10.16 at 8:57 am }

We are pumped for the series too and I also found it weird that there was such a private focused view of her life coming out with her still alive. I wondered how much input she had into what apears in it…

6 loribeth { 10.10.16 at 8:57 am }

I remember that Helen Mirren met the Queen shortly after she played her in the movie (& won the Oscar for her portrayal). The Queen gave no indication that she had seen the movie, or what she thought of it (and I would not expect her to). I suspect she does not watch these sorts of shows about herself. The younger Royals might 😉 although I doubt they would comment either.

I suppose in general, people feel more kindly toward fictional portrayals of themselves if they’ve had a say in its creation, in vetting the script or in choosing who gets to play them, etc. I remember Loretta Lynn loved Sissy Spacek’s portray of her in “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” for example. But several of Johnny Cash’s daughters were furious at how their late mother (his first wife Vivian) was portrayed in “Walk the Line.”

7 Jess { 10.10.16 at 9:32 am }

I don’t know how that would feel, seeing your life played out while you’re still alive, seeing someone else’s interpretation of events you’ve actually lived. I feel like I heard that when she saw “The King’s Speech” she broke down, that it brought that part of her life to the surface. I don’t remember where I saw that, but I can imagine how a difficult time put out publicly for all to see would take its toll, especially if you’re not the one who wrote it or released it. Is that the cost of being a public figure? I don’t know… I’ll probably miss this series though unless it’s on Netflix, Amazon Prime, or Hulu…no cable.

8 Modern Gypsy { 10.10.16 at 9:47 am }

I think it would be harrowing to see people dissecting your life and choices! For this reason, I never can understand how people manage to do reality shows and put their entire lives up for public scrutiny. It’s scary!

9 Corinne Rodrigues { 10.10.16 at 10:51 am }

I don’t think she’s going to bother watching it. I love watching and reading about British royalty – strange fascination although I don’t have any illusions about them.

10 Mrs T { 10.10.16 at 11:41 am }

I imagine her not watching it but being told about it by a close staff member and having a bemused expression on her face 😉

11 Amrita Basu { 10.10.16 at 12:09 pm }

It’s a difficult thing to.watch yourself being pot rayed onscreen.Takes a very confident person to agree to this

12 Traci York { 10.10.16 at 1:04 pm }

Wow, what a cast! Thanks for the heads-up – definitely planning to check this out. I’m not sure how I feel about the whole movie/book about a person while they’re still alive thing – on the one hand, it’s great that they’d be able to defend/clarify if necessary, but on the other… it feels a bit… ugh.

13 Journeywoman { 10.10.16 at 1:05 pm }

I remember reading somewhere that Johnny Cash had a lot of input on Walk The Line but died before it was finished. I wondered what he thought.

14 Dashy (Darshana) { 10.10.16 at 1:23 pm }

This is something I’ve pondered over too. Firstly, it is bound to have consequences on other people in their lives too when they show the true story. And secondly, it is like opening yourself wholly to the public. But surely, one learns to deal with it.

15 Shail { 10.10.16 at 2:09 pm }

I wonder too. I think along the lines of what Nabanita has said in her comment. Interesting and probably not true wholly because entertainment has to dramatize things to a certain extent for it to be lapped up. 🙂

16 Cyn K { 10.10.16 at 3:24 pm }

I imagine one would need a great deal of self-possession to handle this.

17 Justine Levine { 10.10.16 at 3:30 pm }

I saw this and was surprised that they’d been given license to go ahead with the film, but I guess she must be OK with it … she must have read the screenplay? Or something?

I don’t know … someone that important must have some say. But she’s also sort of a unique individual. I wonder if everyone would be given the same courtesy?

I wish we had BBC … I could use a scone. 🙂

18 Risa { 10.10.16 at 4:10 pm }

Huh. I don’t know. I mean, I’m pretty sure someone like her is pretty used to things like this. The show sounds really interesting though.

19 Amber { 10.10.16 at 5:30 pm }

I haven’t even heard of this show, but will definitely have to check it out! I do think it would be weird to have shows/movies made about you while you are still alive. The Queen is such an enigma, I think very few people actually know what she thinks about things.

20 Stephanie (Travelcraft Journal) { 10.10.16 at 5:39 pm }

So cool that you and ChickieNob will be able to enjoy that together!

I do sometimes feel weird about movies, etc. made about someone who is still alive. But if there could be no art about people who were still living, that would be very limiting.

The Queen is an interesting case. While presidents have not always been presidents, the Queen has always been royalty. There have been many portrayals of her throughout her life, and I’d guess she doesn’t pay much attention to most of them.

21 geochick { 10.10.16 at 11:04 pm }

I’ll bet she knows about it, but I wonder if she watches anything related to her life. After all, she’s the only one who knows exactly what goes on.

Scones and sweater sets.?

22 Symanntha Renn { 10.11.16 at 9:47 am }

I think it is good because people can be appreciated for what they have accomplished while they are alive. But at the same time, it’s awkward for them. They will have people asking them questions that they may not want to answer.

23 Lori Lavender Luz { 10.11.16 at 9:47 am }

I shudder to think of people watching a dramatization of my life onscreen.

That said, I do like peeking at others.

24 D { 10.12.16 at 12:04 pm }

Speaking of the Queen, although there has never been an official statement, she has said to have enjoyed both The Queen (the movie) and The King’s Speech, about her father. She invited Helen Mirren, the director and screenwriter to a private lunch after The Queen was released, and had a private showing of The King’s Speech, which people said she enjoyed. I think the Queen has her flaws. We all do. Especially in handling the Diana situation, but I quite liked the movie The Queen and although I was slapping my head in frustration at her lack of communication in the days directly after Diana’s death, I thought the movie showed a woman who is a product of a position she was born into (sort of, if we want to get technical). It showed her stubbornness, but also her reasoning and I would like to think the real Queen appreciates the balanced approach.

(c) 2006 Melissa S. Ford
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