“The King’s Speech” – a conservative movie – leads Oscar nominations
“The King’s Speech” – an unabashedly pro-royalty, anti-fascist film – has received the most Oscar nominations (12) for this year’s Academy Awards. Does this mean that the normally liberal Academy has had a political conversation to the Dark Side? No. It shows that good filmmaking can sometimes trump ideology.
But it may reveal more than that. Movie business liberalism is only skin deep. It is all very much a show for self-aggrandizement. Deep down, they respond like the rest of us. They just won’t admit it. Unless the movie’s as good as “The King’s Speech.”
Agree — though outside of Hollywood, I have run into a lefty who seemed genuinely unable to enjoy my favorite film of the past few years, Gran Torino, because of its conservatism. (I assume her preferred ending was having Eastwood empathize the gangsters back into society.)
Interesting reaction as I thought Eastwood overdid the guilt from Korea a bit.
I enjoyed “The King’s Speech” because it was a good movie presentation about a small piece of history. It never occurred to me that it was a conservative movie just because it showed the King of England was opposed to Hitler. Maybe in these neurotic times even cornflakes have become imbued with political meaning nowadays? Can’t say I’ve noticed.
How is this movie “conservative”? I liked the movie and I’m a conservative, but I don’t see anything truly “conservative” in the movie unless you are considering working hard to overcome an obstacle rather than just take what you get to be a conservative core value.
Oh wait…never-mind.
This is NOT a conservative movie. Anytime a movie is a blockbuster and gets critical raves but isnt unquestionably liberal (Brokeback Mountain, Precious), the right wing jumps and claims it. See Blind Side.
The characters were Republicans, so its a conservative movie and the best movie of the year!
I only saw this link from another website, but the writer is shameless and/or a simpleton.
I took the characters to be Royalists. Loved it but couldn’t take the kids because the F-word used frequently, admittedly as part of the therapy.
Well, F-you buddy, but not your kids. They’re probably already smarter than you.
Now F-off, and let the big people talk.
1) The film places some obvious flaws of a monarchy government front and centre. A king suffering from dementia still forced to lead, a Nazi sympathizer being a hair’s breadth away from the Crown, etc.
2) Historically speaking, do you think monarchies fit into the mould of “limited government” and “individual liberty”?
3) Why does one have to be conservative to be anti-fascism?
Isn’t fascism on the very far right of the political spectrum? I beleive that this film is about hard work and overcoming adversity, and to politicalize this movie in favor of conservatives in an underhanded way of comparing leftists to nazi’s, which is rather base.
Uh, no. Please read Jonah Goldbergs Liberal Fascism and come back later with this most leftist of propaganda.
I think some people here are being obtuse. It’s a conservative movie insofar as the man at the center of the film is a dedicated anti-fascist who loves his country. That is, he’s a patriot. Those values are celebrated far more by conservatives than liberals these days. And there is the message of hard work and dedication to one’s duty that again, is more celebrated on the right than left.
Nazism is, of course, National Socialism (as opposed to the International Socialism of the Soviets). It’s statist, and therefore partly leftist, and it’s nationalistic, so therefore partly rightist. To say fascism is far-right is as wrong as it is to say it is far-left. Nazism is the paragon of evil it is because it manages to fuse the worst aspects of both far-right and far-left political thought. It’s not opposing the Nazis that makes one conservative, but the manner in which one does it. That is, the Chamberlain vs. Churchill divide. Appeasement vs. Confrontation.
Actually, it was Stalin who first characterized Hitler as “right-wing”. If you can’t remember where you first absorbed the notion of Communism as left-wing and Fascism as right-wing, when they are two peas from the same socialist pod–
–ponder the subliminal influence of *whatever* gives the pronouncements of Stalin precedence over truth.
Churchill’s reluctance to support a wayward liberal king unawares of his new towering responsibility, and his reckless sympathy for NAZI Germany was a real highlight as it is fact. That Edward overwhelmed by responsibilities resigns as King in disgrace is a prime example of liberal ‘cut and run’ methodology, self-absorption, failure and cowardice. That King George VI (Bertie) works tirelessly to overcome his own fears and personal challenges to lead his nation and people at a time of global conflict are all hallmarks of conservatism. That Liberal/Left/Progressive posters here and elsewhere cannot grasp the seriousness of the time and setting this movie takes place, nor register the conservative tone is nothing more than testimony of their collective psychosis.
