Seats And Forms Of Power Oral

[NanaBac2014]

I'm going to speak about the notion "Seats and forms of power". I will use 2 texts and 1 picture to illustrate that notion. My first document is a text on slavery and a still from the movie "Amistad". This film by Steven Spielberg is based on a novel. My second document is an extract of Martin Luther King's famous speech "I Have A Dream", pronounced in 1963. Finally, my third document is an extract of "Dishonored" written by  the English writer Maria Barrett and published in 1996. But first of all, what's power ? For example it's the ability to control others, authority, a state, a country.., to influence people's behavior. It's a form of domination, a strength. Unfortunately, power can create inequalities and leads to revolts. A seat of power is a place where important decisions are made like the White House, Buckingham Palace, The Capitol etc... But how power can create inequalities ?
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. The lucrative slave trade started between Africa, Europe and America. African slaves were indispensable for southern agriculture like tobacco, cotton and rice. In our still from the movie "Amistad", we can see a slave. He has his hands bound. He looks exhausted, sad, angry. This poor man had been captured in Africa for illegal slavery. Power was American.  
In the old America, black people or African Americans as Malcolm X said, were victims of slavery, racial discrimination, racial segregation.. They were treated as inferiors by most of the white people. In a way, white people got the power on them. But fortunately that changes thanks to people like Martin Luther King. He was an activist in the United-States, for the black civil right, for peace and against poverty. One day in 1963, during the March on Washington D.C and in front of the Lincoln Memorial, Martin Luther King said "I have a dream". It's his most famous speech. He wished equality between black and white people, but also justice and freedom. He hoped that one day "little black boys and little black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers". His speech gave hope and strength to African Americans and had a real power on the society. Today, the power is not only for the white Americans. For instance, concerning policy, Barack Obama is the president of the United-States since 2008 and he's black. Moreover he has been elected twice ! Now we can say Martin Luther King's dream is not a dream anymore, it's a reality.
Between 1858 and 1947, India was under British control, it was the British Raj, the period of dominion. Our extract of the story "Dishonored" takes place in the British India, in 1857. Colonel Mills, who represents the British authority, and his wife have been invited to a reception at Indrajit Rai's house. Both British and Indian guests are present at the reception. Indrajit is honored to receive the Colonel, he's polite and seems to have accepted the British ruling of India, but it's not the same thing for his son, Jagat Rai. The young educated Indian, unlike his father, considers himself as equal to the British. He doesn't hesitate to say what he truly thinks "the British superiority in India is a figment of their imagination... The British are no better than any other ruler...the people of India are not happy with them", he's not afraid of the colonel. This extract shows us the point of view of a young educated Indian during the British Raj. During this period, power was British. 
To conclude, thanks to these three documents, we can say power create inequalities. It can be on a slavery form, a racist form.. Happily, things change.

Bonjour,

Etant scolarisée au CNED je n'ai pu être aidée dans mes préparations des oraux. J'aimerai, si c'est possible, qu'on me corrige mon texte suivant sur le thème 'Seats and forms of power". Merci beaucoup, c'est important.