Movie Review: Robin Hood - A Tea Party Tax Avenger?

Today I just saw the new Robin Hood movie directed by Ridley Scott. I was SURPRISED. Not just because I liked it better than I thought I would. Not because it was political, but because the message was so different from what you expect of the man who steals from the rich to give to the poor. And mostly that the message was so eloquently SPOT ON.

I never judge a movie’s quality by what it’s trying to say. I judge it by how well it says it. Avatar was an amazing movie, expressed itself powerfully, even though its message was juvenile. Not only did Robin Hood have an excellent message, but it brought it out in dramatic form so expertly.

This movie was about taxes. Yes, taxes. And it drives home the point of what taxes mean in the backstory. Showing how in 12th Century England people of the country are breaking their backs to support themselves in harsh times, only to see what they’ve produced and earned ripped from their hands by rulers demanding that everyone pay their fair share. Their fare share for the rulers’ endless wars and other endless expensive spending projects. Eventually it gets to be too much and the people organize together in mass for a tax revolt. Hmm… Tea Party?

I’m google-ing online now and finding many critics are very upset that this is not the classic steal from the rich to give to the poor Robin Hood. There’s no other such socialist undertones that imply rising higher than others is inherently wrong. No, instead there’s a demand on the King that a charter be drafted to limit his powers so that he cannot spend or tax without the consent of the governed. Robin Hood shouts to the crowd “What we ask for is Liberty. Liberty by Law!”, and makes the case to the King that a land of free people will create a stronger more prosperous England, as well as create citizens more loyal than any King enjoys.

[Check out the Trailer Below]

Yup, the movie’s message is a nearly explicit rallying cry for the Tea Party movement. And feels like an attack on both Bush and Obama.   Continue Reading >>