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Comparing the Three Texts ADVANCED TEXT Spartans are criticized in this text. This is a portrayal of the real life Spartans, who were macho in the movie. The text mentions the battle of Marathon, won by the Athenians and abandoned by the Spartans. They're said to be ungrateful in 300 .  David Brin wrote that text. MEDIUM TEXT Alan Moore wrote that text, and said the research about homosexuality was not really true. The Spartans supported homosexuality, but the movie associated the villain with ambiguous sexuality. EASY TEXT This text explains that historical Xerxes finished many projects started by his father, and built many monuments (bridges, gates). It also speaks about the construction of palaces and architecture. Xerxes was also a Zoroastrian, and Greek historians viewed him as a deeply religious king. There were pictures of Xerxes. The comic book and the movie depicted him as villainous and decadent. An ancient bas-relief showed him with a beard and a long rob...

A Tale of Two Kings  Today we considered the description of King Leonidas and King Xerxes in 300 . Leonidas is the king of Sparta, and he is described as a warrior, and a defender of democracy (he has a shield). He looks good, with a full beard. He is describe as a manly hero, in love with his wife. Xerxes, on the other hand, is depicted as a half naked villain. He wears make-up, and has a lot of jewelry on. He is shown as having homosexual tendencies in the movie. Warm Up the Iron Curtain chemical fiancé [ fiˈɒnseɪ] vs [ ˌfiː.ɑːnˈseɪ] to build built built

Watching a Trailer Today we watched the trailer for 300, a Hollywood movie from 2007. 300 takes places during the Antiquity, and tells the story of Spartan warriors defending Greece against a Persian invasion. In the trailer, there were two armies. It was rather bloody and violent (with lots of men falling from a cliff). The Spartans are the good guys, they seem pure, with nothing on their faces. They have no armour on.  On the other hand, the Persians are the bad guys, they have piercings on their faces, and they have monsters on their side. The good Spartans are an army of 300 against a million Persians. We can link this trailer with G.W. Bush's speech, where Spartans represent democracy, and the Persians represent dictatorship. Warm Up "break a leg" the Waco shooting -> a cult ( une secte ), a sect ( un culte ). 1994 nobody knows their parents' secret life. Manichean = no in-between, either good or bad, black or white.

the Axis of Evil Speech civilized / civilised coalition oppression embassy scope madness nuclear nuclear threaten timid regimes North Korea Iran Iraq Axis of Evil indifference the Axis of Evil Speech Today we studied a new period, the "War on Terror" that started in Sept. 2001. We considered a map that summarized (to summarize= résumer ) the Clash Of Civilization theory by Samuel Huntington, which inspired G.W. Bush's administration for the "War on Terror" doctrine.  Then we listened to the Axis of Evil Speech. It mentions 9/11, and the war in Afghanistan. We noticed it was a warlike speech, and very similar to Ronald Reagan's Evil Empire speech. However, it sounded more aggressive, because it mentions successful missions, the Guantanamo jail, and the occupation of other countries. In the audience, some people were emotional. G.W. Bush called the French timid for not backing the US into going to war against Iraq. Then he compares th...

Rocky IV As A Political Movie Today, we finished talking about the training montage sequence in Rocky IV ; we remembered that Rocky is a builder (he builds a fire, his training is meaningful), he trains in Nature in the light. This sequence reminds us of Ronald Reagan's speech. Reagan thought America was declining, and he wanted to "make America great again." That's what Rocky is doing: he's trying to become great again, to become a real American again (to become stronger, to fight his enemy, to come closer to Nature and God).  On the other hand, the Soviet boxer builds nothing, is artificial, and trains in darkness. He represents the "aggressive impulses of an Evil Empire." With all his training equipment, he is dehumanized, he has become a machine.

Training Montage Today we watched a training montage from Rocky 4. A training montage is a sequence when the hero goes from being a loser to being a winner. This kind of scene features uplifting music, dynamic shots and the hero going through repetitive actions. Warm Up arm race, space race it lasted from x to x a probe it consists in a peaceful struggle manifestation / display technological supremacy to catch up rivalry Apollo programme USSR experimental beast -> guinea pig chemicals many items of training / devices Soviet way trining in a room, kind of US ports ht eUSSR is more aggressive than the USA the Russian fighhters  as a giant USA forest US way Rocky is training outside in the snow like in Russia Rocky is the stronger / strongest cuts the tree, it falls

Symbolic Gloves  Today we watched the very introduction to Rocky IV. It showed two fists / boxing gloves slowly rising up. They moved quite slowly, unlike the gloves of real boxers. Each had the flag of their respective country on them (the USA and the USSR). Then they clashed against each other, and exploded. We noticed they were silvery, as if they were made out of metal. Their movement reminded us of nuclear warheads (missiles). Maybe this intro could represent the conflict between the USA and the USSR. In the end, only the American glove stands, the Soviet glove falls on the ground. The music played an important role, it was uplifting. The logo of the MGM studio is here to say "this is a Hollywood movie." It bears a strong resemblance with Ronald Reagan's speech: Americans have to be ready for war ; he denounced the USSR as an Evil Empire. warm up patriotic / Jingoistic good against evil