Mythes et héros

Mythes et héros

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.

Nelson Mandela

SupermanThe American dream is the notion that the American social, economic, and political system makes success possible for every individual. Someone who manages to achieve their version of the American dream is said to be "living the dream".

Many people criticize the idea of the American dream because they say that it is impossible for everyone to be able to fulfill their dreams – there are still inequalities in class, race, religion and ethnicity preventing people from "living the dream".

The idea of the American dream is older than the USA itself – it dates back to the 1600s, when people began to have hopes for what was a new and largely unexplored continent to European immigrants. People dreamt of owning land and establishing a prosperous business and hoped that this would make them happier.

Today’s the definition of the American dream is much different. Most people nowadays hope that they will get married, have two children and live in a three-bedroom traditional home. Rather than looking for great wealth or success, people hope to avoid poverty or loneliness.

Lieux et formes de pouvoir

In politics and social science, power is the ability to influence people's behaviour. Inorder to live together members of a community accept rules, regulations, laws. This helps to create social cohesion but can also lead to conflicts and tensions. Even when authority seems absolute, there are always counter-powers which question it, aim at limiting its excesses and resist it.

"Places" could be important buildings or institutions that represent a certain form of power, for example Buckingham Palace – a symbol of the British monarchy, the White – a symbol of the American presidency.

A place can also be a country or a state -  for example the USA is a state which is powerful enough to influence events throughout the world (superpower) and China is a major economic power in today’s world.

What exactly is power?

It is the ability to control others, events, or resources; the ability to make things happen despite obstacles, resistance, or opposition. This of course leads to conflict between those who have power and those who don’t.

There are many examples of resistance to power:

- the African-American civil rights movement (Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Junior, Malcom )

The book and the film « The Help » is an example. Black womens, who work for white people, write a book, where they tell their opinions.

- the struggle for liberation in South Africa(Apartheid, Nelson Mandela)

- the Suffragettes’ fight for women’s right to vote

-Women’s rights movement in the US

If we look at the power of the media for example we can see how much it can influence the public opinion. The mass media plays an important role in forming our personality, enriching our knowledge, providing us with information of any kind.

Mass media can have an effect on our personal identity: it can help us to feel that we are part of a group (social networks) but on the other hand it can contribute to a feeling of isolation. For example, recently, the case of Oscar Pistorious has resurfaced. Since the murder, the image of Pistorius was seriously damaged. We don't know if he is guilty or innocent.

In India, the dowry is a power because the family of the wife-to-be gives a « dowry » or gift to the future husband's family on marriage. The gift is supposedly given as compensation to the groom's parents for the cost of educating their son. If after the marriage the woman's family doesn't keep its promise, the bride is subject to torturea, and sometimes even killed.

Idée de progrès

The idea of progress can be defined as an improvement,

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