SÉQUENCE – TAKING THE LEAD

PART 1

The Ford Empire

Document 1: Henry Ford’s first assembly line turns 100

Le corrigé de l’activité 3 est placé volontairement après celui de l’activité 4.

Activity 4: Language skills

1. Vocabulary

A. Industry

Exercise 1 :
a. A plant = une usine
b. A power house = un centre de pouvoir
c. An executive chairman = un PDG
d. Stationary = immobile
e. An assembly line = une chaîne de montage
f. Ergonomic = ergonomique
g. To maximise efficiency = optimiser l’efficacité

Exercise 2 : Is it mass-produced or custom-made?

→ These cars are mass-produced.

→ This shirt is custom-made.

B. Innovating

a. Introduire = to introduce
b. Adopter une idée = to embrace an idea
c. Appliquer un principe = to apply a principle
d. Un éclair de génie = a stroke of genius
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C. Changes

a. La classe moyenne = the middle-class

b. Être bien loin de… = to be a far cry from…
c. Finir par = to wind up + verbe en ING
d. Prospère / Florissant = thriving (to thrive = prospérer)
e. Bien vieillir / passer l’épreuve du temps = to age well

2. Grammar
A. Verbs

I. Observez:
a. He had visited the meat-packing industry.
b. Henry Ford introduced an invention.
c. The process has aged well.

Laquelle de ces phrases exprime:

1. une action passée, terminée = b
2. prétérit (Ved)
3. un bilan au moment présent de quelque chose qui a commencé dans le passé = c
4. present perfect. (HAVE + participe passé)
5. une action que l’on situe avant une autre action / un bilan à un moment donné dans le passé = a
6. past perfect. (HAD + participe passé)

 Si vous pensez avoir besoin de révisions sur la construction de ces formes verbales, vous pouvez
→
consulter les chapitres 4, 5 et 6 de votre grammaire.

II. Pratiquez : Mettez les verbes entre parenthèses à la forme verbale qui convient.
a. Ford had already introduced the assembly line when my grandfather arrived at the plant.
b. The plant has changed a lot since then.
c. Before the introduction of the assembly line, the cars were custom-made.
d. Then, they became mass-produced.
e. When Bill became the executive chairman of Ford, the factories had changed a lot.
f. The assembly lines have shown their efficiency in terms of productivity.

B. Adjectifs composés

I. Observez:
• A custom-made car
• A mass-produced car
• The meat-packing business

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II. Déduisez: Dans les deux premiers exemples, l’adjectif a un sens þ passif. Le deuxième mot de
l’adjectif composé est un participe passé et le premier le précise.
Dans le troisième exemple, l’adjectif a un sens þ actif. Le deuxième mot de l’adjectif composé est un
participe présent (gérondif) et le premier le précise.

III. Pratiquez : Traduisez en anglais

a. Une usine de fabrication de voitures = a car-making factory
b. Un concept bien étudié = a well-studied concept
c. Une usine bien dirigée = a well-run factory
d. Une entreprise basée sur internet = an internet-based company
e. une activité pour renforcer l’esprit d’équipe = a team-building activity

Activity 3: Watch
Compte-rendu :

– le thème principal du document ;

– à qui s’adresse le document ;
– le déroulement des faits, la situation, les événements, les informations ;
– l’identité des personnes ou des personnages et, éventuellement, les liens entre elles/entre eux ;
– les éventuels différents points de vue ;
– les éventuels éléments implicites du document ;
– la fonction et la portée du document (relater, informer, convaincre, critiquer, dénoncer, etc.).
Ce document est un reportage à propos des chaines de montage chez Ford. En effet, les chaines de
montage ont eu 100 ans l’année du reportage, le 19 octobre 2013.
Le PDG de Ford, qui est aussi l’arrière-petit-fils du fondateur de l’entreprise, Henry Ford, explique que
son aïeul avait visité un atelier de découpe et de conditionnement de viande où les employés étaient
immobiles alors que les morceaux de viande à découper venaient à eux. Il a eu l’idée d’adapter cette
méthode à l’industrie automobile.
L’utilisation de la chaine de production et la fabrication de la « Model T » ont contribué à transformer
les États-Unis en puissance économique. Cela a permis de rendre les Américains plus mobiles et de
développer la classe moyenne en créant de nombreux emplois (il est sous-entendu que ces emplois
étaient bien rémunérés). Ce mode de production a rendu les objets produits en série accessibles aux
personnes ayant des revenus modestes, alors qu’auparavant la production à l’unité était réservée aux
plus riches.
Le documentaire présente Ford et la chaîne de montage sous un angle exclusivement positif et met
en avant la modernité et l’innovation de l’entreprise au cours de son histoire centenaire. La chaîne de
production mise en œuvre par Ford est toujours d’actualité car elle a été améliorée au fil du temps. Une
experte de l’entreprise Ford explique qu’il est même possible aujourd’hui de simuler la production en 3D
afin de l’optimiser davantage et d’éviter les accidents au travail.

