Anglais: lieux et formes de pouvoirs

PLACES & FORMS OF POWER

The notion we going to deal is 'Places & Forms of Power' . First I would like to give a quick definition of that notion . The power is a strength or force exerted or able of being exerted. It can be exerted by justice , the medias , televisions , radios or high political authorities . This notion will be illustrated by three documents that all have the idea of power in common, that is to say an ability to influence the behavior of others or the political or social authority exercised by a government, individuals or an institution.

This year we studied the USA and during the cold war period in the 1950's, there was a 'red scare'. Indeed the western block was afraid of the Soviet block. McCarthyism is an episode in America during the 1950's, also known as the "Red Scare" and frequently called witch hunt. It means all investigations and repression about American Communists, their sympathizers or supposed.

So I'd like to ask 'how can we explain the hysteria & witch-hunting in the USA in the 1950's ?'

To answer these questions, we studied a passage from a book by Douglas Kennedy, about the McCarthy period. Then I've got a short biography of Charlie Chaplin who left The Usa in 1953 because he was accused of communist sympathies. To finish I would like to speeck about The Hollywood ten . It was ten producers, writers or filmmakers who were summoned in 1947 by the Committee on Un-American Activities

So let's have a look at the passage of the book The Pursuit of Happiness written in 2002 by Douglas Kennedy, a popular writer today. It's about the atmosphere of the cold war in 1950's America. In this episode, Sara is upset, she can't understand how her lover Jack could have given her brother's name to the House un-American activities committee. Indeed Jack said her brother was a communist and named names. Because of this, Sara's brother lost his job & committed suicide. Jack tries to justify himself, he tells that he had no choice. The use emotional blackmail and patriotic feelings .

Jack gave into the FBI's demand for different reasons : -he will lose his job

he would always be under suspicion

and only way to prove his innocence . He had the back against the wall

But for Sara, Jack should have refused to give names and she says that everybody could choose. Her brother might be alive now. She can see that the man she's in love with is a coward, a stool pigeon. This shows the climate of the 1950's. Naming names is easy but it can have tragic consequences...

Then let's look at the biography of Charlie Chaplin. He was born in London & came from a poor family. He spent most of his childhood in orphanages. He started work in the movie industry in 1913 and soon became famous with his films 'The Tramp', 'The Gold Rush', 'The Kid'... But in 1952, he was accused of Communist sympathies so he left the USA & went to live in Switzerland. He said 'I was fed up of America's insults and moral pomposity'.

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