FILM: THE KING'S SPEECH

I had the privilege of catching THE KING'S SPEECH recently and thought now would be a good time to write a brief summary of my reflections on the film directed by Tom Hooper. Hooper is primarily known for his directorial work in TV having worked on such British favourites as "EastEnders" and
"Elizabeth I" miniseries. He shoots royalty well. The cast comprises of a veritable assortment of award-winning actors: Colin Firth as King George VI, Jeffery Rush as his speech therapist, Helena Bonham Carter as the Queen Mother, Guy Pearce as King Edward VIII, and Timothy Spall as Sir Winston Churchill.

The setting is 1930s England just before WWII begins. The aging King George V struggles for his life in the wake of his son, Edward's much-talked-about affair with the married American, Mrs. Wallace Simpson. His struggles are in vain as he soon makes his exit handing over the throne to the Wallace-obsessed Edward whose callousness brings further insecurity to an already insecure country under the threat of war. Well, we all know the history from here. Having refused to leave a soon-to-be divorced Wallace Simpson and having expressed his intentions of marrying her - it's an absolute no-no among royalty to marry a divorced woman or man - Edward is forced to abdicate his throne. Guess who has to fill his shoes as King of England? His youngest brother, "Bertie", who has had a hell of a time speaking in public due to a speech impairment. Prior to his taking on the duties of His Highness, Bertie, as he is affectionately called in the family, meets with a speech therapist, Lionel Logue. Like most relationships, theirs starts off a bit rocky with Bertie becoming more and more exasperated by Lionel's odd methods and invasive questionning of the soon-to-be-crowned King's upbringing. Elizabeth, the Queen Mom, does an elegant job at supporting her husband's efforts to overcome the stuttering and actually arranges this meeting with Lionel. She plays her role as wife, mother, and overall backbone very well. Her dogged support and belief in him are admirable given that the marriage between her and Bertie were like many other royal marriages: arranged.

Without disclosing too much of the movie and putting aside my own issues with the British monarchy and the nation as a whole - brutal power-hungry colonizers still trying to maintain their hold over India at the time - I have to say "well done". Colin Firth, Jeffery Rush, and Helena Bonham Carter were simply superb. My appreciation for their talents went up to a level way beyond "wow". Colin Firth delivers an exemplary performance as the stuttering king and makes me feel what we all want to feel when we see movies about the triumph of the human spirit: compassion. Imagine that! I actually felt compassion for the King of England and for two hours could feel something of the humiliation he must have endured with such an impediment.

Well, actually, I totally understand what it must have been like since I too have been wrestling with a speech impairment for the last two years and have also had to speak in public with it. Had I found a speech therapist so dedicated to his client as Lionel was, I probably would have performed far more effectively as I stubbornly continued to teach and present my monologues to my perplexed students and audiences, respectively. Although I did have the support of friends and well-wishers, I'm sure much of my message slipped through the cracks in my strangled utterances. Some of the methods Lionel uses to assist the King in producing an unbroken tone are also used today to help people with a stutter, Spasmodic Dysphonia and other voice disorders. Singing, deep breathing before speech, moving around while speaking, even shouting all help to release and relax the voice. The point is to get back something that's so essential to communication and our credibility, whether as kings and queens or teachers and performing artists. It's all the same: without our voices, we're as powerless as shredded wheat. Not to say that people who find other ways to communicate like through ASL or voice devices are lacking in communicative ability and credibility. They've obviously ignited the power within and have turned an apparent "flaw" (as viewed by society) into something truly valuable and rewarding.

People who stutter don't always remember when the stuttering started, but it developed most likely when they were children. Also, stuttering is usually brought on by some other form of physical restriction like being forced to write with one's right hand when one is left-handed. Stuttering may also be caused by physical trauma through abuse or deprivation. A lot of time must be given and patience tried in order to face those childhood fears and traumas to give one's voice the chance to heal. Bertie did not wish for Lionel to probe into his family's secrets but realized that the only way to set his voice free was to face the events and experiences that shaped his life during his childhood years.

I suppose that's how I'll be able to set my voice free someday. The day when I take an honest look at the conditions and circumstances that brought on this strangled voice - not just two years ago, but much farther back in time - will be the day when progress towards a clear, unhindered voice begins anew. OR maybe not. Maybe my attitude will change and I will discover a new way of communicating with this broken but unique voice.

If you haven't seen it, watch THE KING'S SPEECH.

Thank you for dropping by today. There are no other limits to human will but the thoughts that reside in our heads.

