SERIOUSLY SERIES

(axis) fictions and realities

(key question) What can TV series teach us about the real world?

INTRODUCTION

Seriously Series
/i/ /iː/(long)
Project : create a pitch for a new series.
Pitch : short presentation of the story/plot of a film or a series.
 series : sing & plur
 SOCIETY
message equality
reflect = portray equal opportunities
denounce wage = pay
pave the way for equal pay
shed light on ethnicity
stand up for = speak out diversity
against be discriminated against
deal with = handle demonstration
reinterpret

HISTORY
events people periods
race riots activist the nineteen twenties
presidential elections working class post-war
run for president trade unionist the sixties (the 60s)
strike strong-willed = determined kingdom
be elected unsubmissive = rebellious contemporary = present-day
assassinate = murder independent (adj)
reign
party meeting

SERIES
tv industry types of series imaginary universe

pitch period drama = historical drama change the course of events

producer sitcom go back in time
director fantasy parallel universe
cast = recruit comedy imaginary
trailer action series make up = conjure up
pilot thriller
clip
audience
novelist
The Crown

a. Watch the trailer

Characters: Queen Elizabeth II (the second) – her husband, Prince Philip – Winston
Churchill – her sister, Princess Margaret – her father, King George VI
Historical period: after the second world War / after World War II.
Country: in the Commonwealth - in the UK (England)
Major events: Her coronation (June 1953) – his death (Feb 1952) – the royal wedding
(1947)

b. Speak about the series:

1. the genre.
2. The pitch.
3. The key question. What can TV series teach us about the real world?
Here are a few words and ideas to help you:
to be set in when for example
main character
first what’s more
newly-married
trailer then although
difficulties
at the time
responsibilities
fictional after/following
inspired by
general knowledge
deceitful (trompeur-euse)
Series can teach us about history. For example, the series, which is called The
Crown is set in post-war Britain. The main character is Queen Elizabeth II, when
she was newly-married to Prince Philip. First, the trailer shows the royal
wedding, then we see her at the time she became Queen, after/following the
death of her father. The series deals with /is about /tells the story of the Queen
and her the difficulties of taking on such a significant role, and the impact her
responsibilities had on her personal life. What’s more nowadays more and more
historical series/period drama are centered around/revolve around kings and
Queens (Victoria, The Last Kingdom, Game of Thrones...). Although it is fictional,
it is inspired by real events.
homework
Fill in the blanks using the following words: as soon as – when
– then - in the end – at first – meanwhile – before – after.
The story of the series Bloodline begins when Danny, the black
sheep of the family, comes home to his parents’ inn in the
Florida Keys for a family reunion. Before going to meet his
family, he stops at a bar to have a drink. Then he goes to see his
old friend Eric O’Bannon. When he finally arrives at the
beachside inn, the party has already started. As soon as he
arrives, old tensions are revived. After the party Danny tells his
brother John, a police officer, about his plan to come back to
help his parents. At first, his siblings accept but in the end, John
changes his mind. Meanwhile, an investigation is going on
about immigrant girls who have disappeared…
Lis les documents suivants et explique ce que tu en as compris (monarchie – fiction – histoire – vérité –
inspiration – raisons du succès). Illustre avec des exemples précis tirés des deux documents.

1 leave the womb = to be born 2 ripe (adj.) = mûr(e)

