So, I'm watching the Robin Hood marathon on BBC America on a rain-soaked Sunday afternoon, and I hear an exchange that really makes my ears perk up. An unmistakable satiric comment on the current "justice" system in the age of the War on Terror. Of course, the British are confronting many of the same issues. Indeed, they appear to be confronting a serious domestic terror threat, much more real than our own, largely politically manufauctured and manipulated, fear-mongering propagandized terrorist bogeymen. So, it's really striking to hear some charged not-so-subtle criticism of the USA Patriot Act in a light-hearted midieval period costume drama.
If you'll bear with me for a couple of paragraphs, I promise to get to the juicy stuff, but I want to provide some context, first. For those who've never seen the program, Robin Hood is a British television series currently running here in the States on the BBC America channel -- complete with the authentic English accents that are heard all day long on this wonderful addition to the American broadcasting environment. It is programming fresh from the British Broadcasting Corporation, so it's usually much more lively than the selected stodgy British fare that eventually wends its way on to American PBS stations. It's got all your favorite characters, Maid Marian, Little John, Robin's close friend Will, the bad guys Sir Guy of Gisborne and the Sheriff of Nottingham, and, of course, Robin of Loxley himself. Robin, the archer without equal, a hero just returned from the Crusades, leads his band of merry men, from their hideout in Sherwood Forest, as the champions of the poor serfs, in the fight for justice against the feudal bad guys who oppress the countryside.
Of course, the Robin Hood tale is an allegory for all times -- no less so than our current era, with its rapacious multinational corporations that seem beyond the reach of the sovereign to control. Perhaps, that was the inspiration for the BBC's decision to air a new Robin Hood series -- or, perhaps the BBC felt this timeless classic was simply due for a new treatment. Though it is quite light-hearted, it doesn't sink to the infantile campiness of the old Mel Brooks' produced 1970s Robin Hood TV series "When Things Were Rotten." The injustice and the oppression in the abusive feudal system is taken seriously in the current BBC production, even if the writers and actors have a great deal of fun with the characters.
While, "Robin Hood" is a story for all times, there was a momentary exchange between Sir Guy and Maid Marian that seemed clearly aimed at the more Orwellian elements of the USA Patriot Act -- and makes me wonder if the producers might have political notions in reviving the Robin Hood legend.
To set the scene: Robin and his band come out of the forest, to Loxley, only to find the Sheriff about to cut out people's tongues, unless they tell him where to find Robin. Robin stops this atrocity with otherworldly bow and arrow abilities that would make Green Arrow envious, and turns himself in to prevent further retributions directed against the local serfs. Robin is led away to the dungeon, and he faces execution in the morning.
Maid Marian and her father are convinced to plead Robin's case -- the father planning to do so at Robin's hearing. Marian goes to Sir Guy, in the hope of using her coquettish, feminine wiles to influence Sir Guy. As they engage in their battle of wits, Marian mentions her father's intention to plead Robin's case, and Sir Guy lets it slip that there will be no trial for Robin -- that he will be executed in the morning.
Marian is horrified -- she tries to hide her frantic reaction, even as she protests this injustice to be done her secret love. She insists that everyone is entitled to a trial -- that this is the basis of their system. Sir Guy responds saying that Robin is an outlaw, and so is beyond the protections of law. Sir Guy adds the admonition that 'these are dangerous times, with the country at war' (sound familiar?) Marian cuts him off stating that that the country is at war, elsewhere (as it happens, the King's armies are doing battle against Arab armies in the Middle East -- sound familiar?). She adds that it is even more important that they respect the law at home, and offer fair trials for all accused. Sir Guy belittles that notion, and mocks Marian, saying 'We can hold criminals indefinitely without charge, we can also hang them, without a trial.' (I'm paraphrasing here, since I can't offer a transcripted quote).
To date, the Bush Administration hasn't stretched the argument about holding 'enemies' without charges as far as Sir Guy -- but one can see the logic. If you can hold them indefinitely without charge (Guantanamo), even hold them in secret detention facilities (CIA secret rendition prisons), is it really a big leap to the idea that you can mete out capital punishment, instead of maintaining endless confinement? Of course, the writers of the BBC series were mocking this idea, and offered this exchange as a cautionary demonstration of the path we have been on the last five years. It was stunning, welcome and powerful allegory for our times.
**** Update: I'm reminded of another program that ran on BBC America, a couple of months ago -- a political thriller called "The State Within." This was another production that had its roots in the war on terror, and also the deceptive jiggering of intelligence and threat-hyping hysteria that preceded the Iraq invasion. "The State Within" is about American and British involvement in a fictional Central Asian Republic, and the manufacturing of evidence to justify military action, including the staging of a "terrorist" takedown of an airliner. I highly recommend this mini-series, if you haven't seen it. Perhaps, it may be on DVD soon. It also makes me wish American media were as willing to offer such intelligent, politically-charged material. Three cheers for BBC -- bringing real, democratic dialogue to American televisions.