Introduction
The film The King’s Speech narrates the story of King George VI, who struggled with stammering. He had seen multiple professionals before his wife found Lionel Logue, an Australian speech therapist, who was able to ameliorate the problem. Although the future King and his spouse believed he only had mechanical difficulties in speech production, Lionel saw the deeper psychological issue. The pressure from the responsibilities of royal blood and childhood traumas seemed to cause stuttering. Being the King’s younger son and the Duke of York, the protagonist understands that people treat him differently. However, he never had enough interaction with peers to see their genuine attitudes. The only substantial influence and interaction he had was the protagonist’s older brother, who often teased him for stammering, which contributed to the exacerbation of the problem.
Self
The future King’s self-image played a significant role in the development of his self-concept. The main character understands his strength in being rational and strategic. However, initially, he cannot accept the idea of becoming the King since he was a younger brother, which for him meant being inferior to his older sibling. The protagonist’s behavior shows that he was accustomed to noble treatment but extremely uncomfortable during all formal situations and events. It was likely caused because the main character viewed himself only as a servant of the King since he never believed he could become one.
Significant Other
One of the few people from the future King’s circle who sincerely wanted to help him was his wife. Indeed, she was the one who found Logue and supported her husband along the entire journey of recovery. Furthermore, his wife always showed her affection and respect both for his strengths and weaknesses. The protagonist could objectively see her true attitude; thus, he had fewer speech difficulties when talking to her.
Culture
Being a royal figure, the protagonist was treated by society accordingly. He seemed to be raised with the idea of a unique attitude; therefore, he expected it, and his self-esteem could not be tremendously harmed by the influence of culture. As shown in the movie, even though the future King George VI stuttered in public, he did so not because of cultural pressure but by expectations from his family.
Feedback and Self-Disclosure
The two most potent self-disclosures in this movie for me were from the main character and his spouse. The first was when the future King George VI told Lionel about his childhood memories. He revealed that he was frequently teased for stammering by his brother and father. Furthermore, the protagonist brought back the memory of when his first nanny abused and neglected him because she liked his older brother more. Indeed, it showed why he had more speech difficulties in the presence of the King and his older sibling. The second self-disclosure was made by his wife, who confessed that she feared a monarchic lifestyle but hoped that she and her husband would never be affected by it due to his stuttering. The wife likely wanted to show that her love finds beauty even in his defects.
Conclusion
The two strong feedbacks in the film came from Logue. Firstly, when he had an introductory session with the main character, he said that if he does not stammer during the thinking process or self-talk, it means some external triggers continue causing the issue. Secondly, Lionel told King George VI before his coronation that if he was not obliged to carry money as a royal family member, there was no need to keep his childhood traumas either. In the first case, Logue showed his client that there was an outside factor causing the problem, while in the second instance, he reassures the King that one should stop absorbing this negative influence.