English presentation

        I chose to talk about Jane Austen, Patty Hearst, Clark Gable and Stanley Kubrick. These are, for me, four emblematic figures. I’m going to talk a little more of Clark Gable and Patty Hearst because they’re less famous than Jane Austen and Stanley Kubrick, who you probably already know.

        Firstly, I chose Patty Hearst in the first place because she was kidnapped, but her story was quite unusual. This is why I think that the audience would love to hear about her epic destiny. Indeed, she was abducted in 1974, at the age of 19 because she was the granddaughter of Lord William Hearst. The Symbionese Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the abduction and wanted a ransom of six million dollars for the most deprived. Her family was helped by donations of millions of Americans, which is very altruistic. Although Patty was abused by her captors, she was won over by Stockholm Syndrome. She thus participated in several armed robberies. She was arrested in 1975 and was declared, after 59 days of trial, guilty and sentenced to seven years of prison. Her sentence was reduced to two years by the US President Jimmy Carter. After she went in prison, she became an actress.

        Now, I’m going to talk about Clark Gable. I was interested in his life because he was ranked “Seventh legendary actor” by the American Film Institute, and I wanted to know why. He started his career when he was 21, because before that, he had not enough money to afford theater lessons. He fell in love with his manager, Josephine Dillon. At the beginning, he had only small parts in silent movies, such as The Plastic Age. So, he decided to return to the theater and received good reviews on Broadway. Afterward, he won the Oscar for best actor for his performance in the movie New York Miami.

        Jane Austen wasn’t widely known in her own time, but her novel’s gained popularity after 1869, and her reputation skyrocketed in the 20th century. Her novels are considered literary classics, bridging the gap between romance and realism.

        Stanley Kubrick was a famous filmmaker although he was a photographer for Look magazine in his early life. He made plenty of acclaimed films, like Spartacus or 2001: A space odyssey.

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