The Kings Speech

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While The Kings Speech draws upon a number of historical facts and events, this is not its primary concern. The film is about the effect of a person’s family on how the person develops. For example, in The Kings Speech, King George VI’s brother abdicating and his father’s cruelty played a part in his stammer and lack of confidence.

The film is also about the importance of a secure support system, for example Queen Elizabeth and Lionel Logue were Bertie’s support system and they helped him overcome his stammer and lack of confidence.A third important issue in the film is about the different approach to class distinction by British and Australian people, as shown by the expectations of Bertie and Queen Elizabeth that Lionel Logue will do whatever they wanted and Lionel Logue’s insistence on working on his own terms.

Finally, the film is about how a person can dig deep into their own character to become a better person and in Bertie’s case, a better King. He overcame his speech impediment, anger and confidence issues to prove to himself, his family and his country that he was suitable to be King.The effect of one’s family on how the person develops is significant. His father’s cruel upbringing and the mockery received from his siblings were a contributing factor to his lack of confidence as a young man.

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For example, Lionel asked Bertie: “Did David ever tease you? ” “Oh yes of course! Ber-ber-be-bertie. Father encouraged it. He said ‘GET IT OUT BOY’. Said it would make me stop. I was afraid of my father, and my children are damn well going to be afraid of me! ’” (The Kings Speech, 2010).Also, being forced to use his right hand when he was naturally left-handed and having to wear metal splints for knocked knees also contributed to his shyness, which caused him to develop a stammer. When growing up, it is important to have a strong support system and without one, the effect on a person’s confidence can be devastating. In Bertie’s case, it caused his stammer. Bertie’s brother abdicating put even more pressure on him and made the stammer worse: Bertie talking to Edward about abdicating, says “That is terrible thing to hear. Nobody wants to hear that, me least of all” (Hooper, 2010).Also, “I am not a King, I am a naval officer. I’m not a king, I’m not a king” (The Kings Speech, 2010). The psychological effect his brother abdicating had on him, was enough to send him back to Logue for more therapy. Bertie was fortunate to find that his wife, Elizabeth, gave him the love and support he did not receive from his own family. She was his backbone. At the start of the film, when George had given up and he said “promise me, no more” (The Kings Speech, 2010), she believed in him and knew she had to keep trying to find the right person to help him.It was only through her efforts, that they found Logue. Throughout the film, whenever George was giving a speech, she would be there in support of him. “I’m sure you’ll do great” (The Kings Speech, 2010) were her words of encouragement before Bertie’s final speech on the war against Germany in the film. The love and encouragement of a person’s partner can help the person achieve great things. The fact that Logue was Australian was also an important element to helping Bertie overcome his difficulties.The approach to class distinction of Australians is different to the approach of British people. British people believe strongly in social hierarchy. Being Queen, Elzabeth’s high expectations revolve around respectfulness and full cooperation of the subject. The laid back personality of an Australian is to treat everyone with equality and treat everybody as themselves. These two personalities clash when Elizabeth comes to Logue for help. She expects Logue to do what she wants and is a bit taken aback by how informal he is: Logue to Elizabeth “We need to have your hubby pop by…He can give me his personal details, I’ll make a frank appraisal and then we’ll take it from there. ” “I don’t have a hubby, we don’t pop and nor do we ever talk about our private lives. No you must come to us” (The Kings Speech, 2010). Logue refuses her demand so she uses “and what if my husband were the Duke of York? ” (The Kings Speech, 2010) but Logue stands by his rules and Logue insists her husband to him: “for my method to work, I need trust and total equality. Here in the safety of my consultation room.No exceptions” (The Kings Speech, 2010). At first, this difference of class made it difficult to form a normal relationship between the pair. For example, Bertie to the Archbishop: “Lionel will be seated in the king’s box” “But members of your family will be seated there sir! ” (The Kings Speech, 2010). The astonishment of the Archbishop when Bertie requested for Logue to be seated in the King’s box shows that the relationship was very unusual. Class distinction affected Logue’s treatment of Bertie.On one side, Logue should be respectful and abide by the King’s request to keep this a strictly business relationship, but on the other hand if Logue was to help and teach Bertie to overcome his speech, anger and confidence issues, they had to be equals. Requests such as being told not to sit too close or when one is speaking with the Prince, one waits for the Prince to choose the topic was not an option if Logue was going to fix George. “In here it’s better if we’re equals” (The Kings Speech, 2010). Bertie disagrees with Lionel and states: “If we were equals, I’d be home with my wife, and no one would give a damn” (The Kings Speech, 2010).It would have been much more difficult for a British speech therapist to help Bertie the way Logue did because a British person would not have been able to overcome the class differences the way Logue could. Finally, the film shows that overcoming adversity helped George to be a better person and a better King. This is because the difficulties of overcoming something that had kept him hostage from a very young age and the confidence he found in doing this, gave him something in common with the British subjects, who were struggling when World War Two started.His anger went away and he became stronger and more confident. The main motivation for George to overcome his stammer was to prove to himself, his family and his nation that he was fit to be King. The Kings Speech uses the historical story of King George VI to illustrate important issues that affect all people: the need for a supportive family, the love and support of a good partner, the ability of people to fix problems when they put aside class distinctions and what can be achieved when a person digs deep into his or her own character to overcome adversity. It is a very inspiring film.