Movie Application Paper - The Kingss Speech - Essay Example

? Movie Application Paper Movie Application Paper Introduction One had the opportunity to watch The Kings’s Speech, the film directed by Tom Hooper and starred Colin Firth (as King George VI), Helena Bonham Carter (as Queen Elizabeth), and Geoffrey Rush (as Lionel Logue), among a host of other prominent actors and actresses. The movie was chosen among suggested movies due to its most contemporary nature and the presence of interpersonal conflicts within situations and characters that make it an appropriate example for this paper. The movie was based on the true story of King George VI, a monarch by succession due to the abdication of the throne by the eldest brother, Edward (portrayed by Guy Pearce), after their father, King George V died. The main character, King George VI was remarkably played by Colin Firth, who won the Oscar’s Best Actor award in the 83th Academy Awards. The inspirational film presented the tribulations and challenges faced by King George VI, known as Bertie to the royal family. Bertie has been afflicted with a speech stammer, making it tremendously difficult to make a public announcement or speech to the nation. To make matters worse, the expectations posed by his ascendance to the throne were drastically heightened given the power and responsibilities exemplified by including the need to make public announcements and thereby, conquer his fear for public speaking. In this regard, the movie would be used to identify interpersonal conflict by citing relevant situations and linking these to concepts noted in Floyd’s (2009) book entitled Interpersonal Communication: The Whole Story. Interpersonal Conflict Floyd (2009) defined interpersonal conflict as encompassing the following elements or characteristics: manifesting an expressed struggle, occurring between two independent parties, presence of incompatible goals, arising from scarce resources, in conjunction with some form of interference. Using the definition, the eminent interpersonal conflict manifested in the movie, The King’s Speech as are follows: First and foremost, the existence of an expressed struggle in terms of capacities for public speaking due to the speech stutters that afflicted the main character, King George. For example, in the introduction, Bertie (then the Duke of York) was asked by his father to deliver a speech in front of the public and his anxiety and deep struggle to achieve, a seemingly simple goal, drastically failed. Secondly, the interpersonal conflict existed between several parties: Bertie and his father (due to his inability to deliver a speech); Bertie and his brother (when Edward decided to abdicate the throne to marry to a divorcee) and he then had no other option except to assume the throne despite his speech impediment; Bertie and Lionel Logue, the Australian speech therapist, who was contacted by then Duchess of York, to help in overcoming the stutter but was initially perceived by Bertie with apprehension in terms of the ability to address his dilemma; and the cohorts of the monarchy who opposed and questioned Logue’s ability to improve King George’s speech impediment. Third, the presence of incompatible goals was also eminent from the start when the goal of the father was to encourage and train Bertie to overcome his stutter, to his perceived exasperation and inability. Since he always knew that in the event of his father’s death, his brother Edward would be crowned the next monarch, it was beyond his comprehension when Edward’s goal to marry Wallis Simpson was given precedence. Finally, some form of interference was manifested when King George’s advisors found that Logue was not a licensed speech therapist and should therefore be prevented from continuing his services. There was another situation of interference when apprehension and lack of confidence to Logue and himself, initially prevented then Duke of York to pursue with the speech therapy sessions to be held at Logue’s home. Applicability of Other Interpersonal Conflict Concepts Floyd’s (2009) discussion of power and conflict is applicable in the movie as the assumption or ascendancy to the throne of the Duke of York to make him King George VI exemplifies legitimate power to him as the monarch to decide that he wants to retain Logue as his speech therapist. Further, the expert power that exuded from Logue enabled him to gain the confidence and trust of King George and enabled them to overcome the speech impediment through practice, training, and persistence. It was therefore shown in the movie that power and conflict influenced in each since the presence of interpersonal conflict that have been enumerated above provided the impetus for the need to manipulate, influence and at some level control George VI’s ability and determination to overcome his dilemma. The topic on managing interpersonal conflict where problematic behaviors such as criticism, contempt and defensiveness were all manifested by the Duke of York prior to his ascendance to the throne. He relayed his struggles to Logue of being criticized as a young boy due to his serious stutter, and as a result, harbored contempt and the feeling of defensiveness. To manage the conflict successfully, Logue assisted Bertie by accommodating him and collaborating with him through several regular training sessions aimed to improve his speech and overcome the fear of speaking in public. Conclusion The movie was an appropriate example replete with interpersonal conflict situations that were effectively linked to concepts presented by Floyd (2009). One was truly inspired from the movie as it depicts that nothing actually is impossible when one puts his mind and heart into a goal that one sets to achieve. On a personal note, an experience relayed by a friend exemplified a typical example of interpersonal conflict where, being a sole breadwinner and a mother of six children, my friend faced a struggle in terms of scarcity in resources to enroll the eldest son to a review class in preparation for the Nursing Licensure Exams. The son wanted to take the exams immediately after graduation but lack of financial resources made them apprehensive. The mother would have wanted the son to seek employment first to save for the review classes. There were incompatible goals, an expressed struggle, and scarce resources. Using strategies such as compromising and collaborating, the mother negotiated with the review center to pay the fee in a staggered and installment basis. The son, likewise assisted by making personal sacrifices in terms of spending the minimal amount for food and walked instead of taking the public transportation, to name a few. To make the story short, the son was able to take the licensure exam and successfully passed it in one take. The story, as well as the movie supports the fact that when conflict is managed effectively, the desired goals of participants are successfully achieved. References Floyd, K. (2009). Interpersonal Communication: The Whole Story. McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Read More