With this week's reading and discussion about story-telling and history going hand in hand, it made me think back to last week with Elizabeth and her speech at Tilbury. I know a few others were also brought to this thought process as well. When I initially read the speech I immediately pictured her being grave or stern in giving the speech. I imagined it being something that was depressing yet encouraging. In my opinion, Helen Mirren's version wasn't completely off target but there were many things that I would have done differently. In her performance, she laughed some and made a couple of jokes, I suppose to lighten the mood and I agree that this was inappropriate but only because of the expectations of that time period. Today, if that situation were to occur it wouldn't seem to be such an big deal. On the other hand, I really enjoyed the way the serious parts of the speech were delivered and I also liked that she wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty. I think as long as she was successful at inspiring the men she spoke to then she ultimately succeeded no matter how exactly she gave the speech. It's hard to decide whether Helen Mirren's performance accurately depicts the true giving of the speech and we will never really know how Elizabeth herself delivered it. The way that famous rulers and the speeches they have given are depicted by Hollywood movie directors is one of the biggest ways we use to interpret history. Sometimes this helps our understanding of what happened but other times it hinders it. In this case, regardless of the few points that I didn't like, I think that Helen Mirren's portrayal of Elizabeth I and her performance of her speech at Tilbury overall help us have a better idea of the real Elizabeth and her history.