Jump to content

The Kings Speech


Val4Gareth
 Share

Recommended Posts

Thanks for the link Val. It's great that Gareth and Matt have done a little video about their time at the Giving Voice launch and King's Speech preview. They seemed to be enjoying themselves, but Gareth is normally happy when he's got some food! :icecream:

Hopefully we'll get to hear what he thinks about the actual film too. :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That was a nice little video.

Seems others would like to know Gareth's thoughts on it too. A girl from Canada writes this:

The King's Speech has already been released here in Canada and I loved the film. I was just wondering the other day if Gareth had seen it yet and what he thought of it so thanks for posting this!

Must admit to not being too interested in this film from the title alone, but the casting of Colin Firth certainly gives it more appeal :blush:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

Must admit to not being too interested in this film from the title alone, but the casting of Colin Firth certainly gives it more appeal :blush:

Eating Humble Pie and with all the awards this film has received I decided to go and see it.

It was very powerful indeed. If I am honest, following Gareth and being aware of his stammer, made this film all the more poignant. (When the girl behind me sat in her seat with her heavily laden bucket of popcorn, I heard her mention 'Gareth Gates'. Not sure in what context as then the lights went down?!)

Colin Firth was very good as was his speech coach 'Lionel'. For me the Duke of York's wife (Helena Bonham Carter) really portrayed her support for her husband and how she seemed to go through the same anguish at any impending public speeches.

If anyone hasn't yet made it to the cinema, I can thoroughly recommend this film.

It's funny, it's sad and it most certainly pulls at the heart strings.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Eating Humble Pie and with all the awards this film has received I decided to go and see it.

It was very powerful indeed. If I am honest, following Gareth and being aware of his stammer, made this film all the more poignant. (When the girl behind me sat in her seat with her heavily laden bucket of popcorn, I heard her mention 'Gareth Gates'. Not sure in what context as then the lights went down?!)

Colin Firth was very good as was his speech coach 'Lionel'. For me the Duke of York's wife (Helena Bonham Carter) really portrayed her support for her husband and how she seemed to go through the same anguish at any impending public speeches.

If anyone hasn't yet made it to the cinema, I can thoroughly recommend this film.

It's funny, it's sad and it most certainly pulls at the heart strings.

I too thought the film was very powerful. And, for me, it gives an insight into just how hard Gareth has fought and how brave he has been to overcome his stammer and nerves and get where he is today and do what he does so well. I know it is a daily battle for him. Perhaps now others will be more understanding. I alos wondered after the film if any of Lionel's techniques have been adopted by The Macguire programme.......

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I too thought the film was very powerful. And, for me, it gives an insight into just how hard Gareth has fought and how brave he has been to overcome his stammer and nerves and get where he is today and do what he does so well. I know it is a daily battle for him. Perhaps now others will be more understanding. I alos wondered after the film if any of Lionel's techniques have been adopted by The Macguire programme.......

Please can someone tell me as a newcomer to the site why my picture does not appear by my posts? What am I doing wrong??!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

To have a picture to go with your posts you need to upload or select an avatar - this is different to the photo on your profile. Some people have the same one for both, and some people only have one. I don't have a profile pic, but I have got an avatar. You've done it the other way around. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think because of Gareth's 'cheeky chappie, always a big wide grin on his face' attitude, we sometimes forget how much of a daily battle it must be for him.

I found it interesting in the film where the speech coach says that "no one is ever born with a stammer". My thoughts are realistically that there must be some part of the diaphragm that isn't fully formed and just need constant exercise (as in the film).

I alos wondered after the film if any of Lionel's techniques have been adopted by The Macguire programme.......

It appeared to be very similar didn't it?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

To have a picture to go with your posts you need to upload or select an avatar - this is different to the photo on your profile. Some people have the same one for both, and some people only have one. I don't have a profile pic, but I have got an avatar. You've done it the other way around. :)

Thank you for this. Fingers crossed.................

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well done! :thumbsup:

Don't forget that a lot of the theories in the film were the ones that were current at the time the film is set. It's obvious a child isn't born with a stammer, but nor are they born with speech, so while it might have been the belief of the character in the film, it's only a belief - not proven fact.

Since then, a lot of research has shown that the most likely fundamental cause of a stammer is neurological. However, as Gareth and many others will explain, this is just a tiny part of what a stammer is in reality. It is said that a stammer is approximately 10% physical and 90% psychological. This doesn't mean it's a psychological disorder, but that it has psychological implications. Worrying about getting your speech wrong will make it even harder to get it right.

The techniques in the film, or those used in the McGuire programme or any other therapy for adults cannot fix the fundamental neurological problems, but they can help to deal with all of the baggage that has built up over the years, or find ways to compensate. The brain is very complex, and it's not really understood, and it seems like the people at McGuire accept that they are not in a position to understand or deal with that side of things, so they focus exclusively on what they can deal with.

I know one of the theories for why children can grow out of a stammer is that the brain is still developing, and so it creates new neural pathways - a bit like building a new bridge when the old one has storm damage. Sometimes the brain can do this spontaneously, but the current thinking is this is much more likely to happen if the child gets decent speech therapy.

Techniques like breathing in a different way seem to be more about trying to trick the brain into taking a different path and avoiding the blocked road. It's probably why so many people claim that speaking in an accent, or chanting, or even singing isn't a problem. When you are using an accent or acting (or singing), it's a different route through the brain in the first place.

The psychological bits of stammering could be likened to the fear of the relevant bridge not being there when you need it, so you stop before you get to the bridge.

I know there are also theories that in common with many conditions, some people will be born more susceptible to developing a stammer. Some of those people might have got away with it, if it weren't for a traumatic event. This doesn't mean that it's caused by that, or always the trigger. Think of conditions like schizophrenia - it is sometimes thought to have been triggered by a stressful event, or drug abuse etc, but some people will develop it anyway, and some people can take drugs until the cows come home and be just fine. The same as you get people who live to over 100 who drink, smoke and eat all the wrong things, while some poor souls will get cancer despite the best possible lifestyle.

I think the idea that there was some trauma to trigger a stammer is misleading and seems to be a dated theory. Most people who stammer will agonise over what has caused it, and if you think like that, you might come up with something that you can pin it on, but the odds are that for most it's nothing more than coincidence, or the stress made it that little bit worse so it was noticed for the first time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Yorksheather I wonder if you managed to watch this programme?

I only caught it this week and found it very interesting. It was so encouraging to see how the King finally found his confidence to speak to the nation without the help of his speech coach. All brill stuff.

See it is being shown again tonight on MORE 4

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...