Deadly, nosy paparazzi are not okay in any world. To delude public figures that everything in the public domain is kosher is reprehensible. It is important to get it off your chest first. and move on. but with netflix series Harry and Meghan Premiering on Dec. 6, there’s no getting away from ‘Paps,’ even if we want to face the royals.
The rich irony of two people using the same form (the media) that they used to tease, provoke, and harass them is not lost on the audience in general, but largely moderated the audience’s reactions. Which side of the pond do they live on? While across the Atlantic, in England, the reaction to H&M telling ‘their side of the story’ has been far from happy, even bordering on disgust, Americans blood for the story of Harry and Meghan’s flight Flowing
The whole appeal of the series, even to those who are not royal-watchers, was that it was expected to tell the true story of the royal rift, and reveal what really happened between the royals; The background to that infamous Archie ‘racist’ remark and the bitter relationship between the brothers and their wives. The world really wanted to know.
Prince Harry and Meghan | Photo Credit: AP
But what we see is a story that only engages in fragments, and a part-love story, part-war story of a prince and his wife who went to war against the media. Apart from history lessons on racism and shaded references to the royal family’s attitude towards Meghan, there is little that really shows and tells. The “drip feed of constant assault,” or “the lies you become habitual with this family,” or the wildly-dramatic “I was being fed to the wolves” episodes rarely come from a position of evidence. They remain unverified allegations, met only with the legendary silence of British royalty, no matter how colorful the missive.
Most stories have a villain who either looks like a villain, or behaves like one on screen at some point, or both. but in Harry and Meghan, the only conceivable villain is the British paparazzi … and the revelation of Meghan’s father, whose role is virtually no revelation, has been in the public domain for years now. If this truth-telling exercise had come with more evidence or concrete evidence to prosecute the royal family couple – without just allegations against the various royals’ press secretaries – it could have been more compelling.
At this point, what appears to us is a couple shown to be deeply in love; He is shown as naive to the point of being unimaginative, unable to whip up some drama, and with a lot of axes to grind. Of course, they have built an idyllic family, nearly ruined a large family, and are clearly privileged. These are not questions that haven’t been asked before; Did Meghan have no clue about the family that is historically counted among the pioneers of the slave trade in the world? Didn’t her husband, dear H, have any idea before marrying her? The disintegration of the Commonwealth has continued since the early fifties of the 1900s as nations broke off the yoke of their colonialists. The series however claims to present the Sussexes’ role as the beginning of a renaissance in Commonwealth countries. A few tours to Commonwealth nations doesn’t make a revolution.
Harry and Meghan
director: Liz Garbus
starring: Prince Harry, Meghan
number of episodes: 6
Story: From their courtship to their exit from royal life, Harry and Meghan share their complicated journey in their own words in this documentary series
No matter how hard you try to ignore the fact that these two are members of a privileged ton, it becomes impossible, as every frame reminds you of the immense privilege that the two now have. Whether it’s taking transatlantic trips to see each other, flying to Africa, or taking a private jet to a big house in L.A., the couple’s social and financial capabilities are impossible to miss, only Only a few have this privilege. It’s especially telling at one point, when Harry discusses the controversy over wearing a Nazi uniform at a party. He admits he’s not proud of it, but says he talked to the chief rabbi in London and went to Germany to meet a survivor of Auschwitz, to learn from them (in what was probably the world’s greatest ) ever happened). enough said.
Racism is never acceptable, and there is a global understanding that it is abhorrent and reprehensible. It’s unfathomable that anyone should frown or feel inferior, just because their skin is a darker shade of brown or black. But was the attack on Megan racial?
Because they get bricks and stones in equal measure along with praise. There are dazzling, glittering tributes from people in the streets, whether they’re queuing to see the bride on her wedding ride, wishing her well on the birth of her first child, or just the fact that her mother -The father is mixed and how it made himself a leader in the royal family. At least 150,000 people are said to have gathered to wish the couple during their wedding, which featured a gospel band for the first time at a royal wedding.
From left, Kate, Princess of Wales, Prince William, Prince of Wales, Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex walk at Windsor Castle to meet members of the public following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, in Windsor, on Thursday England, Saturday, September 10, 2022 | Photo Credit: AP
The montages we are shown in the series are simply video clips of Meghan “sliding” in with the late Queen, attending public events with other royals, mostly smiling and pleasant. Even if all the ‘abuse’ happened behind closed doors, we only have his word for it, a laundry list of insults; Something thoroughly dramatized, nothing on camera, nothing in writing, and not even a shred of evidence. If the entire point of the series was to tell it all – their side of the story – then it’s a bit much to expect that viewers will suspend disbelief, and take everything in without any contest, as the Sussexes charge around. This is only one side of the story of which there are clearly two.
Yes, families can be scary, it has to be accepted. Harry and Meghan are not the first people in history to face unhappiness outside their nuclear unit. Of course, the rest of us break up and move on. That he has a Netflix series (and a book, no less), podcast, and a waking life devoted to playing the victim is telling. When Harry says, at the end, “We’re right where we need to be,” one wonders: “Really?! Then what were these 6 episodes about?” Because, if Prince Harry really means it, does anything else matter?
PS The music choice is bang for the buck, and awesome. If only that was all a good series needed.
Harry and Meghan is currently streaming on Netflix