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1. Spaces and Exchanges:    

Intro:  

I'm going to talk about the notion Spaces and exchanges. To begin with, I'd like to give a definition of exchange. The different spaces of the world are nowadays more and more connected to each other. The exchanges can appear on many forms: people, trade, information. The immigration is linked to this notion as it implies the motion of legal and illegal people to other countries.

Immigration: from dream to disillusion.

In order to illustrate this notion I have chosen to talk about immigration in the USA and in particular the Cuban and Puerto Ricans emigrants.  And their search for the American Dream.

This year in class we studied several video documents about the immigration. Also we saw some excerpts from the movie Scar-face and we listen to the song of West Said Story

Problematic:  

What drives people to leave their country to go and live in another country?

Is the American Dream still alive? What attracts immigrants to live in the USA?

To answer this question I will present two documents. The first document I have chosen is a…

I. Scarface movie (1983)

In may 1980, Fidel Castro allowed opponents who wished to leave Cuba. He took the opportunity to send to the US the thugs become undesirable on the island. This is how Tony Montana(main character), a megalomaniac killer begins to live this American dream.

More than 2 million Cubans have emigrated for half a century. A population of 11,2 millions. Nearly 80% of them went to the US, especially to Florida, 150km north of the island.

Cuban Revolution: Is beginning in 1953 that in January 1959 to the over throw of Batista regime and culminating in the current Cuban Republic. The revolution is led by Fidel Castro in July 26. The country becomes communist in October 1965.

In the 1960s, most immigrants were of middle-class or wealthy people for political reasons, they against Communism because they were afraid of losing freedom, to be deported, losing money and their business etc.

In the 1980s it was more for economic reasons. They wanted to join their family in Florida, or for a decent life, to improve the standard of living because they believe they had not future in Cuba.

• Wet Feet Dry Feet Policy: Before 1995, Cubans who reached US waters were allowed to remain in the US as political refuges. Then the US ans Cuba governments agreed to a new policy: If Cubans were caught in US waters (wet foot) they were sent back to Cuba, and if they reached the US they mode it the US store (dry foot) they got the chance to remain and live in the US.

Because they decided to limited the number of refuges on US. Since 1995 it has been more and more difficult for Cuban exiles to the USA

• Little Havana: (Spanish: Pequeña Habana) is a neighborhood  of Miami, Florida, US.  Home to many Cuban exiles, as well as many immigrants from Central and South America, Little Havana is named after Havana, the capital and largest city in Cuba.
• Embargo:  consist an official ban on trade or other commercial activity with a particular country

United States embargo against Cuba:  The US currently imposes a commercial, economic, and financial embargo against Cuba. The US first imposed an embargo on the sale of arms to Cuba on, 1958, during the Batista regime on, 1962 the embargo was extended to include almost all exports.

Because they want to fight communism and strangle the Cuban economy and want Cuban to rebel against the communist regime. They want to blame the Cuban government for their plight.

II. West Side Story America:

The text "I like to be in America" is a song from the musical "West Side Story" by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim. in fact a transposition of Shakespeare's famous tragedy "Romeo and Juliet" in Manhattan during the 1950's.

The song deals with the great differences between white and non-white Americans.
The setting of the musical is the West Side of New York City, a poor area where many Puerto Ricans live.
This song is sung by different groups of Puerto Rican girls who have come from San Juan, the capital of Puerto Rico, to live in America.
They compare the well-known version of the American Dream to the reality of their own experience

The song approach different topics like: freedom to pay for, credit to pay the interest rates, better housing situation, not let to foreigner, sunny said of America white fighter, distributed among classes, criticize famous American Dream and the Puerto Rico emigrated to USA.

• Nuyorican: This term could be used for Puerto Ricans living in other areas in  New York State. The term is also used by Islander Puerto Ricans (Puerto Ricans from Puerto Rico) to differentiate those of Puerto Rican descent from the Puerto Rico-born.

III. Conclusion:

To conclude most people immigrant in order to escape war, poverty, famine. They have a vision of the countries where they want to go that is not good. Arrived in the receiving country they understand that ultimately it is not the life they hoped and that it is far from resembling at American dream.

I think living in foreign country is a difficult decision to make especially if it's a country with a very different languages and cultures but many people don't have the choice because they are obliged.

2. Myths and heroes:

Intro:

The notion I’m going to deal with is myths and heroes. First of all, I’m going to give the definition of a myth and a hero. A myth can be defined as a story about gods or heroes, it can be a popular belief or a tradition or a false notion. A hero can be a mythological figure, a person who is admired for his or her achievements, a superhero or maybe a role model or an icon.

First, I will explain the concept of the American Dream and the concept of the Self-made-man. This year in class we studied several video documents about these concepts.

Problematic:

In today’s society to what extent is there a need for myths, something to believe in that is greater than we are? Is the American Dream still alive?

To answer this question I will present two documents. The first document I have chosen is a….

I. The American Dream

Work hard and you will achieve prosperity. The concept come from the earliest immigrants (settlers) to this land (North America) the protestants. Their philosophy is if people work and are successful, God is happy.

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