Gun Crazy
Terminales.
Meeting point p 132 to p 147
Final task:
Participate to a debate about
the question of guns
in the USA.
CO video: Bowling for Columbine
• A brief history of the USA
• 1/ CO
• 2/ Gp work: CE on the script
Non-Violence is a bronze sculpture by Swedish artist Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd of an
oversized revolver with a knotted barrel and the muzzle pointing upwards. Carl made this
sculpture after singer, songwriter and peace activist John Lennon was murdered.
Photo by Bill Owens, Suburbia
Complete the recap / photo
This _______________ of Richie, a young boy hold____ a gun, is extremely
________.
In the _______________, we can see a quiet, normal-looking suburban street
lined with houses, and nothing seems out of the ordinary.
However, the focus of the image is Richie, who doesn’t look any older than
_____or ________, sitting on his “Big Wheel” toy, with one arm on the
handlebars and the other _______________ __ _________.
I find this surprising, as I have never lived in a community where
_____________a gun is the norm, never mind one where children are
_______________to use them.
The juxtaposition of the middle-class s__________ setting and the dangerous
weapon in the boy’s hand is very striking.
The __________ on Richie’s face suggests that holding a gun is not something
that he finds unusual, exciting or scary.
News: schools, social networks and
guns
• Anticipation: guess what might have
happened
• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/29/
tito-velez-jamie-pereira-airsoftphoto_n_6067706.html?cps=gravity
• News article and video (2mn)
The right to bear arms and the
consequences of exercising it.
Productions possibles
a. This document shows the statistics regarding gun crime; specifically the number
of people killed annually due to gun crime in various countries around the world.
There is also a slogan across the centre of the poster, which reads “God Bless America”.
We can’t help noticing the slogan in the middle of the poster just above an image of a revolver
decorated in the American flag.
There is also a campaign logo in the bottom left-hand corner of the poster to discourage the use of
guns in the United States.
b. The target audience of the poster is the American public. I know this because guns are a big
part of American culture which is demonstrated by the significantly higher statistic regarding
the number of fatalities due to gun crime in the States compared to anywhere else mentioned
on the poster, as well as the obvious use of the American flag printed onto the gun.
c. The campaigner’s goals are to highlight the severity of the matter of gun crime in the United
States in particular. They wish to point out the fact that there are significantly more deaths
in America caused by gun crime than there are anywhere else in the world. He or she points
this out in order to encourage people to stop resorting to using guns.
d. I believe the message to be effective since it is very simple. A more violent or gory image would
perhaps be more shocking and effective for many reasons, but as it stands, this image sets
out the facts literally. There are no embellishments; just the absolute truth.
I therefore believe that it is effective and the message is clearly and concisely communicated
to the target audience.
Vocabulary: organize it!
Campaigns
Laws
Statistics
Deducing
meaning
Taking a stand
Dear America CE / Gun pb
PROS AND CONS
• CO / arguments
• Videos / gun control
• Which arguments do they put forward /
illustrate?
• Debate: defend your opinion, take a stand