Who is to say what is normal or dysfunctional in today's society, a society in which almost nothing can seem to surprise? However, having watched The Lion in Winter, directed by Anthony Harvey, there exists no question in my mind as to the dysfunctional nature of the royal family portrayed so bizarrely in the movie. The whole plot in itself screams Jerry Springer: "King imprisons the Queen who slept with their bisexual son and King now wants his mistress to marry his other son while he remains to sleep with her." For the very reason of the Springer-like society we today live in, some people might by today's standards consider some of the scenarios in the movie to be just a little off the wall. However, when put into the time context of the 12th century, in no way can the characters' actions be described except for downright dysfunctional.
             By today's liberalistic views, little ceases to amaze us. Even if something seems a little bizarre, no one speaks of it on fear of offending someone or labeling oneself as chauvinistic and narrow-minded. Take this next statistic for instance. We live in a nation where as of 1996, the divorce rate was 49% ( Source: Human Development Report, 1999, United Nations). Nearly half of all marriages result in divorce, and what is the result of all these divorces? The answer more times than not is families with many problems. Look no further than the television for a display of how bizarre today's families are. Our society is drawn, if not addicted, to everything from Jerry Springer to Mike Tyson, and everything in between. Take for instance our society's reaction to Littleton. The nation mourned the tragic shootings, but the simple fact is that almost everyone was glued to the circus like media coverage of the event, which many now feel to have been degrading to all the young men and women who lost their lives that day. Let us
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