Girls Education in the 1950s

The document under study is an extract from a documentary on girl’s education in the 1950s. We have learned that girls were educated to be good housewives and mothers. They would go to college  to attend classes such as Domestic Sciences courses or Home Economics lessons. Theses courses were made to teach young ladies to become housewives and raise children. Their main ambition was to find a husband and have children. On another hand, for the ladies who wanted to have a job outside the house, they only had 4 options: being a teacher, a nurse, a secretary, a stewardess/flight attendant. They were very limited. As a consequence, it created social inequalities between men and women.

On the contrary, nowadays, education is more equal: girls and boys can choose whatever they want to study. Moreover, women are not dependent of men. They can be political leaders, CEOs, doctors…

Homework: Learn the lesson.

How they raised girls to be women in the 1950s

The document under study an extract from a documentary on women’s role in the 1950s. We have learned that girls would go to school to be educated in order to be a good housewife. For example, they would attend classes of Domestic Sciences to learn how to cook, clean, take care of children… They were not supposed to aspire to another career. If they really wanted to have a job, they only had 4 options: nurse, teacher, secretary and stewardess/flight attendant.

Girls were raised this way to prevent them from having any forms of power, freedom an ambitions. On the contrary, men could have access to a proper education and could do whatever they wanted to.

Nowadays, we all have access to the same education. We are still fighting for equality in some parts of the society (equal pay). Nevertheless, the social situation of women has greatly evolved, they can be political leaders, CEOs, doctors… Women are free to choose whatever they wanted to do. They are no longer forced to stay at home and raise children.

Homework: Learn the lesson.

 (at the following of what we did last time)

Being historical is not necessary to make a good movie. However, it can intensify the message sent by the movie director when the facts told are realistic.

For the movie “Hidden Figures”, it was very important for the film to be realistic because they wanted to bring the true story of these female scientists on the big screen. Therefore, using historical facts and the help of historians and experts impacts the way the message is transferred to the audience.

Sometimes, to captivate the audience it is very useful to romanticize the script and not to follow all the experts’ advice. Indeed, immersing the viewers allows them to enjoy a more entertaining story. Filmmakers like to have a balance between a dramatic touch and historical facts.

 (At the following of what we did last time)

Not all movies should be historical because there are many successful movies that are not historical. They can belong to the sci-fi, fantasy, animated, comedy, romantic, adventure, futuristic genres…

However, a historical movie should be realistic and respect the real story because the movie is giving an image of what really happened to the viewers. This image should be faithful to what really happen so that everyone can have access to the true facts.

For the movie “Hidden Figures”, accuracy was important. The movie director listened to the advice of the NASA historians and the math experts. Nevertheless, for the sake of dram, he chose to romanticize some aspects for the story.

Indeed, filmmakers decide sometimes not to follow all experts’ advice because sometimes there are little details that do not matter so much for the historical report to leave some space to the dramatic touch.

The "no more colored bathroom, no more white bathroom" scene.

Be ready for the Final Task on Thursday May, 28th 

Kamal Harris, First Female Vice President of the USA

The document under study is news report from ABC News published in January 2021. It deals with Kamala Harris being the very first female black president in the USA and her impact on the country. We have learned that she is the daughter of a Jamaican father and an Indian (South Asia) mother. Before being VP of the USA, she was a Senator and General state attorney for the state of California. Hence, she is known as someone who broke barriers because she was the first woman being general attorney in America. Moreover, she was the first female district attorney of San Francisco. On top of that, the second black woman to be a Senator, and eventually, the first female VP.

It is important for young girls to feel represented in high positions because there is power in seeing someone that looks like you. Indeed, it is inspiring and it gives confidence to young girls to push them to do the same someday.

Homework: Learn the lesson. 

Kamala Harris, Frist Female Vice President of the USA

The document under study is a news report from ABC News published in January 2021. It deals with Kamala Harries, a famous American political leader.

Kamala Harris was elected Vice President in 2020 with Joe Biden as President. Her parents were from minority groups: her mother came from South Asia, India, and her father came from Jamaica (former British colonies). She is seen as a person who breaks barriers as she became the first woman to become VP. Moreover, she was the second black female to become a US Senator.

Homework: Learn the lesson.

The People Behind the Film

Text A: The Real Heroes

The document under study is an extract from a web article published in 2017. It deals with the fact that behind the space heroes, there were human computers who solved and calculated by hand complex equations that allowed the space mission to happen safely. They were the figures hidden behind the heroes.

Text B: Math teacher to the stars

The document under study is an extract from an article published in 2019. It deals with the fact that the movie director hired a real math expert to make the movie seem more realistic. Hence, professor Rudy Horne was this expert. He helped designing the formulas and make sure they were correct. On top of that, he taught the main actress to learn the formulas in her script in order to make them her own.

Text C: Bringing Hidden History to the Big Screen

The document under study is an extract from article from Science News For Students, published in 2017.

It deals with the hiring of a historian at NASA for the shooting of the film Hidden Figures: Bill Barry. Indeed, he was here to make the film more realistic and credible. For some parts, not all of his recommendations were kept. In fact, the movie director decided to keep some scenes romanticized to add a dramatic touch.

Homework: learn the lesson.