Transcript
Si vous souhaitez travailler ce document plus en détail, en voici le script. Les mots ou expressions
particulièrement intéressants sont écrits en gras.
Female host: One hundred years ago, on October 19th, 1913, Henry Ford introduced one of history’s great
inventions: the assembly line. It transformed industry worldwide.

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Male host: And the mass-produced Model T helped create the American middle-class. Dean Reynolds
went to Ford’s original plant in Detroit to learn more.
Voice-over (Dean Reynolds): The assembly line has always been an impressive mix of man and machine.
What it looks like now is a far cry from a century ago when Henry Ford first embraced the idea – one
that wound up turning America into an industrial power house with a thriving middle-class. Bill Ford is
executive chairman of Ford Motor Company and the great-grandson of Henry.
Bill Ford: Well, he had visited the meat-packing business in Illinois, and he saw there that the people
were stationary and the product was moved to them. And he thought well, why can’t I apply that same
principle to the car industry? So that’s really where he got the innovation for it.
Voice-over: Until Ford’s stroke of genius his automobiles were basically custom-made trophies for the
wealthy. That changed.
Bill Ford: The assembly line did two things: one is it gave mobility to the average American and the other
is the employment in the plant helped create the middle-class.
Voice-over: The process itself has aged well and continues to improve.
Allison Stephens: To build a quality car, you have to be able to have your operator, be able to do it
efficiently, and to do it injury free.
Voice-over: Alison Stephens is a technical specialist at Ford’s ergonomic lab.
Allison Stephens: You now are seeing 3-D and you are inside the computer looking at the design of one of
our vehicles.
voice-over: She showed us how with 3-D animation, she and her team can approximate an assembly line
in the quiet of their office, testing parts and designs without the need to build an actual model.
Allison Stephens: You’re seeing every fastener, every hole, every bend in the metal.
Voice-over: This virtual trial and error can tell Ford whether bolts turn, tyres fit, or antennas are within
reach to maximise efficiency up and down the actual line. Bill Ford likes that kind of thinking.
Bill Ford: The assembly line’s changed a lot in a hundred years. We’re … It’s still an assembly line, and
that, to me, is really remarkable.
Voice-over: The proof of that can be seen in car, after car, after car. For CBS this morning, Saturday, Dean
Reynolds, Detroit.
Male host: It’s remarkable how much has changed but how little has changed, in a lot of ways you know
Female host: I was thinking the exact same thing.
Male host: And Dean Reynolds looks stunning in that outfit.

Activity 5: Culture
The video tells you that the assembly lines helped create the American middle-class. How exactly did that
happen?
Complete this diagram with the following words:
Increased gains – mass consumption – standardisation – reduced production time – mass production –
increased productivity – increased wages ($5 a day) – increased worker spending power

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 1. Fordism

2. Standardisation

3. Reduced production time

4. Increased productivity

5. Mass production

6. Increased gains

7. Increased wages
($5 a day)

8. Increased worker
spending power

9. Mass consumption

Activity 6: Conclude
Present the video document orally. Record yourself then listen to your recording (45 – 60 seconds)
Link the document with the theme “fiction and reality”.
This news item is about the ford assembly line. It turned 100 years old when the report was made. In this
production system, workers don’t move. The assembly line allowed Ford to be able to mass produce cars
because he could improve the production process. This led to the birth of the American middle-class,
since workers could buy the cheap mass-produced cars. There have been many changes to the assembly
line, but today the principle is still the same.

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The document is linked to “fictions and realities” since it explains the origin of the assembly line and its
evolution. The representation we have of an assembly line is different from what it actually is. What is
more, the assembly line has shaped our vision of industry and has become part of our imagination.

Document 2: Detroit Industry

Activity 1: Anticipate
Where is Detroit? Do you know what it is famous for?
Detroit is in Michigan, in the North of the US. It is famous for the River Rouge Ford plant, which used to be
the largest Ford factory in the world.

Activity 3 : Picture analysis

1. Present the document
This document is a detail from a mural by Diego Rivera. It was painted in 1933. It is entitled “Detroit
Industry”. It was commissioned by the Detroit Art Institute and paid for by Edsel Ford, Henry Ford’s son.

