Column: Reels with Ryan

A microphone in Wembley Stadium awaits millions of people silently listening in person and via radio. As the live broadcast begins, a nervous man steps up to speak. His mouth opens as the crowd prepares to focus on every syllable, but the words aren’t coming. More silence weighs on the stadium speakers and broadcast as the man’s mouth remains open. Finally, the words come. “I have received from his majesty the K-k…the…k…King.”

This scene begins the 2011 Best Picture-winning film “The King’s Speech,” which tells the true story of King George VI’s private speech therapy sessions that gave him the tools to reduce his stuttering condition and become a voice in 1940s Britain. Not only does this film present an accurate depiction of a historically rooted story, but it is also one of few great movies to illustrate the daily life of those with a stuttering disability. The silent microphone, an expectant audience and repeated failure to get past a single word are all too familiar to those with a stutter. 

I can attest to this firsthand.

I have had a stuttering condition my whole life, and it will likely never go away. I have noticed very little representation for stutterers in the media, and I very rarely have the opportunity to witness an authentic stutterer in a movie. I still remember the first time I saw “The King’s Speech” in 2011 — I didn’t exactly realize the weight of this cinematic moment, but I recognized that I was seeing someone like me, someone I had not seen before in film. 

It isn’t as hard as one might think to find a stuttering character in our television shows and movies, but they’re often the “different” character. They are slow, weak, or even disturbed in some depictions, and they’re seldom in any sort of forefront role. I cannot attest to the entirety of entertainment history before 2011, but I imagine “The King’s Speech” was the first time many people saw stuttering as a trait in the hero of a film. 

Stuttering has no surefire cure, but it can be somewhat contained through an education and practice referred to as “strategies” — a mental toolbox of adjustments to one’s speech pattern, pitch and pronunciation. Altering the pitch of the word or sentence in a sort of “sing-song” manner and intentionally drawing out the first letter- “mmMy name is Ryan” — are a couple examples. 

Most stutterers don’t stammer when they sing or talk under their breath, and these inconsistencies play into the arsenal of tricks used by many stutterers, including George VI. Throughout his accurate and tastefully comedic time with speech pathologist Lionel Logue, the King is able to develop his personal strategies to speak more clearly. While his stutter remains, his eponymous speech is delivered with only a couple of minor flaws.

The film goes against the cliché portrayals of stuttering from years past, making a point to include the common and misguided responses that a stutterer receives in a typical conversation. Though it is a condition that is generally recognized, there are still many assumptions and ill-advised perceptions of stuttering. In my experience, phrases like “Stop rushing yourself” or “Just think about what you need to say before you say it” are the two most frustrating responses I receive. 

“The King’s Speech” is as accurate of a portrayal of stuttering and the life of those who live with it as you’ll find anywhere else. King George VI’s journey serves as a fantastic example of stuttering itself and how, despite the setbacks that a disability may cause, anyone with an impairment can achieve incredible things and live up to the true definition of extraordinary.  

This film shines a light on a moment in history and the man at the middle of it while illuminating the struggles and triumphs of those with stuttering and disabilities as a whole, and it will always be one of my favorite pieces of cinematic history.