Films and history

The reign of Queen Elizabeth II came to its end last week as the Queen died at the age of 96 on 8^th September 2022. Watching films is a wonderful way of learning about history as they often offer us a faithful portrayal of cultural aspects and historical moments which, somehow, affect us all. There is a high number of films which revolve around the figure of Queen Elizabeth II, being The Queen (2006) one of the best ones. That film focuses on the Queen at the time of the death of Lady Diana – Princess of Wales – in a car crash in 1997. The role of the Queen is played wonderfully by Helen Mirren who won the most relevant film awards for her performance. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In my view, one of the films which best reflects British royalty is the period drama The King´s Speech. Watching it helps us to understand how Elizabeth Windsor ended up becoming the Queen of the United Kingdom as it dates back to the moment his own father became king although he wasn´t the first heir to the throne. When the film was released in 2010, it had a very positive impact as it helped to gain awareness of stuttering, a condition that King George VI – Elizabeth´s father –  had. David Seidler wrote the story on which the plot is based. As a child, he also developed a stammer which, apparently, was caused by the emotional trauma of Second World War and the murder of his grandparents during the Holocaust. The story of George VI – a king with a stutter – inspired him to write the script of the film, which won the Academy Award and the BAFTA for Best Original Screenplay The film won four Oscar Awards but regardless of the accolades it achieved, I recommend this film because it has one of the most touching endings that I have ever watched on the big screen.

The story of The King´s Speech is set in the 1930s, however, the underlying theme of the film is really contemporary and it can lead to us to draw a comparison between that age and our present-day society. Can you guess the issue I´m referring to? Watch the film and think about this idea!!