Traditions Vs Modernity

       All along the movie, we can see a real conflict between the traditional face of the U.K. and its modern side. There is an effective confrontation that opposes the Queen, conservative and attached to the customs, and the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, described as the modernizer of the country. A few examples illustrate this conflict: 

     The Prime Minister advices to let the flag fly at half mast above Buckingham Palace, whereas the Queen wants to respect the tradition which is that the flag should only be flying in presence of the monarch in the Palace. 

Also, the Royal Family wants private funeral, in a more traditional and discreet way, when the Prime Minister assures the requirement of a public funeral to help the population to be in mourning.

The activities of the Royal Family are also very different of the Prime Minister ones:  when the royal family goes fishing, hunting and other ancient conserved activities of the British monarchy, the Prime Minister likes to go golfing.

       Finally, the traditional/modern conflict is reflected by the cloth and behaviors on both sides.

 The Queen has a very strict dress code to respect. We could quote the length of her dresses: never above the knees. The tradition demands as well to never show your back to the Queen. 

We can obviously feel the tension in the insolent and provocative attitude of the Prime Minister’s wife during the first meeting at Buckingham Palace, which shows her disagreement about this tradition and the traditional style of the monarchy in general.

Reflections regarding elected power / inherited power in the British monarchy)

Throughout the film, the two powers frequently collide, showing two different views on the British society. First is the traditional view, represented by the Queen, her inherited power's legitimity being constantly challenged by her people who seem to believe more in the modernity embodied by Prime Minister Tony Blair. Indeed, the monarchy refuses to listen to the will of people concerning the burial of "Princess" Diana in Buckingham Palace which would go against the royal traditions. Moreover, the apparent impassibility of the Queen is confronted to the deep sorrow of her people. In the end, the elected power wins since the will of the people is granted by Diana's national funeral and tribute.
We can conclude that even though British people are profoundly attached to their monarchy and traditions, their defiance towards the Queen and her refusal to listen to the people's requests show the limit of inherited power whose role doesn't make he royals care for the people's will. Conversely, an elected power must be regardful when taking decisions as its position is always at stake.

Use the posts of your classmates to reflect on the "collisions" in British culture we spoke about in class; tradition vs. modernity, inherited power vs. elected power and the instinct for privacy vs. media demands for information.
Come prepared to discuss:
Are these are distinctly British problems?
Do these things keep the British insular and "unto themselves" or unwilling/unable to be a part of the EU?

Here is the summary from our class last week.

Sorry for the delay!

People got involved in the protest of the war by both making and 

seeing artwork of different forms. The majority of the artwork we

looked at were visual; performance art, sculptures, installations 

paintings, photomontages and photo-journalism. Perhaps the 

performance by Chris burden was the most interesting and 

engaging because it made the viewer use different senses to

interpret the artwork.

This video is a compilation of extracts from a speech delivered by the Reverand Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1967 at the Riverside Church in New York City. It is entitled "A Time to Break the Silence". The entire speech is 1 hour in length which makes it too long for me to require you to listen, but I highly recommend it.

You must analyze and contextualizethe speech. You will turn in what you have written next week and I will ask two people to present orally their analysis. This means that each of you needs to prepare to present your findings without directly reading your papers! Practice your pronunciation and look up words you are unsure of.

Here is the answer key to the vocabulary homework:

Vietnam War Vocabulary

***NOUNS Ally /ˈælaɪ/ attack awareness bomb casualty of war communism counter-culture defender /dɪˈfendər/ drug establishment event hippy honor influence lead figure/leader machine gun : mitraillette marine : un fusilier marin napalm /ˈneɪpɑːm/ national anthem negotiation patriot /ˈpeɪtriət/ patriotism peace process

photojournalism platoon:une section, un peleton /pləˈtuːn/ politicianPolitics POW : prisoner of war public opinion shame /ʃeɪm/ soldier target /ˈtɑːrɡɪt/ the armed forces the army the draft = conscription war reporter war veteran weapon /ˈwepən/ ** Adjectives (be) aware of (be) drafted (get) involved in anti-war (activist) ashamed /əˈʃeɪmd/ disrespectful honest /ˈɑːnɪst/ iconic: /aɪˈkɑːnɪk/

pacifist pitiless proud /praʊd/ wounded ***VERBS and expressions Bomb burst /bɜːrst/ change people's minds declare war on defend demonstrate / protest disapprove of escape fire go to war : entrer en guerre oppose (something) rape : violer salute the flag /səˈluːt/ serve in the war ****Quotes "Make love not war" Flower Power movement, 1960s

1/ Look up the pronunciation of the underlined words in the Oxford pronunciation dictionary online. Write down the phonetic transcription, then listen and repeat the words to practice your pronunciation.

2/ Synonyms -  In the list, find the synonyms/equivalent of the following words:

1. impact = impact 2. war victim = casuality of war 3. flee (away) = escape

4. march = demonstration 5. GI =    soldier                   6. be conscious of = be aware of

7. offensive = attack            8. stand against = oppose            9. (fire)arm = weapon

10. explode =  burst 

3/ Contraries – in the list, find the contraries of the following words:

1. pride ≠ shame                     2. pro-war activist ≠ anti war activist      3. opponent ≠ defender

4. respectful ≠ disrespectful        5. hypocrite ≠ honest        6. capitalism ≠ communism

7. agree with ≠ disapprove of      8. enemy ≠ ally

4/ Read the definition* and find the accurate word in the list Reference*: Oxford's Learner's Dictionary

leader: the people in a society or a profession who have influence and power and who usually do not support change.

Photojournalism: the work of giving news mainly using photographs, especially in a magazine.

The draft: the practice of ordering people by law to serve in the military forces.

Counter culture: a way of life and a set of ideas that are opposed to those accepted by most of society

politician: a person whose job is concerned with politics

communism: a political movement that believes in an economic system in which the state controls the means of producing everything on behalf of the people. It aims to create a society in which everyoneis treated equally.

Negotiations: a series of talks and agreements designed to end war or violence between two groups

napalm: a substance like jelly, made from petrol/gas, that burns and is used in making bombs.

Wounded: injured by a weapon, for example in a war

Here is the link to "Argentina's Carrot Mob" for your homework.

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/05/03/carrotmob.consumer.movement/index.html?iref=allsearch