Respect: Aretha Franklin Biopic

Posted by Speakeasy News > Monday 23 August 2021 > Ready to Use

A new biopic of soul diva Aretha Franklin takes its title from one of her most famous songs, “Respect”. This resource will introduce pupils first to the song, which became an anthem for the women’s movement and the civil-rights movement. Then they can discover the biopic. Jennifer Hudson was chosen by Franklin herself before her … Continue reading “Respect: Aretha Franklin Biopic”

Bringing the Underground Railroad to the Screen

Posted by Speakeasy News > Friday 16 July 2021 > What's On

African-American author Colson Whitehead and film director Barry Jenkins both made the same mistake when they were children and first heard about the Underground Railroad. The historical Underground Railroad was a network of people who helped slaves escape from the American South to freedom in the northern states or Canada. Both Whitehead and Jenkins pictured … Continue reading “Bringing the Underground Railroad to the Screen”

Shine Bright AMC File 13 Land of the Free

Posted by Speakeasy News > Monday 05 July 2021 >

In our series of author videos presenting different chapters of Shine Bright AMC, here is File 13 Land of the Free, presented by its author Rebecca Oudin-Shannon. This file fits into the Terminale theme Faire société Axe 2 Libertés publiques et libertés individuelles and looks at different aspects of the U.S. constitution before asking pupils … Continue reading “Shine Bright AMC File 13 Land of the Free”

Musical New York Taken to New Heights

Posted by Speakeasy News > Thursday 24 June 2021 > What's On

A musical about Latino communities in New York – it’s not Steven Spielberg’s long-awaited remake of West Side Story but In the Heights – by Hamilton creator Lin Manuel Miranda. It’s all singing, rapping and dancing and screams “summer”! It’s a feelgood story about a Manhattan neighbourhood threatened with gentrification, and the aspirations of the … Continue reading “Musical New York Taken to New Heights”

“Strange Fruit”: a Searing Protest Song

Posted by Speakeasy News > Tuesday 25 May 2021 > Celebrate

Jazz singer Billie Holiday’s 1939 recording of “Strange Fruit” has become one of the most potent protest songs in U.S. history. Its images of lynched African Americans accompanied the civil-rights movement but still evoke uncomfortable truths today. The song was written by a Jewish Communist high-school teacher, Abel Meeropol. It was originally a poem, written … Continue reading ““Strange Fruit”: a Searing Protest Song”

Billie Holiday: Blues and Civil Rights

Posted by Speakeasy News > Thursday 20 May 2021 > What's On

A new biopic of Billie Holiday alleges the blues singer was persecuted by the Federal Bureau of Narcotics over her support for the civil rights movement and her insistence on singing the powerful anti-lynching anthem “Strange Fruit.” Jazz singer Andra Day won a Best Actress Golden Globe for her portrayal of Holiday. The United States … Continue reading “Billie Holiday: Blues and Civil Rights”

Shine Bright AMC File 5 Black Lives Matter

Posted by Speakeasy News > Friday 30 April 2021 >

In our series of author videos presenting different chapters of Shine Bright AMC, here is File 5 Black Lives Matter, presented by its authors Lynda Itouchène and Laura Pires. This file fits into the Première theme Représentations Axe 1 Faire entendre sa voix : représentation et participation.   You can browse this file and all the … Continue reading “Shine Bright AMC File 5 Black Lives Matter”

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”