1 pattern (n.) = manner 4 Mantel = Hilary Mantel writes historical fiction

2 school curriculum (n.) = school programme 5 pay heed (exp.) = pay attention

3 fix-all (exp.) = miracle solution

Les deux textes sont des extraits d’articles de presse britanniques récents. Ils traitent tous deux
de séries télévisées britanniques, mais alors que le texte A se concentre sur la raison pour
Lis le compte-rendu et identifie
laquelle les Britanniques aiment les séries sur la monarchie britannique, Le texte B ne cite que la
les informations suivantes
série The Crown à titre d’exemple pour développer une réflexion sur la représentation des
(surligne ou souligne les éléments
événements historiques dans les séries et sur la question de savoir s’il s’agit d’une « bonne » ou
suivants):
d’une « mauvaise » histoire. Dans le texte A, la journaliste cherche à expliquer les raisons du
succès des séries sur la famille royale et s’adresse directement à ses lecteurs britanniques − Nature des documents
(« us Brits» l.3). La journaliste affirme que la famille royale britannique a toujours été une − Sujet
merveilleuse source d’inspiration pour la fiction (= raisons du succès). Non seulement parce que → Point commun
ses membres sont extrêmement célèbres (« instant celebrities », l. 10), mais aussi parce que → Différence
leur vie étant nécessairement à l’écart de la population, il y aura toujours un certain mystère − Arguments développés
dans le texte A et leurs
autour d’eux (l. 15). De plus, ils ont plusieurs siècles d’histoire à offrir (l. 20). La journaliste du
analyses.
texte B a également trouvé The Crown très divertissant (l. 4). Pour elle, même si ce n’est pas
− Opinions développées dans
toujours de la « bonne histoire » (cf. titre), c’est peut-être un bon moyen de faire découvrir des
le texte B et leurs analyses.
périodes historiques qui ne sont pas toujours traitées à l’école, comme les périodes d’après-
− Publique cible
guerre (l. 8). Elle explique que les élèves doivent être confrontés à plusieurs sources et qu’il
− But/visée du document
n’est pas possible d’avoir une seule « vraie » interprétation de l’histoire (l. 11). Même les − Mots de liaisons et
historiens interprètent quand ils choisissent un sujet particulier. De plus, elle s’appuie sur les conjonctions utilisées pour
travaux de Mantel qui explique que contrairement aux historiens, les romanciers historiques articuler les idées.
doivent spéculer pour compléter les informations manquantes (« fill in the gaps », l. 17=
combler les lacunes), et elle conclut en disant que les auteurs de fiction devraient s’en tenir à
la vérité autant que possible, puisque la vérité est toujours « meilleure, plus étrange, plus
forte » que les histoires imaginées (l. 20). Ici le journaliste cherche à mettre en garde le
difficile équilibre entre réalité et fiction pour les romanciers historiques.
 II) Exemplary women

1. Can you name TV series where women are the main or important characters?

2. Get ready

• Look at the picture, describe it and guess which TV series it is taken from.

• Watch a trailer (characters, occupation, period)

textA (Bp112)

1. firebrand (n.) = agiitator 3. household name (exp.) = a person well-known by the public
2 strike (n.) = grève

textB (Bp113)

1. midwife (n.) = sage-femme 4. delivery (n.) = accouchement

2. wrench at (v.) = tirer violemment sur 5. tenements (n.) = logements sociaux
3. crack my shin (exp.) = s’écorcher la jambe 6. rapport (n.) = good relationship
 - Examplary women (B. p. 112-113)
A - Read the text A
1) Read the text and pick out people, dates and places
2) Explain why Jessie Eden was chosen to be a character in the story (20-30 words).
3) Read the quotation and imagine what type of woman the real Jessie Eden was (personality, relationship with people).

→ She must have been... • She seems... • It looks as if...

“One policeman put his hands on my arms. They were telling me to go home, but the crowd howled… ‘Hey, leave her alone’… and some men
came and pushed the policemen away. They didn’t do anything after that.
I think they could see there would have been a riot. I was never frightened of the police or the troops because I had the people with me, you
see.”

B – Complete the grid using your notes about the text A. Don’t write complete sentences: just keywords.
C – Read text B.
1) Read the text and pick out information about people, places and time.
2) Find more information about the midwives ‘daily lives (working hours – way they travel – type of patients – people they meet).
3) Use what you have understood to sum up the role midwives played in the community at that time.
→ anonymous heroes… • they deserve to be remembered… they are so devoted… • such courageous women… • They probably
saved hundreds of lives
D- Complete the grid using your notes about the text B. Don’t write complete sentences: just keywords.

Text A p. 112 Text B p. 113

Title of series Peaky blinders Call the Midwife

Type of series Period drama Period drama

Time and place Birmingham, UK. London’s East End

In the 1920s (post war) In the 1950s (post war)

Main characters Jesse Eden Jennifer Worth

(Thomas Shelby, her brother) (autobiography / inspired by real life people)

People Policemen Policemen

portrayed Factory workers (10,000 women) – Nurses / midwives
working class people Impoverished people
Steven Knight
Message Economic difficulties Hard work: difficulties to work with the
conveyed Place of women economic situation and working hours.
(Steven Knight) put forward
“regular” working class people,
instead of political figures.
 (writing)
Write a paragraph to compare the two series (common
points and differences). (min. 80 words)
crime-ridden areas : quartiers frappés par le crime both
director : person who makes a film/series in order to
achievements : extraordinary actions for instance / for example
deserve : mériter while / whereas
recognition : reconnaissance interestingly
trade union : syndicat at that time
activist : militant as
strike : grève
to work in difficult conditions
impoverished : pauvre, démuni
highly-respected
safe

Writing – “Peaky Blinders” vs “Call the Midwife”