THE PEOPLE RISE UP IN EGYPT

I woke up this morning anxious for the people of Egypt as they braced for clashes with Hosni Mubarak's security forces. He dissolved the government and retained his machine-gun toting retinue of soldiers who are ready to quell the voices of the people. With a complete shutdown of internet and cell phone services, we can only imagine the fate of Egypt's pro-Democracy activists, families, labourers, teachers, writers, mothers, fathers. And their children. Obama apparently made a call to Mubarak asking him to "promise" not to use force against the demonstrators and to uphold the liberalizing policies that were supposed to have been initiated. Hold on. What liberalizing policies? Are you talking about the ones that serve the needs of the US military stationed in Egypt? Hmm...guess so.

Mubarak has yet to lift the country out of a state of emergency that was imposed when he had assumed his role as the country's leader soon after Anwar Sadat was assassinated in 1981. Quite frankly, the people are tired of Mubarak's 30 year reign and are calling for the formation of a new government based on democratic principles. Mubarak's response is to force his cabinet ministers into early retirement and call in his comrades in arms to control the ensuing chaos. Mubarak is no stranger to the military having served as an officer/commander for the Egyptian Air Force. It's no wonder he rules the country with an iron fist.

My heart goes out to the people of Egypt. It's been a long and tragic struggle for them to maintain their freedom under this dictatorship. The Egyptian police have been particularly brutal against free-thinking dissenters and many have been jailed, tortured and brutally killed. Their struggle is the world's struggle against all forms of dictatorship and control. We're all connected. The foreign policy decisions our governments make and that we give our support to or in most cases, show our apathy towards (because you know, we're all too busy chasing our own dreams to give a shit about what's happening halfway across the world) can seriously impact countries like Egypt, and they have. I wonder how having the US presence on Egyptian soil influences Mubarak's decisions on how to handle "his" people. I'm sure there's a lot more to this uprising than we're getting from the western media. A western media that makes no apologies for feeding us bullshit news carefully manipulated and distorted to make it "newsworthy". News is reality TV and every news anchorperson is competing to be the next big TV anchor star. Is it real?

It's the people at the bottom of the heap who suffer from all this illusory fakery, from all the greedy "grabbing hands", the senseless violence against their right to free expression, and the denial of their livelihoods and well-being.

How will it all end? Maybe it won't end. It'll continue well into 2012 and 2011 is only just beginning. 2012. Egyptian voices. Tunisian voices. And then maybe all the world will lend a voice. Lend a hand. And lend a fist to help crush the despotic governmental systems that have enslaved and blinded the world's people since the time money and the pursuit of strategic power became the Gods of humankind.

2011 Songs #1: John Lennon's IMAGINE

January is just about over and I'm halfway through learning my first song out of the 40 songs I'm attempting to learn on piano by next January 2012: John Lennon's "Imagine". Needless to say, it's a beautiful and inspiring song and a great first choice for Beginner-intermediate players. The song is in the easiest key: C maj. Once the intro, verse and chorus are learned, they all pretty much repeat throughout the song, so learning it shouldn't take that long unless you're a procrastinator like me!

Playing the bass notes is pretty easy...if that's all I needed to do! What I find a challenge is getting my right hand to do the fancy footwork at the same time my left hand attempts to keep a steady rhythm. I need lots of time to get my fingers (and my brain) working properly and harmoniously.

The song has a very powerful message but doesn't sound like Lennon's dictating to us on how things should be. He's humbly suggesting that we see the world in a different way. Perhaps he's also encouraging us to reconnect with the child at heart and to imagine being human without all the labels and identities that separate us from one another. It's not to say that what defines us - our race, culture, class, religion, etc - is not of any worth. Indeed, we need to embrace all those elements. However, having those elements does not make us any better nor any worse than others. We simply are. I simply am.

Imagine that with all those needs, identities, and labels, we see beauty in those differences instead of feeling fear. Imagine equality. Imagine humility. Imagine peace among all the diverse communities in our world.

John Lennon's IMAGINE.

Thank you for being part of my journey. Stay tuned for the next song choice in a week or two...

PART TWO: Building the Dream

Tomorrow my life will change. A handsome Korg SP250 will be delivered to my door and it will remain my new best friend for the next year or more. It is the main tool with which I will build this fascinating dream. What is the dream? To be able to play all my favourite songs on piano, to understand music theory and composition, to compose my own songs, to accompany singers and other musicians, and to play for all kinds of audiences. Music has an amazing healing spirit and it, more than words or even action, can really make a positive and transformative impact on a person's life.