1. What issues need to be dealt with before the King found his voice?
In the movie, The King’s Speech, which starred Colin Firth as King George VI of England, needed to deal with different issues in his personal, professional, and family life. For one, the debilitating issue of his being found to be afflicted with a speech impediment (both stuttering and stammering) worried him and his wife, Elizabeth, who was played by Helena Bonham Carter in the movie . This was the major issue in the film since ascending to the throne as King George VI requires a lot of speaking engagements and public appearances which would require him to deliver various speeches to the nation.
Likewise, there was the issue of the death of his father, King George V, whose role was played by Michael Gambon, in terms of the assumption of the new king to the throne. Within the film, it was deduced that as a young boy, Bertie, of which he was fondly known to his family members, had to content with a strict father and a lot of other childhood issues, which he revealed to his speech therapist. These issues seem to have influenced and contributed to the debilitating speech impediment. As noted, these childhood issues included: alleged need to repress his natural left-handedness; the need to wear corrective metal splints for his knock-knees; reported physical abuse by his nanny; and even the early demise of a younger brother, Prince John .
When everyone expected that his brother, named King Edward VIII (Guy Pearce) was naturally the choice for the monarchy, it was another issue when this brother of his opted to abdicate his crown in favor of marrying a twice divorced woman, named Wallis Simpson. As such, the next in line was him, who, despite of his apprehensions and fear to ascend the throne and face public speaking, despite his speech predicament, was left with no choice but to oblige.
Likewise, another relevant issue was locating a suitable and effective speech therapist for King George VI. The dedication and commitment of his wife, Elizabeth, to find a solution to Bertie’s speech impediment enabled her to locate Lionel Logue, effectively played by Geoffrey Rush, as both Bertie and him, resorted to various techniques to find the most appropriate and effective means to address the speech dilemma. It was therefore commendable on the part of all the major characters to have contributed to King George VI’s ability to finally find his voice.
2. Who did the King communicate best with before Lionel helped him? Why?
Before King George VI was professionally assisted by Lionel, he communicated best with his wife, Elizabeth. She was well aware of the fears, apprehensions, and anxieties that Bertie has been going through. In fact, it was she who was truly and genuinely committed to locate a professional speech therapist, who, from her perspective, could be significantly instrumental in finding an effective solution to the problem. As evident, through his wife’s unconditional love and support for him, they were able to surpass the identified issues and challenges and in the end, proved to be successful and victorious. Thus, it could be deduced that the reason why he was assisted and helped was due to the strong love and affection for each other.
3. What issues must you deal with (one or some) before your Voice is strong?
Honestly, the issues that one must deal with in relation with interacting with other people, before one’s Voice is finally strong are as follows: (1) continues learning or gaining theoretical frameworks in various disciplines which would significantly assist in developing one’s confidence and being competent and aware of various events and things to be the subject of communication; (2) having to develop strong communication skills, aside from just gather knowledge on various information and events; (3) possessing a code of conduct or behavior that observes and adhere to ethical, moral and legal standards; and (4) being socially and emotionally prepared to discern how to respond to people within different communication scenarios and patterns.
Likewise, other issues in terms of one’s natural abilities for social interaction with others need to be developed. As learned, establishing various relationships with diverse people during the course of one’s life is a continuing and on-going process. Thus, the development of a stronger Voice and the ability to communicate, assume a more confident stance, and be an effective speaker needs to be an evolving and continuing process.
4. Do you have a strong voice(s) now?
One is convinced that at this point of one’s academic level, there is still a need to further develop and improve one’s voice for it to become stronger and more effective. One realizes that a stronger voice does not necessarily mean speaking in a louder tone or being explicitly and overtly confident at all times. Assuming a stronger voice means being more mature and responsible in discerning the most appropriate conduct and behavior when communicating with others. Just like King George VI in the movie, the development of a strong voice requires support from loved ones and people who are most knowledgeable to counsel and guide one into becoming an effective speaker and communicator.
Reference
The King's Speech. Dir. Tom Hooper. Perf. Colin Firth. 2010. Film.
