Oral Bac "Myths and Hereos" - Gangsters & antiheroes
Bonjour, je vais t'aider pour l'intro et le plan. J'ai déjà corrigé ou écrit plusieurs plan, intro, problématiques pour les futurs bacheliers, je vais donc te donner le début de l'intro (définition du héros et du mythe) que tu pourras réécrire à ta manière. J'adapte le reste en fonction de ton axe d'argumentation sur les anti-héros ou héros à controverse.
INTRODUCTION
In order to start my presentation about the notion "Myths and Heroes", I will, first, give a definition of the words 'myth' and 'heroes'. Myth comes from the Greek mythos (mûthos) which is "a story or set of stories having a significant truth or meaning for a particular culture, religion, society or a group of people" (wiktionary). Myths are popular belief or tradition which often relate phenomenons or situation to heroes, gods or magic. In the past, they were used to explain things which weren't understandable for people, for instance the creation of the world is a phenomenon that most of civilisations in the world explained by inventing myths.However, nowadays the definition of heroes has changed in that (in that = en ce sens que...) heroes or myths are not necessarily superhuman or creatures endowed with superpowers. The modern hero is a human being who is admired because he accomplished extraordinary achievements without the need of superpowers. In the USA, a myth emerged during the XIXth century, the American Dream. Many people dreamt of it but not so many had a chance to take advantage of it and some decided to bypass the law to ensure their success. I chose to focus my presentation on gangster, therefore I answer the following question: can the American dream justify that gansters be considered as heroes?
In order to resolve this question, I will first describe the American Dream and its interpretation in the American cultures. Then, I will focus on the most famous gangsters in the American folklore.
I. The American Dream
1) Definition
James Truslow Adams in 1931 gave a definition of the American Dream:
"Life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement" regardless of social class or circumstances of birth".
The American dream is rooted in the Declaration of Independence: "all men are created equal" with the right to "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness".
2) Desire of freedom and enfranchisement
- the Myth of the cowboy: the cowboy represented the ideal of individualist freedom, without social constraints
- Cowboys became heroes in the XXth century, worshipped by Hollywood
- Example of famous cowboys in movie: John Wayne, Garry Cooper, Clint Eastwood, ...
3) The concept of "Rags to Riches"
- it refers to any situation in which a person rises from poverty to wealth
- it became an archetype in the American culture
- Rags to riches led to many interpretation and was used by criminals like maffiosi to justify their success.
II. The figure of the gangster: a critical perspective of the American Dream
One the first subversive hero in the Anglo-saxon culture is Robin Hood. It represents the avenger who helps the Poor by stealing the Rich. This fictional character is deeply anchored in the anglo-saxon culture as he's the illustration of the subversive heroes fighting against the inequities.
1) Gangster in the American culture:
- Hollywood used the gangsters very soon in the movies: The Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912); Little Caesar (LeRoy, 1931), The Public Enemy (Wellman, 1931), and Scarface (Hawks, 1932) , ... Those movies present gangsters as charismatic character who inspire both fear and respect.
- The revival of gangster film genre thanks to Coppola (The Godfther, 1972). Since then, the gangster film genre has remained rather successful, gaining critical approval for films such as Scarface (De Palma, 1983), Goodfellas (Scorsese, 1990), Carlito’s Way (De Palma, 1993), Pulp Fiction (Tarantino, 1994), and recently, The Departed (Scorsese, 2006).
2) Al Capone: - short biography- movies about him
3) Bonnie and Clyde: - historical figures since they inspire liberty. Plus, they are two outlaws fighting against misery during the Great Depression- many movies about them:
4) Don Vito Corleone (the Godfather): - Maffiosi are presented as bad hereos, nonetheless, they are admired by many people, especially those at the margin of the society- Description of Coppola's trilogy.
CONCLUSION
- the American dream is a myth praised by people. - it was a testimony of the success of the USA
- However, the American Dream is a myth and not so many people took advantage of it
- To deal with the inequities of the Amerian society, immigrants and poor people chose to be criminial to be wealthy
- American culture turned them into heroes - or antiheroes - but their success led to their fall inexorably
