sexist ad
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Mary, Queen of Scots
tkrolak — 18 years ago(March 03, 2008 12:59 PM)
The advertisement for this film has to be one of the most sexist in movies, if not the most. "Mary, who ruled with the heart of a woman." "Elizabeth, who ruled with the power of a man."
Elizabeth was certainly the more sensible of the rulers. Also, she had the intelligence not to get married. But had she been placed in Mary's position, becoming a queen as an infant and being sent to France as a child, then returning as a young woman to find her country taken over by a religion alien to her, and being at the mercy of the Scottish lords, what could she have done?
Mary even came to the battlefield with her troops to suppress a noble's rebellion.
While Mary was imprisoned in England, she did act in what some would consider
a masculine, though foolish and ungrateful way. That was becoming involved in a plot to overthrow Elizabeth and restore England to Catholicism. She was willing to take a risk to take the throne she regarded as hers by right. She walked bravely to her execution. Years later, the Earl of Essex groveled and begged for mercy, if we are believe a television drama, before his beheading. The supposedly always more level headed Elizabeth agonized for months over whether or not to sign the death warrant for Mary. After she finally did, she wanted to blame her advisors for the execution, even imprisoning for awhile the messenger with the warrant. As the execution was about to be carried out, she became very emotional. -
sestra151 — 17 years ago(January 18, 2009 10:03 PM)
Elizabeth suffered fear much of her early life. She was surrounded by men who would kill her to eliminate her from the succession. And she was surrounded by men who use her for their own gain. I like to think the way Cecil is always portrayed in films is correct. He served her because he believed she was the rightful ruler. Elizabeth in turn, had enough charm and strength of character that men listened to her and did what she wanted of them. Mary had no true supporters around her in Scotland.
Elizabeth learned by all that happened in her youth. Mary didn't seem to have done so.