The Great Speakers Night

Tonight's marathon is about witnessing several story arcs of some of the worlds greatest leaders and controversial figures. We follow the reactions of a royal queen to the death of a relative and the criticism she received from the public in terms of wanting leadership, a man whose rose from the ashes of 26 years in prison to become the president of South Africa, a King with a speech impediment who later became a great speaker, and a civil rights leader whose dream has become apart of our daily lifestyles. Tonight we explore the actions of these fascinating 20th century figures whether we agree with some of the actions they take or not. We have on tonight's menu:

The Queen 2006, Clint Eastwood's Invictus 2009, The Kings Speech 2010, and Selma 2014

We begin the evening with the 2006 Oscar Winning film The Queen. Helen Mirren won a well deserved academy award for playing Queen Elizabeth, who is forced into giving a public reaction to the death of Princess Diana at the request of the public. Mirren's performance is top notch because she portrays a woman whose forced into breaking out of her own comfort zone while dealing with her own reaction to a series of events that no one could've predicted or saw coming. The second film in the lineup is Clint Eastwood's Invictus which stars Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon in a story focused around Nelson Mandela in his first term as the South African President. He initiates a unique venture towards uniting a divided and torn land. To ensure equality and uniting the nation, he enlists a rugby team on a mission to win the 1995 Rugby World cup. Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon both deserved their Oscar nominations for their performances in this movie. The third film in the lineup is The Kings Speech, which deals with King George VI of the UK of Great Britain and Northern Irelend. The film centers around his rise to the throne and struggling to overcome his speech impediment with the help of a speech therapist played by Geoffrey Rush and helped ensure that the King became worthy of the throne. Nominated for twelve academy awards and winner of four including best picture, director, screenplay, and best actor, this film is one that works so well because it shows the human side of a leader. The same can be said for the next film in the marathon and final one being Selma. Selma is a bit of a controversial film because it received an Oscar nom for Best picture but failed to receive noms for Best director, best actor, and screenplay. Selma centers around the campaign of Martin Luther King to secure equal voting rights through an epic march from Selma to Montgomery Alabama in 1965. Selma works so terrific as a conclusion to this thought provoking marathon because it shows a human side of the civil rights march and David Oyelowo's performance as Martin Luther King Jr. is amazing as well as Carmen Ejogo's work as Coretta Scott King.

So what's the message of all four of these movies? The Queen says that sometimes it takes awhile for people to change their set views and act accordingly. Invictus says that forgiveness can liberate and heal the soul. The Kings Speech says that alot of hardwork can get you through the hardest and most difficult obstacles. Selma ultimately says that the civil rights movement is necessary and still being fought.