Something nice may be coming our way via Hollywood.
I am a grandson of Nottingham, something that has always made me proud. From the earliest stories told by my father and his siblings of playing under the great oaks of Sherwood Forest and extolling the virtues of the merry men who redistributed unfairly acquired assets in the name of justice, i have been a fan of Robin Hood. The Errol Flynn movie wasn’t part of my upbringing, but the original TV series was and the homoeroticism of the brothers-in-arms running around in the forest in green tights probably had more of an influence than I knew. In 2006, the BBC created a new TV series with the gayest Robin imaginable. I was a kid again watching those episodes, notwithstanding the implausibility of Robin’s regrets for how the Muslin infidels were treated while he was on Crusade with King Richard. Whenever Robin Hood’s legend appears, I feel good. I feel privileged to have the connection to Nottingham.
No surprise that when my father’s inheritances were being distributed, I claimed the Royal Doulton china pieces hand-painted with scenes of “Life in Sherwood Forest” and “Robin Hood Slaying Guy of Gisborne”, brought from “the olde countrye”. They are treasures that connect me to a grandmother I never had the joy of knowing. More importantly, they are a reminder of a value system, taught by my father, based on adherence to the Golden Rule and helping the less fortunate.
Now, we are promised a fit and lean Russell Crowe as the next Robin. According to the Hollywood media, we will get a very masculine Robin in medieval pants rather than tights but still fighting for justice. The film’s producer, Brain Grazer, credits recent scandals on Wall Street, Bay Street and in “The City” – greedy bankers as the new villans – for the film’s currency; “Oddly, it’s a metaphor for today. [Robin} is trying to create equality in a world where there are a lot of injustices. He’s a crusader for the people, trying to reclaim some of the ill-gotten gains of the wealthy. That’s a universal theme.”
Green tights or britches – how can you not feel good about a story like this?
