“O death, where is thy sting?” There was so much precision and solemnity to the occasion, the Queen’s funeral, but on television it amounted to an almost indulgent spectacle, an exaltation of ceremony and tradition. A spider was scrawled on the card in the flowers above the casket. A square of paper fell to the floor in Westminster Abbey. These random moments and unexpected images were briefly impressive, but only because everything else moved along with such grace and poise. It was a unique televised event. visually luxurious and strangely quiet. A great celebratory occasion unfolding at a time when we are used to seeing such an unruly spectacle on television. “It’s an extraordinary moment that’s unfolding before our eyes,” one pundit quipped to CNN shortly before 6 a.m. ET. In fact, much of what followed in the commentary was unnecessary, because what was happening live had a programmed, precise meaning. Then, as the coffin was carried into Westminster Abbey and the service began, almost everyone on television commentating simply fell silent, as they should. Live updates: Queen Elizabeth’s funeral ends after thousands line London streets, Windsor Find out about the best streaming TV of 2021 with our holiday guide The service itself was visually stunning, the aerial shots breathtaking. Even someone indifferent to church ritual and religion in general would have been impressed. The significance of the ritual was profoundly evident, with readings, hymns and prayers amounting to a meticulous but rather warm farewell to the late monarch. After the service, the discussion started again on the various TV channels. The significance and meaning of the crown, orb and scepter on the Queen’s coffin has been explained more times than anyone would like to hear, but this is only part of the television coverage in such cases – filling time with observations ranging from the absurd to the interesting. In a Canadian television context, the event had a bitterness. Lisa LaFlamme, so recently of CTV, and the subject of the summer’s biggest news story, was there as a CITY-TV special correspondent. And there she was on the screen, in her gray haired glory and that signature voice. She certainly has presence, there’s no denying it, and in her reporting – on Monday and in the days leading up to it – she seemed to be having fun. Her replacement at CTV National News, Omar Sachedina, was less visible on camera and seemed to fill the role of lead anchor as voice, quietly commenting – “This is an important grieving process.” – and gathering information from the small army of “royal experts” employed by every television channel in the world. CBC’s coverage, led by Adrienne Arsenault, had a relaxed feel and also featured a nice little scoop. A CBC reporter found a charming couple waiting near Windsor Castle, who had flown in from Nelson, B.C., mainly because the wife was a girl guide, like the queen. The husband was wearing a plaid shirt over what appeared to be a Tragically Hip T-shirt. It was as Canadian as I get. What most of the television coverage seemed to intuitively understand was the sheer power of visuals. the hearse moved through the almost empty streets, the various members of the British armed forces working with military precision at every step of the process. Watching it all, you couldn’t help but realize that the formality and intense public interest was less about loyalty to the monarchy than about observing customs and ceremonies on a very rare occasion – the death of a long-standing monarch. Of course, there were hours of conversation. At one point on CNN, Don Lemon remarked, “You can see some soldiers with their heads down, of course some others with their backs turned, that’s security, which makes sense I guess, even more a sign of respect.” Lisa LaFlamme exclaimed at one point, “Look at the fall colors!” Yes, we could already see the autumn colors very clearly on our screens. But there is no point in judging chatter with contempt. Time had to be filled and the audience watching expects some kind of commentary. On Monday morning the meaning of the monarchy was clearer. And for once the coverage didn’t amount to soap opera talk about rich, famous people with royal titles. It was about the audience’s need for celebratory spectacle at a time when so much of what we saw on television was chaotic, unpleasant or anchored in selfishness and division. The pomp and pageantry of English tradition was explained and revealed to be meaningful, if only for one day and for this occasion. All you had to do was look at the pictures. You didn’t have to get emotional, you just had to observe the grand ceremony of it all.
