Tea at Trianon: Woke Snow White

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Tuesday, August 22, 2023

Woke Snow White

From The Daily Wire:

The 22-year-old star has been making headlines recently for her comments regarding the original 1937 film’s storyline, which is based on a German fairy tale. Zegler said she “hated” the classic love story and thought it was “weird,” plus labeled the prince as a “stalker.” As for the new live-action version, the “Snow White” star alluded to some major updates.
“She’s not going to be saved by the prince and she’s not going to be dreaming about true love,” the actress promised. Branding expert Carla Speight predicted Zegler’s highly publicized comments could hurt ticket sales. She told the Daily Mail that even though old Disney movies “hold old values,” taking revisions “to the opposite extreme” in an effort “to inflict strong and loaded messaging on the viewers” is a mistake. (Read more.)