2. Describe and make hypotheses

The mural represents a factory. There are many workers working on an assembly line. They are
surrounded by impressive metal machinery. Each man seems to be busy with his task. The painting is
crammed with details. There is not a single free space. The many workers are all doing a different task,
and these elements convey an impression of efficiency. The factory seems to be buzzing with activity. As
the mural was painted in an industrial city that is famous for its car factory, and because the painting was
paid for by Ford, we can imagine that the factory that is depicted is inspired by the Ford industry.
The mural is mostly painted in cool colours, like greys, greens and blues. However, at the top, we can see
a large orange fire. It represents the blast furnace, as the Ford Detroit factory had one to make steel in it.
This orange touch adds some energy to the painting.
This art work is absolutely massive: about 5 metres high and nearly 14 metres long. The characters are
painted real-size, thus giving them a life-like quality. The size of the painting adds to the impression of
awe that the viewer feels.
This mural, because it is so detailed and so accurate, conveys the artist’s admiration for the car industry.

3. Give your opinion

a. The controversy:
‘communistic’ and ‘irreligious.’ […] the work of a great artist
Rivera was fascinated by the efficiency of the Ford factory, which he visited in great detail before
starting painting. The mural glorifies labour. Work is idealised, the factory seems to be an organised
and interesting place to work in. In this sense, we can say that the fresco belongs to socialist realism,
a movement that is associated with communism.
Because the job of the workers is idealised, we can assume that Rivera was a communist. On the
other hand, it idealises a capitalist company: Ford. That is why this fresco is so interesting: it is an
ambiguous tribute.
Rivera did not just paint what he saw when he visited the factory: there were only white men working
in the River Rouge plant but the artist decided to paint Latinos and African Americans workers as well,
perhaps as an anti-racist stand or to underline the workers’ unity regardless of race. The workers’ job
is idealised and presented in a very positive light.
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b. Suggestions:
I like this painting because I find it very detailed. It makes it easier to imagine what a Ford factory was
like, and we can see many stages of the car production. I also admire the busy atmosphere that the
muralist has managed to create.
Or:
I don’t really like this painting. It is hard to see what each detail represents and the cool colours make
it gloomy.

Activity 4 : Language skills

1. Vocabulary

A. Industry

Exercise 1: Label the different elements on the mural:

A blast
furnace

Machinery

Car parts

Workers

A conveyor
belt

A wheeled
cart

Exercise 2:
a. Observez les mots composés suivants :
A blast furnace - a conveyor belt – a car part
b. Complétez la phrase:
Ils sont composés de deux noms. Le nom le plus important est le þ deuxième. L’autre a une fonction
d’adjectif.
c. Traduisez :
– Un conducteur de bus = a bus driver
– Une roue de voiture = a car wheel
– Une boîte à outils = a tool box
– Un arrêt de bus = a bus stop
– Un siège social = headquarters
– Le directeur de production = the production manager

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B. Actions

Match the images with the correct action verb: to pull – to observe – to lift – to push – to weld

           
To pull to push to weld to observe to lift

C. Art

Match these words with their French equivalent:

A mural = une fresque
Life-size = grandeur nature
Realistic = réaliste
A muralist = un peintre muraliste
To paint = peindre

2. Grammar: the passive

I. Observez: It was painted by Rivera.
It is inspired by Ford factories.

II. Déduisez: De quelle forme verbale s’agit-il ? Il s’agit de verbes à la voix passive.
 our former un verbe au passif (il a été peint), on utilise l’auxiliaire be au temps souhaité, accordé
P
avec le sujet grammatical, suivi du participe passé. Le complément d’agent (c’est-à-dire celui qui fait
l’action), s’il y en a un, est introduit par « by ».

III. Pratiquez : Conjuguez les verbes entre parenthèses à la voix passive.

a. This mural was commissioned by the Detroit Institute of Art.
b. It was inaugurated on March 21st, 1933.
c. It was paid for (pay for) by Edsel Ford.
d. The choice of Rivera as a muralist was criticised a lot.
e. Ford workers are/were portrayed very accurately.
f. Since 1933, the murals have been admired by many people.

Activity 4: Conclude
Explain why this document is related to “fictions and realities”.
This document represents a scene in a Detroit Ford factory. It is mural that is anchored in reality in the
sense that it depicts real processes. What is more, Rivera was inspired by the actual factory, which he
visited before painting the scene.
However, the scene that is depicted is fictional because Rivera created the scene. He had to re arrange
the machines to fit what he had in mind, and he changed some of the elements: for example, he

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exaggerated the size of the large piece of machinery in the centre of the picture in order to make it look
like a Mexican totem. What is more, he used the faces of people he knew and gave them a role in the
factory. It can be called “a fictional scene” because, in spite of the realism of the mural, Rivera idealised
work at the factory.

