The King's Speech paper

- (I) = Italicize
- Needs cover page

Daniel Contreras
Introduction to Theater
Professor Josten
Reaction/reflection paper
18 October 2011

In director Tom Hooper's film titled The King's Speech(I) there are various themes that are present; however, the one theme that stood out to me was clear: life is much more difficult when one struggles with any type of disability. The director emphasizes the people's dismay by showing the expressions on the faces of Bertie's (famously known as King George VI) wife, his father (King George V), and the archbishop. The camera focus carefully on the actors often depicting a mixture of pity and disappointment; for example, when the Duke of York attempts to publicly speak at the stadium in the beginning of the movie you can feel the tension as if you were in the exact same stadium with the rest of the people. In that scene, the camera angles on the shots of the Duke of York are so compact that it creates a figurative feeling of of gradual suffocation. In fact, the eerie music slowly creeps in and grasps a hold of the situation ridding it of its comfort. In the film, there is another scene where Bertie is arriving by car in a neighborhood filled with posters and flyers that read "God save our king" or "god save the king" revealing the pity and worries the people had toward their new king. A good portion of the film takes place in speech therapist Lionel Logue's office where Bertie and Lionel discuss and disagree on various topics. It goes to show how much more strain is put on people with disabilities since normal people aren't obligated to see a specialist weekly or daily. The setting in Lionel's therapy room feels cold and unpleasant with its fog stained windows and oddly patterned wallpaper reinforcing that this is not a place one would like to be. Life with a disability affects not only Bertie but also everyone around him. Bertie can't even tell a bedtime story to his two younger daughters without stammering in every sentence. While his wife's true intentions of marrying him are uncertain, she does make an effort to stand by his side and looks for someone to help him recover from his impediment. I think the director chose a solid cast for this movie. Colin Firth is a talented actor who previous won

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