Black people hanging in trees (suite) + Billie Holiday's song

14.10.2009

Hey,

we worked on the picture with the two black men who were hanged on trees and here is what we said:

The picture actually deals with racial segregation in the US in the 1950's. It depicts two black men who are hanged on a tree. The crowd / mob (connotation négative) is celebrating:

their death
their sentence/verdict
white supremacy.

The two dead men may have committed a crime. It's a scene of overt deep-rooted racism. (c'est une scène qui montre un racisme profondément ancré)
When I look at this picture, I feel sick. It's sickening.

Vocabulary:
to be hanged - to be whipped - to be burnt to death - to be beaten to death - to be tortured - to be tarred and feathered.

Construction des mots :
- suffixe " -en" => pour former un verbe
- suffixe " -ing" => pour former un adjectif
ex: sickening --> qui rend malade = répugnant; threatening = menaçant.

Then we worked on the beginning of the song Strange Fruit by Billie Holiday. Here is what we have said about it so far:

THE SONG : Strange Fruit - Billie Holiday

The introduction is melancholy. The minor chords convey sad feelings. I feel stressed out at the beginning because the song may evoke something dramatic. But the rhythm is slow and relaxing / soothing.

You can watch a live performance of Billie Holiday below:

or with a better audio quality here.
More about the picture here.

Advertising