Skip to main content

Napoleon 22 Zenith

"There must be a superior power that dominates all other powers." N. on France
Epitome of the beneficent dictatorship . . . general laws for all of the continent as opposed to specific laws. . . united Europe . . . Napoleonic code . . . very pragmatic, waiting for the proper time to introduce the code to match the feeling of the conquered people . . . Westphalia, Spain, Poland, Balkans all so backward that they remained feudal--until Napoleon dragged them into modernity . . . popular with elites . . . hierarchical and uniform administration of law . . . vast improvement . . . "To large numbers of people, Napoleon represented the ideas of progress, meritocracy and a rational future." . . . The French Revolution without the guillotine . . . defender of Western civilization against Asiatic hordes of Russia . . . Napoleon 40 in 1809. . . Josephine without a son . . .  annul marriage . . . Marries Marie Louise, daughter of King of Austria, first by proxy and then at the Louvre . . .  fitting because N. was a great supporter of the visual arts (David, Gerard, Gericault, Girodet, Ingres, etc. . . . launched a neo-classical style in painting, architecture, etc. . . . Classical architecture also revived . . . still trying to isolate Britain economically through the Continental System . . . Russians hate it as it cuts lucrative trade with Brits . . . Napoleon at his zenith had an empire larger than Charlemagne's, and second only to Rome.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Netflix Lincoln Lawyer

 Just a long yawner.  Acting was fine; there just wasn't nearly enough plot to carry 10 episodes.  Tech guy accused of killing wife.  LL takes on the case after the tech lawyer's first lawyer is murdered.  Mickey Haller gets the guy off . . . trick is the guy is guilty.  He used a drone to dispose of bloody clothes.  Subplot Maggy McFierce trying to get a conviction of a human trafficker.  She loses but then wins.  The divorced couple almost gets back together, but they are on opposite sides of the adversarial process and work comes first.  Won't be in a hurry to watch Season 2

Live and Let Die

 The Fleming book, flawed by 50's racism, moves along in plot and character.  Fleming is an excellent writer--great descriptive powers and pacing. The movie has no redeeming qualities.  All that's left from the book is the racism, and in the book you can feel Fleming's doubts about his racist scenes slipping in.  In the movie (made years later), the racism is incredible.  1972.  Those who say no progress has been made should watch this.  Impossible to imagine this film being made today.