Congratulations to The King’s Speech for winning all those Oscars, including the marvellous Colin Firth for his Best Actor award. Well-earned, I think you’ll agree.
What does this have to do with health, you may think? Well the film has increased awareness of the vocal disability, which I admit was something I hadn’t written about before the film was released (I have now, which shows how effective the film has been at offering the non-stuttering world a glimpse of what it might be like if you were one of the estimated one percent of UK adults who suffer from the speech impediment).
Since the film was released, there has been much written about stuttering – what causes it, how many people suffer from it, the treatments that can help sufferers manage or even overcome their disability and so on. But one really caught my eye. A report on EmaxHealth.com popped up just a few days ago, entitled “Stuttering not an Oscar performance for sufferers”. Great, I thought. Another piece of information on stuttering – which, you have to admit, isn’t very often in the news, is it?
Then I read a bit closer. Colin, you may want to look away now, because the copy reads… “While people wonder if Michael Palin will win an Oscar for his performance of a stuttering King George VI of Britain, the speech disorder remains a difficult challenge for millions of children and adults in the United States…”
Michael Palin? WTF! It must be news to the ex-Python, who may well be stunned at finding out he’s just won an Oscar. Sorry Colin, you may be on top of the world right now, but some journalists still don’t know your name. Let’s hope now you’ve won the Oscar they’ll get it right in the future.
I have, of course, included a link to the story, but suspect it may get quickly edited this morning to state the correct name. But if you’re quick, you might be able to see the original error in all its red-faced (rather than red-carpet) glory.
Meanwhile, congrats again to the marvellous Mr Firth and all last night’s other Oscar winners.