THE IDEA OF PROGRESS - THE BUTLER + AN ARTCLE ABOUT OPRAH WINFREY

The Idea Of Progress

There are different types of progress : social progress, technological progress, scientific progress….

Progress  makes the world a better place – it improves people’s lives but it takes time, it is not always easy to achieve.

A famous African-American writer said: without a struggle, there can be no progress

So my question is: what makes progress possible? What makes social progress possible?

-          In class we studied the trailer of a movie called THE BUTLER – it illustrates the idea of progress and how  progress can be achieved. 

THE BUTLER – MOVIE 

THE TRAILER:

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The hero: his name is Cecil Gaines

He was born in the 1930’s on a cotton plantation in the South

When he was a child, he picked cotton with his father – he didn’t go to school

At that time, blacks were still treated like salves

His father was shot and killed by the plantation owner – his mother was raped

HE HAD A DIFFICULT CHILDHOOD – IT MADE PROGRESS VERY HARD TO ACHIEVE

When he was a teenager, he decided to leave the plantation

He didn’t want to live like his father

Fortunately he had one skill: he knew how ot serve

He managed to get a job as a butler

Later, he was hired as a butler in the White House in Washington DC where he worked for 30 years. He served 7 US Presidents (names:…)

So he climbed up the social ladder and joined the middle class

He overcame many difficulties (to overcome = surmonter)

His hard work and his determination made progress possible for him but he was all his life a servant to white people

2.       In the film, OPRAH WINFREY plays his wife

We read an article about OPRAH WINFREY (America’s beloved best friend)

There are similarities in her life with Cecil Gaines

She had a very difficult childhood – she came from a very poor family - she was raped when she was young –

Now she is one the the richest women in the US – she is world famous and has a lot of influence

She overcame a lot of obstacles and she is a symbol of progress

3.       The Butler

        Cecil Gaines had a son, Louis – Louis represents another form of progress

4.       In the 1960’s LOUIS became involved in the Civil Rights Movements and he took part in sit-ins to fight against segregation and discrimination. Segregation (in schools, buses, public places) was abolished in 1964 so we can say that progress was made possible thanks to the people who took action who risked their lives , who refused to accept injustice.  We studied a scene from the movie in which Louis takes part in a sit-in in a segregated restaurant:

THE FIGHT FOR PROGRESS  IN THE US IN THE 1960’s – THE BUTLER

THE WORKSHOP

AT THE RESTAURANT – The SIT-IN

Main character = Louis Gaines: the butler’s son. The scene takes place in Tennessee in 1960. There is an underground organisation called ‘the school of love’to fight against  SEGREGATION The goal is to build an army whose only weapon is love. The students learn about Ghandi’s techniques. It is based on non-violence and peaceful resistance. The students have no weapons and they can get killed. 4 qualites are necessary to achieve preogress : patience, persistence, intelligence and thought. The students are trained to resist insults, physical and mental (psychological) violence. They must not break down when they are attacked.  This training makes progress possible because the students learn how to fight without violence

The second part of the scene takes place in a segregated restaurant. A group of students, both black and white are sitting at the counter. At that time, restaurants in the south were segregated. Blacks were not allowed to sit at the counter. They say they would like to be served but they are sitting in a section reserved to white people. The white customers are shocked; they can’t believe what’s happening. The waitress refuses to serve them. They stay for hours without moving. Then a small group of angry white men come in and attack the protesters violently. They insult them, they punch and kick them, they throw food in their faces... But the black students still don’t react (they are poker face) . They never break down. Finally they are arrested but they don’t resist arrest.   THEIR COURAGE , THEIR  PATIENCE, THEIR PERSISTANCE  MADE PROGRESS POSSIBLE BECAUSE SEGREGATION WAS ABOLISHED IN 1964

 

TOP TEN TV ANTI HEROES WORKSHEET

TOP 10 TV ANTI-HEROES

INTRO : this video deals with TV show heroes who make bad choices and do bad things for selfish motives but we root for them, we support them and we can identify with them

