Nomadland: On the Road for the 21st Century

Posted by Speakeasy News > Friday 11 June 2021 > Ready to Use Shine Bright Lycée

Nomadland, the multi-Oscar-winning film by Chloé Zhao, makes an excellent extension to Shine Bright LLCER File 7 On the Road for 1ère, or File 19 Modern Western for Terminale. It could also be interesting to use with Shine Bright AMC File 13 Land of the Free in connection with Freedom from Want. The story of … Continue reading “Nomadland: On the Road for the 21st Century”

David Copperfield

Posted by Speakeasy News > Sunday 23 May 2021 > Ready to Use

Dickens’ classic, David Copperfield, is given new life in this movie by Armando Ianucci. Beyond the slightly reinvented plot itself, we are given to experience a new way of telling stories, as boundaries between reality and fiction are blurred if not crossed. What’s more, this brand-new funny version features colour-blind casting and leads us to … Continue reading “David Copperfield”

News of the West

Posted by Speakeasy News > Monday 26 April 2021 > Ready to Use

News of the World is a not-so-classic Western starring Tom Hanks as a newsreader travelling across the U.S. during a violent and tumultuous period after the American Civil War. In a neat inversion of Indian abduction narratives like John Ford’s classic The Searchers, the Confederate veteran here is trying to return a child to her … Continue reading “News of the West”

Ruby Bridges, Civil-Rights Icon

Posted by Speakeasy News > Tuesday 23 February 2021 > Ready to Use

Ruby Bridges didn’t choose to become a civil-rights icon. It was her parents who, in 1960, chose to accept that their 6-year-old daughter would be the first African-American child to integrate a white school in the American South. But as an adult, Bridges, who was immortalised by Norman Rockwell, has fought indefatigably for civil rights … Continue reading “Ruby Bridges, Civil-Rights Icon”

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris Profiles

Posted by Speakeasy News > Friday 27 November 2020 > Ready to Use

Although President Trump is still making legal challenges over the election, it seems certain that after the January Inauguration, Joe Biden will become the 46th President of the U.S.A. and Kamala Harris, his running mate, will be the first black female Vice-President  and to thus make history. Thanks to this B1 article, the students will … Continue reading “Joe Biden and Kamala Harris Profiles”

Roald Dahl’s The Witches

Posted by Speakeasy News > Thursday 05 November 2020 > Ready to Use

Roald Dahl’s The Witches was published in 1983, a typically twisted tale of witches who look like normal women and want to eliminate children by turning them into mice. A second film version, this time  by American director Robert Zemeckis, was scheduled for a November release. Like everything else, it’s on hold for lockdown, but … Continue reading “Roald Dahl’s The Witches”

The Art of Being a Dandy: Aubrey Beardsley

Posted by Speakeasy News > Wednesday 04 November 2020 > Ready to Use

Despite his early death aged 25, Aubrey Beardsley (1872-1898) had a prolific career as an illustrator. Part of the Aesthetic movement, a friend of Oscar Wilde’s, Beardsley was a dandy and turned his own short life into a work of art. To accompany the exhibition currently on hold at the Musée d’Orsay, this resource explores … Continue reading “The Art of Being a Dandy: Aubrey Beardsley”