Structures et lexique.
Peut démontrer une bonne maîtrise des structures simples et courantes. /5pts
Les erreurs sur les structures simples ne gênent pas la lecture.
Peut produire un texte dont les mots sont adaptés (étendue lexicale
suffisante).
Qualité du contenu.
Reprend les éléments essentiels des documents. /3pts
Peut traiter le sujet et produire un écrit intelligible et relativement
développé, y compris en faisant référence à quelques éléments des
documents.
Organisation du propos.
Exposé clair & organisé. Peut exposer et illustrer un point de vue. Peut /2pts
produire un écrit cohérent.
Peaky Blinders” / “Call the Midwife”
Write a paragraph to compare the two series (common points and differences).
Both series are period dramas, they make us think about periods in British history when
people suffered from poverty /lived in poor, crime-ridden areas after a war. The directors
chose to show/highlight the achievements of ordinary or less-known women in order to point
out that these unknown heroes deserve recognition. For instance, Jessie Eden, born in 1902,
was a working-class woman from Birmingham. She worked in a motor components factory
and was a Communist trade union activist. She convinced her female co-workers to go out
on strike, and 5 years later she led a one-week strike that involved 10,000 women, something
that was unheard of at the time. Interestingly, she had the support of the people when she
was confronted with the police. But while Jessie Eden is only a minor character in Peaky
Blinders, women are central in Call the Midwife. The series is based on the life of a woman
called Jennifer Worth, who was a midwife in the East End of London back in the 1950s. She
wrote about her experiences in a trilogy, which is the basis used for the series. At that time,
midwives worked in difficult conditions bringing a vital service to impoverished urban
families. They were clearly highly-respected as wherever they went, at whatever time of the
day or night, they were safe.
a. they are such fans of that TV series that they stay up all
night binge-watching the new season.
b. He is such a good actor (GN)/ so good (adj.) that all the
producers want to hire him.
c. the series has been running for so many seasons that
everybody knows it.
d. this series was so realistic that people thought it was a
documentary.
e. we waited so long (adj.) / such a long time (GN) for the
new season that when it came out we had forgotten what
it was about.
III) Rewriting the past
Fill in the blanks with the following information. Baines - Harvey – Oswald- 1961 (x2) - 1963 (x2) – 1969 - 36th - 35th- He was
shot on live TV (x2) - was a U.S. Marine veteran - conspiracy theories.

Lyndon Baines Johnson: John Fitzgerald Kennedy: Lee Harvey Oswald

Democrat Democrat − Was US marine veteran
− served as vice president − detectives were escorting Oswald
− served as the 35th
from 1961 to 1963 under when he was shot by Dallas
president of the United
nightclub owner Jack Ruby.
President John F. States from 1961 until his
− He was shot on live TV
Kennedy. assassination near the
− his assassination spawned (led to)
− served as the 36th end of his third year in
numerous conspiracy theories.
president of the United office.
− He was shot live on TV.
States from 1963 to 1969
2) CO : watch the trailer.
→
People: a middle-aged man, an old man / people from the 1960s. Lee Harvey
Oswald.

Places: Dallas, USA (in the 60s) ; a restaurant, a diner ; a closet ; streets at night ;
the street where JFK was shot.

Actions: car crashes in a telephone booth ; time travels ; fights ; people holding
and loading guns ; people kissing

Time: PAST (in the 60s) - PRESENT

/v/
The series entitled 11/22/63 was created and produced by Stephen King who is
a well-known/popular novelist, famous for writing scary, fantasy novels. It is
about the assassination of the American president JFK, more precisely it is about
a man, Jake, who tries to change the past/change the course of events, go back
in time and prevent the death of the President.

3) CE :
 JFK – 11/22/63
CE : Text p. 115

1. watchamadingit (exp.) = comment ça s’appelle déjà? 2. the Kennebec Fruit (n.) the Kennebec Fruit Company = a
3. to wit (exp.) = à savoir shop in the past (in Lisbon Falls, 1958)

*
Comprehension.
1. Read the text p.115 and try to explain the situation: people - place - actions
2. Concentrate on the different events mentioned and classify them: happened/didn’t
happen
Writing / recap
Write a paragraph to explain Al’s intention/plan to prevent the deaths of JFK and MLK.
The text from l.1 to 5 and the following information can help you.

Nov. 22, 1963, Dallas, Texas: President John F.

Kennedy (JFK) is assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald.

April 4, 1968, Memphis, Tennessee: Martin Luther

King (MLK) is shot by James Earl Ray. His death was
followed by many race riots across the USA.

June 5, 1968, Los Angles, California: Robert Francis

Kennedy (RFK), JFK’s brother is assassinated by Sirhan
Sirhan.

*Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King in 1963.