Link to a playlist of short videos from the website « storycorps » that could be used to illustrate the different notions, in particular myths and heroes.
Film trailers that could be used to illustrate the Idea of Progress or Places and Forms of Power
The power of money:
The idea of progress – how virtual reality can be used to help people relive their past
A myth is a story that may or may not be true. There may not be records or other proof that they happened, but at least some parts of myths may be true. Some myths may have started as ‘true’ stories but as people re-told them some parts may have been changed by mistake, or to make them more interesting. All cultures have myths and this mythology has been developed over time. Mythology includes the legends of our history, our religions, stories of how the world was created, and our heroes. These stories have great symbolic power, and this may be a major reason why they survive as long as they do, sometimes for thousands of years.
A hero is a person who is admired for their courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. It can be the main character in a book or a film or a person with superhuman qualities. It can also be a modern-day hero, a person who has performed a heroic act or simply our own personal hero, our role model, who we look up to.
Examples can be:
– a patriotic or national hero (sportsman, politician, human rights defender…..)
– a fictitious hero (superhero or film star)
– an icon or role model (fashion, tv, music)
– a defender of common values
– unknown heroes (war heroes, firemen, rescue workers, charity workers….)
– our own personal hero (member of the family who you look up to)
A myth can be defined as a story about gods or heroes, it can be a popular belief or a tradition or a false notion. A hero can be a mythological figure, a person who is admired for his or her achievements, a superhero or maybe a role model or an icon.
Examples can be:
– a patriotic or national hero (sportsman, politician, human rights defender…..)
– a fictitious hero (superhero or film star)
– an icon or role model (fashion, tv, music)
– a defender of common values
– a politician/king/queen who has achieved international recognition
In politics and social science, power is the ability to influence the behavior of people. In order to live together members of a community accept rules, regulations, laws. This helps to create social cohesion but can also lead to conflicts and tensions. Even when authority seems absolute, there are always counter-powers which question it, aim at limiting its excesses and resist it.
Examples can be:
– the power of the media (reality tv, internet v written press)
– Financial power (the power of money)
– Inequalities between blacks and whites – the fight against oppression and segregation (South Africa, USA)
– The American Dream
– The Civil Rights movement and political recognition : Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X (can also be linked to the notion of Myths and Heroes)
The idea of progress can be defined as an improvement, a development or a change – a technical, scientific or social advance which contributes to making the world a better place.
Examples can be:
– Scientific Progress – Medical advances, cures for illnesses, cloning, performance enhancing drugs, genetically modified organisms.
– Technological Progress- technologies to slow down climate change such as hybrid cars, wind turbines, solar panels, biofuel…..
advances in communication: the internet, social media, mobile phones, video games – how they have changed our lives and the dangers of these modern ways of communication
Robots, automated production
Nuclear Power – for and against
– Social Progress: changes in the quality of life – how does progress affect our society?
Education, employment, equality, family life
Women’s rights, human rights, minority rights ……
The idea of liberty, freedom, democracy
This notion deals with the geographical and symbolic areas that all societies occupy and the interactions between men and different societies. Our world is built on the exploration and conquest of new spaces. The different cultural, economic, sociological and language interactions have shaped and characterised our modern-day world.
Examples can be:
– Trade (the basis of all societies)
– Working conditions (telecommuting, internet)
– Globalization (the world has become a small village)
– School and education (social diversity / knowledge) comparison of the different educational systems
– The Internet / social networks…
– the movement of people: Immigration
– movement across borders (Gap Year)
Pour plus d’informations vous pouvez consulter les pages suivantes:
http://missions.editions-bordas.fr/enseignant/webfm_send/108
A « prezi » (cloud-based presentation that can be projected onto a whiteboard) about myths and heroes. For each definition there is a video or film trailer to accompany it.
One person who is admired for his outstanding achievements is Martin Luther King. This year (2013) we celebrate the 50th anniversary of his famous speech « I have a dream ».
Martin Luther King Jr. was a civil rights activist in the 1950s and 1960s. He led non-violent protests to fight for the rights of all people including African Americans. He hoped that America and the world could become a society where race would not impact a person’s civil rights. Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta, GA on January 15, 1929. He went to Booker T. Washington High School. He was so smart that he skipped two grades in high school and started his college education at Morehouse College at the young age of fifteen. Martin’s father was a preacher which inspired Martin to pursue the ministry as well.
In his first major civil rights action, Martin Luther King Jr. led the Montgomery Bus Boycott. This started when Rosa Parks refused to move to give up her seat on a bus to a white man. As a result, Martin led a boycott of the public transportation system. The boycott lasted for over a year. It was very tense at times. Martin was arrested and his house was bombed, but in the end he prevailed and segregation on the Montgomery busses ended.
In 1963 Martin Luther King, Jr. helped to organize the famous March on Washington. Over 250,000 people attended this march in an effort to show the importance of civil rights legislation. They hoped for an end to segregation in public schools, protection from police abuse, and hoped to get laws preventing discrimination in employment. It was at this march where Martin gave his « I have a Dream » speech. This speech has become one of the most famous speeches in history. The march and Martin’s speech were a success. The Civil Rights Act was passed a year later in 1964.
Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4. 1968 in Memphis, TN. He was shot by James Earl Ray while standing on the balcony of his hotel.
Exchange this information with another student or use them in your presentations:
Did you know????
To find out more about Martin Luther King (MLK) and his famous speech you can:
– Visit the BBC history website
– Read and listen to the article on VOA
– Try this listening activity (listen to part of the famous speech)
– Watch the animated film about Martin Luther King’s life
Cartoons for discussion:
