Maria Vaccaro SPA 2001 April 18, 2011

Question 1: What movie did you watch, when did you watch it, where did you watch it, and with whom? I watched The Kings Speech on Thursday, April 14th, at the SLC theatre. I went with six of my friends, none of whom are in this class.

Question 2: Describe the character in the movie who had a communication disorder. The character is the king of England. As such, he has a duty to speak to the whole world, essentially, so his stuttering problem causes him a lot of frustration and agony, as well as embarrassment. He is very witty and has a great sense of humor. He is married to a woman who is incredibly supportive of him and also has a great sense of humor. He is the father of two adorable little girls, and they obviously have a great relationship. As king, he is fully capable of his kingly duties aside from speaking, but he often lacks confidence in himself because of his stuttering problem.

Question 3: Specifically, describe the communication disorder the character had in as much detail as possible. What type of disorder was it? How severe was it? The character has a fluency disorder. It is referred to in the movie as stammering. His main problem is hesitations and broken words. At the very beginning of the movie, he attempts to speak publicly into a microphone, and he pauses, struggling, for at least 30 seconds before making any sound at all. He has occasional whole-word repetitions, when he is able to speak. Initially, his disorder is quite severe, and he is often unable to speak for very long pauses. By the end of the movie, after a lot of hard work with his therapist, he is able to deliver a complete speech with very few long pauses or mistakes.

Question 4: How did the characters communication problems affect his or her life? As I mentioned before, as king, the characters duties are greatly affected by his lack of speech abilities. His problems also affect his home life with his family. His wife thinks of his impediment endearingly. However, his daughters seem to feel uncomfortable when he hesitates in the middle of telling them a bedtime story. It takes an incredible amount of effort and concentration for him to communicate fluently with anyone, but especially with his brother, who intimidates him, and a microphone with a threatening red light.

Question 5: In general, how was the character treated by other people in his/her life? The movie shows the common people of England listening to the king speak hesitantly. They tend to look away or down awkwardly, almost as if they pity him and know they must respect him, because he is their king, but they do so reluctantly. His encounters with people are very awkward in general, and he gets a lot of pitying glances. Still, he is the king, and thus receives the forced respect he is due. His therapist treats him as an equal and as a friend, as that is the only way he can truly be helped.

Question 6: How did the information presented in the movie compare with the information you have learned in this class about communication disorders? Was there clinical inaccuracy or misleading information in the portrayal of the communication disorder? For the most part, the portrayal of the fluency disorder was accurate. The character had hesitations, broken words, and occasional whole-word repetitions, and he mentioned that he was unsure exactly when the problems started. He said he had been stammering ever since he can remember. This is accurate in cases of developmental disfluency.

Question 7: What did you learn from the movie about communication disorders (or your closing thoughts/feelings about the movie)? The Kings Speech was a great movie. The acting was superb, the themes were moving, and the dialogue was memorable. Everyone Ive talked to thats seen it agrees that it was enjoyable and just overall really good. It

gave insight into the life of someone with a fluency disorder and revealed how challenging that life can be. It showed the reactions of other people to the character with the disorder as well as the characters personal feelings about his own disorder.