The Constructed Subjectivity:an Analysis On The King's Speech

This thesis focuses on the biographical drama film,The King's Speech,trying to analyze how the subjectivity of King George VI is constructed by the “Other”,the “other” and performativity.The film depicts how the subjectivity of Prince Albert,Duke of York,is constructed when pushed to the throne so that he becomes King George VI and makes his first wartime radio broadcast on Britain's declaration of war on Germany in 1939.The main body of this thesis contains three chapters.The first chapter will discuss what the Other requires of the King,so that he can be the King that the Other or the society needs.The King is therefore pushed on the throne and trained to make speech by the rules of exclusion,means of training into being correct,and social expectations.The second chapter will be designed to argue what the small other that is indispensable in the subject's life expects the King to present.The nanny who accompanied him when he was young,his strict father and his speech-correcting doctor all construct him to be fit for his position.The third chapter will discuss how performativity constructs the King's subjectivity by the repetition of royal norms in words and actions,as well as performativity on his body.From the above analysis,the thesis will conclude that the King's subjectivity is constructed by the Other,the other and performativity.