Ignore the glass ceiling – Wear the suit

The document under study is an extract from an episode of the TV series “The Diplomat”. We can see two characters: Vice President Grace Penn and Kate Wyler who is a diplomat in the UK and would like to become the next Vice President of the USA. Kate is being advised by the VP on her appearance to look like a suitable candidate for Vice President. Therefore, to do so, Kate will need to improve her look (clothes, hair, accessories…). Kate decides to wear a simple black or navy suit most of the time as she does not want to draw too much attention to herself. She seems reluctant to the words of advice, nevertheless, she still listens to them as she wants to succeed.

To conclude, the scene reveals that to be able to break the glass ceiling, women should look presentable to look trustworthy to the public. Indeed, women can break the glass ceiling but not with merit and efforts that they obtain this position, it will be through their physical appearance. Therefore, they are not really breaking the glass ceiling because they are reinforcing the stereotypes.

Homework: Learn the lesson.

Be ready for an Oral Comprehension on the Theme of the Chapter on Friday, Novembre 13th

A “Giant Mistake”

The document under study is a news report from E!News, published in 2020. It deals with the famous Hollywood actors Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds who got married in Boone Hall plantation, South Carolina in 2012. At the time, they were not aware of the atrocities that happened there. Indeed, they just saw beautiful pictures of a nice place to host their event without asking further questions.

Upon realizing that it was a “giant mistake” to have gotten married at this plantation, they publically apologized and they donated one million dollars to the NAACP, a civil rights association that have been fighting for the rights of African Americans since 1909. On top of that, some websites, such as Pinterest and The Knot decided to stop romanticizing plantations to be used as wedding venues to attract customers. They also deleted the pictures from their websites.

Homework: Learn the lesson.

Be ready to conclude the lesson the analysis of the video: How could Lively and Reynold's actions cha,ge the way the public sees plantations?

Be ready for an Oral Comprehension on the Theme of the Chapter on Friday, Novembre 13th

“A Giant Mistake”

The document under study is a news report from E!News published in 2020. It deals with two famous Hollywood actors: Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds. We learn that they got married at Boone Hall plantation in South Carolina in 2012. They have been having regrets for getting married there because at the time they did not know about the difficult past and all the atrocities that happened at the plantation.

When they became aware of their “giant mistake”, they publicly apologized and they donated one million dollars to a civil rights association called the NAACP (they have been fighting for the civil rights of African Americans since 1909).  On top of that, some websites such as Pinterest and the Knot stopped promoting venues that romanticize plantations.

Homework: Learn the lesson.

Be ready to conclude the lesson the analysis of the video: How could Lively and Reynold's actions cha,ge the way the public sees plantations?

Be ready for an Oral Comprehension on the Theme of the Chapter on Friday, Novembre 13th

 Ignore the glass ceiling – Wear the Suit

The document under study is an extract from the TV Series “The Diplomat”. In this scene we can see Kate Wyler, who is a diplomat in the UK, and the Vice President of the USA. Kate is being advised by the VP to improve the way she dressed up / her image in order to become herself the future Vice President.

Upon hearing all these words of advice, Kate seems annoyed. She refuses to wear dresses and prefers to wear mere black or navy suits in order not to draw too much attention on herself. Nevertheless, she listens carefully to the words of advice to make the right impression.

To conclude, for women to be able to break the glass ceiling have to look presentable, with a neat appearance even more than men do. Indeed, for a female politician, her appearance matters more to look trustworthy to the public than men.

Homework: Learn the lesson.

Be ready for an Oral Comprehension on the Theme of the Chapter on Friday, Novembre 13th

 (At the following of what we did last time)

Franck Underwood is portrayed as an ambitious and vengeful politician driven by a burning desire for power after being passed over for a presidential position. He can be described as manipulative as he divides, intricate schemes and manipulative public opinion to destroy his rivals. Moreover, he is also Machiavellian and ruthless employing ruthless tactics such as blackmail bribery and calculating betrayal to climb the political ladder.

In House of Cards, the show emphasizes that real power in Washington does not lie/reside with elected officials alone but with lobbyists and big businesses who control and influence them behind the scene.

To conclude, House of Cards presents a dark, negative, cynical and Machiavellian vision of politics, where personal ambitions and money are more important than serving the country. Indeed, the end justifies the means. Nevertheless, the power is fragile as a house of cards because it mainly built on lies.

 Homework: Learn the lesson.

 (at the following of what we did last time)

Franck Underwood is portrayed as an ambitious, manipulative, ruthless, calculating, smart, highly strategic politician. He works with his wife Claire to secure the presidency.

According to House of Cards, real power lies in big business and lobbyists because they influence political decisions behind the scenes.

The series peels back the curtain on the unsavory dance between politicians and those who pulled their strings.

To conclude, the vision of politics presented in House of Cards is negative, dark, corrupted, murky where politicians are ready to do anything to achieve their personal ambitions and interests for the pursuit of power. They are ready to use blackmail and bribery to do so.

Homework: Learn the lesson.

 Untold Lives in Focus

The document under study is a short documentary published in 2019 about the Whitney Plantation and its history. It is located in Edgar-Wallace, Louisiana, nearby the Mississippi River. It was established in 1752. It used to be a sugar, rice and indigo plantation. It kept on working their productions of rice and sugar up to the 1970s. There are several pieces of artwork scattered all over the plantation to pay tribute to the lives of the slaves and to give an immersive experience to the visitors. The particularity of the plantation is that it is the only museum in Louisiana that tells the story of slavery through the enslaved people’s point of view. The goal is to change people’s mind about slavery and show the real sides of this part of American history. Their will is to give back their voices to the voiceless (the slaves). Hence, during the tour, they tell about the economic aspects of slavery, the free labor from the enslaved, their place of origin (West Africa), the slave trade and the daily lives of the slaves on site.

To conclude, through this type of exhibition, it will help people to have a better understanding of one another nowadays. Moreover, it raises awareness on the way black people were mistreated in the past and the consequences on today’s race relations in America.

Homework: Learn the lesson.