Monday, December 8, 2008

Excalibur Has Me Pegged

I must admit I was truly and deeply impressed by the quality of the 20th century film Excalibur about King Arthur and his knights. Not only does Master Boorman capture how we lived, but also what we did, and who we were. His portrayal of my inner turmoil between my love for king and queen really does brilliantly characterize how I felt during those woeful times. My favorite scene in the movie, while it did not really happen to me, was the scene in which I stab myself with my own sword. You may be thinking, "That's odd. Why would anyone like seeing themselves be stabbed with a sword?" But the reason I am so fond of the scene is because it represents the immense inner turmoil and battle I had to do within my own mind and heart to simply live each day. By stabbing myself with my own sword I inflicted the wound that would constantly remind me of my two loyalties, my head and my heart and how they constantly battle each other. The film director did an excellent job of using symbolism when showing my wound becuase in the film I only feel the wound open or thob with pain when I am being challenged to do something for the king or his queen, my two great loves and loyalties. I was also horrified at the scene where Arthur finds his queen and I in naked sleep. It not only pains me to know that he saw us together, the two people he loved most in the world, but also that in this film I could see his eyes and his hurt. It also pains me to know that because of Guinevere and mine's love, Arthur's kingdom was gravely distressed and led to a series of events that would bring my great king's death and his country's downfall.

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