Christopher Hitchens' incisive piece (Unspeakable truths, G2, 1 February) about the blatant rewriting of history by the film The King's Speech is timely and welcome. However, the film's success is not only due to its appeal to British people's reactionary need for reassuring fairy stories around monarchy and class. These myths, in the film, intersect with those around gender.
Surely another reason the film has wowed so many (often male) critics is because it offers a romantic and heroic myth about being a man. The damaged king, who by artistic sleight of hand is Everyman, can be restored to full potency when he gets his voice back. Then he can lead his people into war. We on the left need to look at the stories our culture tells about gender – in a recession so often the most comfortable for both sexes to believe in.
Michele Roberts
London
• Re your editorial (Unthinkable?...
Surely another reason the film has wowed so many (often male) critics is because it offers a romantic and heroic myth about being a man. The damaged king, who by artistic sleight of hand is Everyman, can be restored to full potency when he gets his voice back. Then he can lead his people into war. We on the left need to look at the stories our culture tells about gender – in a recession so often the most comfortable for both sexes to believe in.
Michele Roberts
London
• Re your editorial (Unthinkable?...
- 2/5/2011
- by Tom Shakespeare
- The Guardian - Film News
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