Quote:
Originally Posted by Quempel
And I don't have a problem with Gimli sitting on the chair. I would guess in real life that yes many others have sat in the Speakers Chair in the House of Commons...it just doesn't get written about. I would guess that many have sat in the Presidents chair in the oval office, and it just doesn't get written about. I would dare say if QEII walked into the House of Commons and wanted to sit in the speakers chair the speaker would say no. To harp on if it's proper or not is pretending that the real behind the scenes of government is what the public sees, when it is not. The pomp and circumstance is what the public expects, it is what is shown. The real nitty gritty of real government is done in just the way it was shown in the movie, very much everyone grab a chair lets discuss this, and often times it is only the end results with the whole properness is what the public sees. This is the way I see the Gimli scene, very much an inpromtu scene to discuss the survival of all the free peoples of ME, and if I was a member of that society I would be really mad if the war conference on how to save me was held up because the Steward was mad some Dwarf sat in his chair.
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Speaking as someone who works at the heart of Government, "everyone grab a chair" may happen in everyday team meetings but it most certainly does not happen in formal situations or when meeting someone several ranks above and
especially not when meeting a Minister. Of course, if they request that a casual attitude is to be taken then you comply, but it's still a very 'stiff' kind of relaxation
I'd actually venture to say that they try to portray a friendly and casual attitude (the open necked shirts on MPs and whatnot) but behind the scenes, ideas of rank and propriety are still observed. And certainly where I work, you simply do
not sit at someone else's desk until you have asked permission, woe betide you dare to fiddle with the settings on someone's chair
And in Tolkien's world things were even more formal. The Oxford colleges are bastions of the Establishment with their 'High Tables', JCRs, SCRs, Dean's Gardens, etc etc...
This is why Monty Python with it's Ministry Of Silly Walks and so on is all so deliciously funny