Mrs Smith goes to Washington

by Caroline Gaudin

Artwork: Spécialité Anglais AMC

Joined Mar 2020
Published Books 2

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THE STUDENTS

OF

1ERE SPECIALITE ANGLAIS MONDE CONTEMPORAIN

ARE HAPPY TO ANNOUNCE

THE REMAKE OF FRANK CAPRA’S BEST

MR SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (1939)

MRS SMITH

GOES TO WASHINGTON

COMING SOON IN 2024

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Mrs Smith goes to Washington by Caroline Gaudin - Illustrated by Spécialité Anglais AMC - Ourboox.com

Spécialité Anglais monde contemporain – Première

Thématique 2 : Représentations

Axe 1- Faire entendre sa voix: représentation et participation

Axe 2 – Informer et s’informer

Axe 3- Représenter le monde et se représenter

Opposite : The Senate, Capitol building, Washington, DC

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Our final task:

EOC-EOI / Groupwork / Acting out a debate

You are on a team to work on and to prepare a remake of Frank Capra’s film Mr Smith goes to Washington into a 2024 version entitled Mrs Smith goes to Washington in order to celebrate the 85^th anniversary of the film release under particularly tense circumstances democracy-wise on the eve of WW2 (Ø World War two/ the Second World War).

On each team you have:

-A film director, John/Jean HEATHER

-A screenwriter, Charlie WORDSMITH

-A casting director, Casey BACKSTAGE

-A historian, Robin YORE-BYGONE

-A journalist, Devon BYLINER

-A senator, Jamie WEBSTER

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During this first work session you will have to decide on the adaptation of the scenario, on the changes you will make, on the outline of a plot, on the characters’ profiles and new additions to the film.

The historian, journalist and senator are there as consultants to preserve the accuracy and faithfulness of the developments and advise the film professionals.

Act out the debate after preparing your ideas and arguments.

Don’t forget to use what we did in class.

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Opposite : A project for a poster with Lincoln Memorial in the background, by Josephine M.

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A few quotes from our debates…

About the film:

“We want our film to be serious: it has to be accurate and modern.”

About Mrs Smith:

Why a female junior senator in your 2024 version ?

“We want to show how important women can be.”

“Women have the right to be consistent in films without being flat characters.”

“She’ll be around 30 years old.”

“We want her to be naïve; that’s very important for us.”

“She will have studied politics her entire life, but she will still not be used to the political world, harsh as it is.”

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About Clarissa Saunders, Mr. Smith’s assistant:

“Clarissa will still be a woman but she’ll be older.”

“We want to show that feminism has always been a social issue.”

About Senator Paine :

“Joseph Paine will still be a man greedy for power, ready to betray Mrs Smith. However, we can throw his moral debate a bit more into relief: our goal is not to caricature anyone.”

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About Mr Taylor, the press tycoon :

” In our story, Jim Taylor will still be a press Tycoon, controlling a lot of journalists and politicians.”

“He will be misogynistic and will try to stop Mrs. Smith’s bill.”

About Mr Smith’s original boy rangers:

“Mr Smith’s boy rangers could be turned into a “Girls’ alliance”: it could be a sort of feminist club, supporting Mrs. Smith on her way to become a respected Senator.”

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About journalists and the press :

“Instead of taking photos of Mrs Smith with big cameras, the journalists could use their smartphones, introducing the place of social media nowadays.”

“Make sure you don’t mention any real news magazines and news websites. In 2024, we’ll be in the middle of a new election, sending a bad image of a group of journalists could have terrible consequences.”

“You should point out that now, we, as journalists, are way more active on social media.”

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Opposite : a project for a poster with the Capitol building in the background, by Garance T.

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About corruption and politicians :

” Don’t forget that we, Senators, are serving our country, every day, every hour, every minute. Make a senator corrupt if you want, but nuance it by explaining it is a special case. US politics isn’t that corrupt.”

“You have to understand that we have to highlight some very specific aspects in the film. Corruption in politics AND in the press is too common for us to turn it into “a special case”. That would go against everything we want to create. How could we criticise corruption if we minimise it?”

“Political scandals have been happening since the birth of our country.”

Opposite : a project for a poster with Mrs Smith sitting in Lincoln’s seat (see Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC), by Fabien C.

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About the workings of politics

Preparing a bill :

“In the Senate, the majority has the power to schedule when various bills come to the floor for voting, but a single senator can slow down legislation to prevent it from coming to the floor for a vote.”

“Since debate in the Senate is not concluded until 60 senators vote for a cloture motion to approve a bill for consideration, the majority must also coordinate with the minority party to set the rules for debate on legislation.”

“Under this system, legislation can be debated for one or two weeks on the Senate floor alone.”

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About the senators’ responsibilities:

“Senators are empowered to conduct impeachment proceedings of high federal officials.”

“They are tasked with exercising the power of advice and consent on treaties and play an important role in the confirmation (or denial) of certain appointments including ambassadors and judicial court justices.”

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THANK YOU FOR READING!

Acknowledgements:

This book would not have been created without the involvement of Fabien, Joséphine and Garance.

Thank you to Pauline, Tom, Margot, Lili, Nina, Grégoire and Paul for their first-class quotes!

La Bruyère High School, Versailles, France, May 2021

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