Fascism is aligned to the left than progressive liberals acknowledge, typically leftist cannot stomach such an ugly truth. Controlling the means of production and unionized labor, Nationalization of major industries, state run and centralized media, comprehensive social engineering and separation of citizens by class, race, color and religion, appropriation of private property, systematic mass genocide and holocaust, were also policies and mandates common to and favored by Stalin and Mao. In the twentieth century, the club of statists/marxists/fascists had murdered hundreds of millions of innocent souls.
Don’t kid yourselves progressives, we conservatives know exactly who the adversaries of freedom, liberty and of the West are – the lessons of history are none to far from our own understanding and our consciousness. We respect history and value freedom daily.
A movie like ‘A Kings Speech’ clearly resonates with conservatives and long after we’ve left the cinema. It speaks to conservatives as an Avalon did to global warming alarmists. The major difference being it isn’t a fable, it is based on factual accounts, its well produced and directed and the people who appreciate the screenplay most aren’t useful idiots.
You are recontextualizing history to fit the conservative talking points you hold so dear. Surrendering a significant responsibility,o r in this case abdicating from the throne, is hardly a liberal fault: it is a human fault. Political ideology is blind when it comes to avoiding confrontation.
But perhaps your fatuous argument was attempting to convey that liberals have more of a predilection to shirking their responsibilities than conservatives? That is a question that can never be answered authoritatively. Both “sides” of the spectrum have their heroes that have displayed incredible courage in times of hardship. Once you see through the constantly assailing rhetoric, this is quite clear and ultimately liberating.
Reasons for leaving England aside, Edward VIII subscribed to conservative thought by any measurement. He was a racist, Nazi sympathizer and anti semite. If I were to show you a photo of someone like that today, he’d probably be posed in front of a Confederate flag with two handguns across his chest. It wouldn’t look like these progressives you seem to think are intent on destroying your country, simply because they do not exist. Believing that one must be a Tea Partier or a Republican to be a patriot does a disservice to those who wrote the Constitution. They believed that one can love America regardless of religion or political party, why don’t you?
By all means, continue parrotting the right-wing ramblings you ingest unchecked. But you should know that they lend themselves even more poorly to film criticism than they do political discourse.
Insecure much, anon? Surely you mean contextualize and if there was ever a pathetic example of it, it is your reply to my post sadly. It’s you, anon who read too much into and contextualized it. I’ll have you know I’m a conservative but not American. I’m a UK citizen. I have no allegiance to your constitution, but saying that admire US citizens who respect and understand its value to their own nation – who value real leadership, and real leaders who serve them and have their best interest at heart.
I merely acknowledged the conservative tones in the movie that progressives find difficulty recognizing, and took issue with some here who believe that fascism and marxism are in no way related ideologically and or in application.
We British know what a fool Edward was, we celebrate the fact he was not cut out to be nor crowned king especially at a time in our history where real leadership was required. His abdication was most welcomed as it was timely and his royal banishment and exile to the Bahamas was well deserved. King George’s relationship with Churchill is still admired and talked about today, without it we could well be speaking German. You may not like hearing/reading that, but that’s just how it is and how it played out.
The rest of your post I won’t bother replying to, please refer to delayna’s excellent response. Good day to you anon.
Dear Anonymous:
Check your calendar. It’s the 21st century. The KKK is gone. Now we have the New Black Panthers saying to kill white babies, and Black Liberation Theology preachers calling on God to damn America. These aren’t the racists you’ve been looking for…
iCheck your calendar. It’s the 21st century. The KKK is gone. Now we have the New Black Panthers saying to kill white babies, and Black Liberation Theology preachers calling on God to damn America./i
Who have become exactly copies of what theyre supposed to despise. Dont tell the New Black Panthers or Rev. Wright, but that means, in their case, the KKK has won. Something about imitation being the sincerest form of flattery?
Unfortunately, as Christopher Hitchens writes in Slate, it take liberties with history. Churchill was actually a whole-hearted supporter of Edward VIII, at a cost to his anti-nazi coalition. George VI supported Chamberlain’s appeasement even before Parliment had a chance to vote on it, and continued to support him. He would have even preferred lord Halifax, arch-appeaser, over Churchill for PM.
“The King’s Speech” – an unabashedly pro-royalty, anti-fascist film – has received the most Oscar nominations (12) for this year’s Academy Awards. Does this mean that the normally liberal Academy has had a political conversation to the Dark Side? No. It shows that good filmmaking can sometimes trump ideology.
Good filmmaking DID NOT trump over ideology. Ideology played a major role in THE KING’S SPEECH Oscar. And Hollywood is not as leftist as many people seemed to claim.