Greg Han The Queen Analysis

2009: Analyse the ways history and memory generate compelling and unexpected insights The study of the past, in the present, and how it shapes our future is what history is defined as. Through collective and individual memory, one can perceive a greater insight. In developing such texts, composers utilize filmic and textual forms to achieve their specific point of view. The Queen (2006) by Stephen Frears, is a biopic which combines representations of the queens both as the regal monarch, and as the head of a family to connote the value of personal memory intertwining with recorded history, constructing powerful yet unknown responses from the audience. Similarly, the Biggest Hit (2012) is Good Weekend Feature Article (SMH, JULY) which combines
Nevertheless, Leser continues the article with the added details of the sentimental love for the song from Australians, the song as a reverence. “[Gregʼs flute line] was a salute to another iconic part of Australian musical history. His motivation wasnʼt to steal, it was to pay homage.” The emotive language and serious tone, inflicts an interested response from the readers creating a sympathetic stance towards the song and Greg Ham. Thus, through examining the way in which the memory of Greg Ham and the song has combined with the tragedy resulting from the trial, audiences perceive a resolute yet unforeseen circumstance that continues to enshrine Down Under as an iconic Australian song. The most salient act of representation which interplays both personal memory and public perception is Frearsʼ usage of the extended metaphor and anthropomorphic image of the Monarch of the Glen. In this scene, Elizabeth II drives into the wilderness and encounters a majestic 14 pointer stag, and in a deliberate MIS-en-scene, a far shot frames the stag in the same manner as the painting by Edward Lanseer “Monarch of the Glen.” The stag motif represents the Queenʼs position as the monarch of her nation, an untouchable and distant figure which represents the dignity and cultural heritage of her nation. The monarch, the stag, is alone, it does not have companions, metaphorically standing firm in the captured scene. However, a latter scene reveals that the stag was shot. Metaphorically, Frears utilizes this idea of the hunted to illustrate the vulnerability of the Queen as a human being who can be hurt. This is further metaphorically shown in an over the shoulder shot where the queen notes, “Oh, it was wounded.” Her sentiment reveals to the audience that even the Queen is only human. Together, history and memory, Frears again demonstrates that the connection of history and memory produces a required and unpredicted appreciation for the film. As such, in studying the