I don’t know if Protocol belongs to that humanistic knowledge that confirms Nuccio Ordine (who will receive the Princess of Asturias in one of the most protocol ceremonies on the Spanish cultural agenda). Of course, the ancient teachers attached great importance to him, and knowing how to behave in public was the attribute of well-educated people who knew how to refuse Latin.
Like dead languages, Protocol is considered a stale and dying thing, so it’s surprising it got so much attention this week. Not only because of the anger of the head of protocol of the Autonomous Community of Madrid, Alejandra Blázquez, who turned into a disco bouncer in front of Minister Bolaños, but also because of the demand of the Colombian President Gustavo Petro not to wear tails in the royal palace. Luckily, the British monarchy turned up yesterday to give a master class in protocol. All these courtesy misses needed a crowning glory.
The protocol is also corrupt in the two series with a British setting that drove me crazy this week. In The Diplomat (Netflix), a United States ambassador to London goes through so many rituals that she doesn’t even wash her hair, making her hair oil the most commented-on aspect of the plot. The other, Sherwood (Filmin), is about retired miners who fail to keep their manners in public or at home. For the characters in both series, every log is an unbearable swagger. And yet it is important, just as important to quote Virgil’s Georgics well and the first verse of the Aeneid. It matters how important rituals are, not just as a show of power, but because they remind us that we are a community and not huddled individuals. To put on tails or welcome a minister who disagrees with the platform means we solemnly accept the other and recognize their dignity. The opposite is despotism.
You can follow EL PAÍS TELEVISIÓN on Twitter or sign up here to receive our weekly newsletter.
Receive the TV newsletter
All the news from channels and platforms, with interviews, news and analysis, as well as recommendations and criticism from our journalists
REGISTRATION
Subscribe to continue reading
Read without limits