Week 2 Exploring British Culture (continued)

Starting questions
What impression of British culture do you get from watching the clips of the Olympic Opening Ceremony? When we represent parts of our own culture, should we only focus on the positive parts or should we also include the negative parts too?

London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony Link to video clip

Danny Boyle
(1956 -)
An English film director and theatre director, known for his work on films such as Slumdog Millionaire, 28 Days Later and Trainspotting. He was the artistic director of the London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony.

Trainspotting, directed by Danny Boyle, 1996.

Slumdog Millionaire, directed by Danny Boyle, 2008.

28 Days Later, directed by Danny Boyle, 2002.

Frankenstein, directed by Danny Boyle at the National Theatre, 2011.

William Blake
(1757 1827)

One of Englands most famous poets and painters.

He was born in London

Preface to the poem Milton the Poem

Bring me my Bow of burning gold; Bring me my Arrows of desire: Bring me my Spear: O clouds unfold! Bring me my Chariot of fire! I will not cease from Mental Fight, Nor shall my Sword sleep in my hand: Till we have built Jerusalem, In Englands green and pleasant Land

Church of England
597 - St Augustine of Canterbury, a Roman monk, established the first English Church in AD 597. It was controlled by the Pope.
1534 King Henry VIII separated the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church

Isambard Kingdom Brunel

(1806 1859)

English engineer who built dockyards, the Great Western Railway, steamships and many important bridges and tunnels.

The Clifton Suspension Bridge, Bristol, England.

Queen Victoria
(1819 1901)
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901

It was an era marked by industrialization, an increase in wealth and living standards, but at the cost of many lives and destruction of natural countryside.

Kenneth Branagh
(1960 - )
A famous actor and director from Northern Ireland. He is well known for his productions of Shakespeare.

William Shakespeare
(1564 1616)
One of Englands most famous poets and playwrights. He wrote around 38 plays and 156 poems.

Shakespeare was born and educated in Stratford upon Avon, but spent most of his adult life working in theatres in London

Shakespeare made his own theatre, called the Globe Theatre

Clip from Globe Theatre 2009 production of As You Like It by William Shakespeare

CALIBAN (Shakespeares version) Dont be scared. This island is full of noises, strange sounds and sweet melodies that make you feel good and dont hurt anyone. Sometimes I hear a thousand twanging instruments hum at my ears, and sometimes voices that send me back to sleep even if I had just woken up and then I dreamed of clouds opening up and dropping such riches on me that when I woke up, I cried because I wanted to dream again.

CALIBAN (modern English) Dont be scared. This island is full of noises, strange sounds and sweet melodies that make you feel good and dont hurt anyone. Sometimes I hear a thousand twanging instruments hum at my ears, and sometimes voices that send me back to sleep even if I had just woken up and then I dreamed of clouds opening up and dropping such riches on me that when I woke up, I cried because I wanted to dream again.

Queen Elizabeth II
(1926 -)
Elizabeth was made Queen of the United Kingdom and of the Commonwealth realms in 1952.

She has the 2nd longest reign for a British king or queen after Queen Victoria.

The NHS
The National Health Service is Britains primary healthcare system. It was created in 1948 and it offers universal access to healthcare for all citizens of the UK.

It is funded through central taxation.

Questions
What impression of British culture do you get from watching the clips of the Olympic Opening Ceremony? When we represent parts of our own culture, should we only focus on the positive parts or should we also include the negative parts too?

Group Work
Imagine you are a group of designers and artists who have been asked to create an Olympic opening ceremony for Tokyo 2020.
1. Discuss and write down what you would include in the ceremony. 2. Choose 5 things from your list. Rank them in order of importance. 3. For each idea, explain why it is important. 4. Choose 1 or 2 members of the group to present your ideas to the class.