Seen through the eyes of the iconic First Lady, Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy (Natalie Portman), Jackie is an intimate portrait of one of the most important and tragic moments in American history: the assassination of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy. President Kennedy’s assassination was a generation-marking event not just for Americans but for the millions of people … Continue reading “Jackie”
Ben Affleck’s gangster film Live By Night is a great opportunity to introduce your classes to the period of Prohibition. Live By Night centres on the organised crime gangs which profited from Prohibition by producing or importing illicit alcohol and running underground bars called speakeasies. The Bill of Rights Institute has free downloadable teaching resources … Continue reading “Prohibition”
Ben Affleck’s latest film is a return to a classic film genre: the gangster movie set during Prohibition-era U.S.A. Live By Night is actor Ben Affleck’s fourth film as a director, and the second to be adapted from a novel by Boston crime writer Dennis Lehane. His last film, Argo, won the best picture Oscar … Continue reading “Live By Night: Ben Affleck in Gangster Mode”
The Crown offers a fabulous insight in the British government in the second half of the twentieth century. The Netflix TV series could have just been a story of princesses and princes, crowns, palaces and fabulous dresses. And it is that, to a certain extent. But it also continues an examination of how Britain has … Continue reading “The Queen and her Prime Ministers”
Columbus Day in October is a good time for class work exploring this controversial figure, and how his legacy is perceived in the U.S.A. and in Spanish-speaking countries. Christopher Columbus is honoured with a national holiday in the U.S.A., on the second Monday in October. For collège, this is a relatively simple description of Columbus … Continue reading “Christopher Columbus, Myth or Hero?”
In less than 2 decades, with Zip2, PayPal, SpaceX and Tesla Motors, the South African entrepreneur Elon Musk has become one of the most influential entrepreneurs in the world. A mix between Tony (Iron Man) Stark and Henry Ford, Elon Musk’s life story reads like a myth or maybe a comic book. Born and raised in … Continue reading “Elon Musk: a Serial Entrepreneur”
The Beat Generation exhibition at the Paris Pompidou Centre looks at the legacy of these anti-conformist writers from the 1940s-1960s. It fits well into a lycée theme on Mythes et héros or L’idée de progrès. Or in LELE, the themes Voyage, parcours initiatique, exil or L’écrivain dans son siècle. See our article about the exhibition. … Continue reading “The Beat Generation on the Web”
The film Race tells the story of Jesse Owens’ victories at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Read more about the film in our article. Jesse Owens’ extraordinary achievements are a great topic both in collège and lycée, where it fits well into a Mythes et héros theme. Biographies This video from the film’s website mixes real … Continue reading “Jesse Owens Webpicks”
Muhammad Ali hadn’t boxed in over thirty years, but news of his death made the headlines around the world. Ali was much more than a sporting champion, a strong personality who made his mark on the civil rights movement. Former heavyweight World Boxing Champion Muhammad Ali died on 4 June, 2016. He had suffered from … Continue reading “Muhammad Ali Floated Like a Butterfly”
Muhammad Ali, world boxing champion and civil-rights activist, died in June 2016. This is a nice summary of Ali’s life and career from the BBC children’s news site. The video covers much the same information as the article, and could be tackled from A2, or used just for images along with selected facts for lower … Continue reading “Muhammad Ali On the Web”