Protagonist/ name of the show	What makes him/her a hero	What makes him/her an anti-hero
a vigilante: someone who takes the law into his (her) own hands Ruthless = pitiless Jackson Teller – Sons of Anarchy	His goal is to keep his family safe He is a good, loving father	He plays by his own rules He can kill his enemies in cold blood He is violent and pitiless
Jack BAUER – 24 An agent of the Counter Terrorist Unit	His goal is to keep his country safe	He is a killer – he takes drugs, he tortures people His methods are unethical
Nicholas Brody Homeland	He was an AL Quaeda prisoner for years When he comes back to the US he is considered as a hero	He is unfaithful to his wife He is a liar He may be a terrorist, ready to attack his own country
a drug lord Greed = excessive desire for wealth or power To be greedy To rid = to get rid of Walter White  Breaking bad	A high school chemistry teacher – He has terminal cancer His goal is to be able to support his family after his death (to support = subvenir aux besoins de)	He cooks meth thanks to his skills as a chemistry teacher He becomes a drug dealer and a drug lord (un baron de la drogue) He becomes addicted to money and to power  he becomes greedy
DEXTER	By day, he works for the Miami police (he is a blood splatter analyst)	By night, he hunts criminals who have escaped justice and he sentences them to death. He kills because he likes it - he is pitiless He takes the law into his own hands

ARTICLE/ VILLAINS DO IT BETTER

Villains Do It Better: Why This Generation Is Obsessed With The Anti-Hero

Dec 23, 2013 – Elite Daily

Think about your favorite television shows. Think about your favorite character. Is he a power-hungry politician? Is he maybe a motorcycle gang member, or is he a narcissistic philanderer in ad sales? Do you root for the man cooking the meth or the DEA agent trying to stop him? Do you root for the savior or the criminal?

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The anti-hero is the protagonist who does not have the traditional qualities of the admirable leading man or woman. He or she lacks courage, kindness and nobility, but most notably, moral goodness. It’s a character wrought with flaws and demons, disregarding the normal societal processes for his or her own agenda. It’s become a compelling phenomenon based on the concept that we are rooting for someone who is violating everything we’ve ever known as right.

The best example of the anti-hero archetype is “Breaking Bad.” The AMC series was the first national celebration of the anti-hero since “The Sopranos.” An entire nation was found rooting for a meth lord who turned to murder and betrayal to keep his empire functioning. We watch the dissolution of his marriage, friendships and career in an attempt to gain power and wealth.

We watched him turn from an acquiescent chemistry teacher to a power-hungry drug dealer and still never faltered in our allegiance and devotion to him. It’s a strange thing when you step away from the man you’ve been idolizing and look at him as who he really is: a criminal, a madman and villain.

As a whole, we have come to celebrate the reign of the flawed men and women who stand in the spotlight. From “Breaking Bad,” “American Horror Story,” “The Sopranos,” “Girls,” “Boardwalk Empire,” almost every show we love is led by a flawed character — a man or woman with questionable actions and motives — always self-serving and determined to succeed at any cost.

We follow these characters throughout their journeys: their quests for redemption, fame, fortune and love — the same common goals we find ourselves longing after. And like ourselves, we see the selfishness that comes with attaining goals and dreams. We watch other people commit betrayal and wrongdoing that comes with human nature.

Unlike the shows of our parents’ generation, when the main characters were examples of the ideal American citizen, housewife, husband or child, these main characters are the undesirables, the flawed and the evil that encompasses the true American culture, not just projections of what we want it to be.

But why do we love them? Why do we find ourselves rooting for the ones who steal, lie and cheat? Why do we support the ones who sell meth and murder innocents? The ones who betray their lovers, alienate their friends and get even at any cost. What does this say about us?

It says we’re realistic; we understand the true fabric of what makes this country great, the flaws of the people and their selfish motives. We live in an age of divorce, corruption and celebrity meltdowns, realizing at a young age that no one is perfect and watching someone perfect isn’t what we want to see. We want to see the people like us, the people with flaws and mixed morals. We want to watch the people who don’t know how to behave correctly all the time and don’t always make the morally correct decision.

We love them because it’s cathartic to love them. They make us feel better about those lies we told and those acts of betrayal. We don’t feel so bad about our own mistakes and flaws when we see others doing the same.


NOTES DE COURS:

. We root for Walter White although / even though he is a drug lord who doesn’t hesitate to betray and murder people. He becomes greedy and power-hungry although at first he was a harmless teacher, a devoted husband and father .  This mix of good and evil makes him an  anti-hero, someone we find / fascinating.

So in spite  of all his flaws, we can’t help rooting for him. (on en peut s'empêcher de le  soutenir)

harmless = inoffensif - harmful = nuisible, néfaste 

4. why are anti-heroes so attractive and popular?

First, they are flawed, just like us. We share the same goals in life: the quest of love, success and redemption. We can’t help identifying with them because they are as imperfect as we are.

People want fictional heroes to be realistic, not perfect individuals. We can identify with  them because of their flaws, unethical choices, questionable  behaviour.