A Hero for a Good War (niveau B1)
This document is an excerpt / extract from A Hero
for a Good War: Captain America and the
Mythologization of World War Two by Ella
Donnelly, published in 2015.
The article points out the fact Captain America
was used as an effective means of propaganda.
Indeed, he was probably the most effective tool to
demonise Hitler. The American government
recognised this, using it to its advantage.
What’s more (qui plus est), thanks to comics, the
war and its participants were turned into a myth;
for Americans, taking part in this war was justified
as it was the embodiment of a war between evil
(America’s opponents) and good (America and its
allies).
Group 2 : A magazine cover (niveau A2 +)
This document is a comic book cover entitled Captain
America, released in March 1941. In fact, it is the first
issue (numéro) of Captain America’s adventures. What
is striking is Captain America’s strength - he is punching
Hitler. The characters are deliberately placed - Captain
America is in the centre and Bucky (his sidekick) is in the
foreground; they are surrounded by German soldiers.
The purpose of this is to draw attention to the ‘good
guys’
Finally, the comic is really realistic and colourful.
Thes
i t e
p li c impa comic b
ex rt ct ooks
had
Group 3 : A video i
t e
h po n
th sup ntio
i n a sig
nifica
nt
d w a v e
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e ate ating inte
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a s c f cre rican
o
a p w se Ame This document is a video about how comics
C rpo or
pu se f and propaganda are closely linked, much
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more so than we think! We learn that the
government had a significant editorial role in
the Captain America story: although the
creators were free to decide how they
wanted him to be portrayed, the WWB
decided how the villains (Japan, the Nazis)
should be portrayed.
Do you find this shocking ? Is it right that
governments get involved in artists’ work? Do
exceptional times call for exceptional
measures? Discuss.
What say you?
Do you find this shocking ? Is it right that
governments get involved in artists’ work? Or
do exceptional times call for exceptional
measures? Discuss.
● Freedom of speech
● National solidarity
● Artistic creativity
● Freedom of conscience
● Government overreach
How to talk about the distinguishing feature of a document
What’s striking / noticeable is …
(other similar adjectives : astonishing, eye-catching, remarkable,
noteworthy…)
What’s stands out is …
What jumps out at me is…
One can’t fail to notice that …
Grammar matters - Adverbes de fréquence
● Les adverbes de fréquence (always / often / usually / sometimes / hardly ever / never) se
placent devant le verbe :
She never drinks alcohol - elle ne boit jamais d’alcool
● Quand il y a un auxiliaire (be, can etc), l’adverbe se place après l’auxiliaire
He is always late - il est toujours en retard
● L’adverbe ne doit pas séparer le verbe de son complément d’objet :
He always speaks English very well - Il parle toujours très bien anglais.
PAS He speaks always very well English.