Document 3: the real-life women behind “Made in dagenham”

Activity 2: read
1. What can you say about the film the document is about?
The document is about a film entitled “Made in Dagenham”. It deals with a group of female Ford
machinists who went on strike. The film stars Miranda Richardson as the Employment Minister. The
film premiered in New York the weekend before the article was written, and two of the women it is
about were there.
2. What can you say about the strike?
The strike took place in 1968. The Ford machinists who sewed car seats went on strike after Ford
downgraded their skill level to “unskilled labourers”. They protested that they were skilled, as they
were producing the car seats. Their action went on for 3 weeks and stopped production in the largest
Ford factory in Europe. At some point, they also stopped traffic.
3. What can you say about the consequences of the strike?
The short-term consequence of the strike was that the strikers caught the attention of the
Employment Minister, and were granted a salary that was 92% of the men’s, which at the time was an
improvement. After 16 years, they were also granted the status of skilled workers.
But the long-term consequences are also striking: a film was made about those women’s
achievement. Also, this strike has had worldwide impact, maybe because of the film, since it is being
referred to as the American Senate is debating a bill on equal salaries between men and women.

Activity 3: Language Skills

1. Vocabulary
Exercise 1: Match each word with its French equivalent: déclasser – ouvrir la voie à – balayer – se battre
pour quelque chose – klaxonner – intrépide – le grand écran – partir – coudre – marquer l’histoire
a. To walk off = partir
b. Downgrade = déclasser
c. To sweep up = balayer
d. To honk a horn = klaxonner
e. To make history = marquer l’histoire
f. To stand up for something = se battre pour quelque chose
g. Fearless = intrépide
h. To sew = intrépide
i. To pave the way for = ouvrir la voie à

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j. The silver screen = le grand écran
Exercise 2: Use the context to guess these words’ meaning.
a. An employer = un employeur
b. A labourer = un ouvrier
c. A wage = un salaire
d. Skilled = qualifié
e. Unskilled = non qualifié
f. Equal pay = égalité des salaires
g. A strike = une grève
h. The working-class = la classe ouvrière

2. Grammar: Expressing duration

I. Observez

Seventy-eight-year-old Gwen Davis

80-year-old Vera Sime
The three-week strike (=the three-week-long strike)

II. Déduisez

Complétez :
Au jour d’aujourd’hui, durée de la vie de Gwen Davis en années = 78 et de Vera Sime = 80
Durée de la grève en semaines = 3
Que remarquez-vous en termes d’orthographe quant à l’unité de mesure (soulignée dans les phrases en
français) ? Le nom est au singulier.
Complétez ce tableau récapitulant la « formule » pour créer un adjectif composé exprimant une durée :

Adjectif exprimant ce qui est Nom (propre ou

Chiffre Nom au SINGULIER
mesuré (ici l’âge) commun)
78 - year- old Gwen Davis
80- year- old Vera Sime
The 3- week X strike

III. Pratiquez

Exercise 1 : Translate into English :

a. Un garçon de 10 ans = a ten-year-old boy
b. Une maladie de 2 semaines = a two-week illness
c. Un contrat de 3 mois = a three-month contract
d. Une femme de 28 ans = a twenty-eight-year-old woman
e. Un voyage de 10 jours = a ten-day trip
f. Un tour du monde de 80 jours = an eighty-day-round-the-world trip
g. Un bébé de 4 mois = a four-month-old baby

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Activity 4: Conclude
This article is about real-life women who inspired a film. Those women went on strike as a way to protest
for equal wages in a Ford factory in England. Their sewing job was downgraded to “unskilled labour”,
which they did not accept. The film is a romanticised version of their story; the events were dramatized for
the purpose of the film. It is interesting to learn that the main character of the film, Rita O’Grady, did not
actually exist. This film is coming out as the US government is about to vote a law on equal wages. This
fact is a great illustration of how reality can inspire fiction, which in turn can inspire reality.

Your project: Modern Times

This still is a good representation of the theme « fictions and realities » since it is taken from Modern
Times, a film that depicts the changes in society that Chaplin witnessed in the 30s. In that sense, fiction
was inspired by a changing reality. The still is a representation of the division of tasks, since Chaplin’s job,
in the film, is to screw nuts and bolts, a task that does not require any specific skill.
What is more, one should look at the symbolic meaning of this image: the worker is screwing nuts and
bolts on gears. But the imposing machinery looks huge compared to him: he seems to be crushed by the
weight of it. Chaplin used fiction to depict the reality of his time, when men were crushed by the weight of
sometimes dangerous labour.
The still sheds a negative light on factories, and especially on Fordism, since it is a representation of
the alienation that can come with the division of tasks. Chaplin used a comical situation to criticise
industrialisation, and the film is still famous today because it evokes realities that are still true today.
This film was said to promote communism against capitalism, and it was even banned by Goebbels, the
propaganda Minister in Germany.

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