Riz ahmed addresses the house of commons on diversity

1. Write here all rhetorical repetitions used in the
speech:
1. Pressing...
2.
What is the leitmotif of the presentation/address?
(the concept is mentioned more than 15 times
throughout the video)
We both have a big hand in shaping culture... ☐
we've been taking large strides in the right
direction, find other nouns collocating with "in the
right direction"
☐ þ
sometimes too incremental, sometimes not really
seizing the bull by its horns but we have fallen
short of the mark...
☐
They retreat to other fringe narratives... ☐
As thousands of qualified doctors and nurses
huddle on our shores as refugees...
☐
back to our tried and tested formula of all-white
period drama...
☐
a new national story that embraces and
empowers as many of us as possible rather than
excluding us and alienating large sections of the
population...
☐
swimming against the current, going against
the grain...
What other rhetorical device is he using here?
and here:
it's an added extra, a frill, a luxury.
☐
a benchmark against which everything is
measured
☐
political polarization, economic
disenfranchisement
☐
systematic scapegoating of certain minorities ☐
In their mind everyone thinks they're the good
guy.
☐
number two on the list of grievances was the
depiction of Muslims in the media.
☐
...hero or heroine taking on a massive challenge,
insurmountable odds right? Through a steep
learning curve, some hard lessons and noble
sacrifices it's just about making it through, save
the day
☐
The power of stories to allow us to relate to
experiences that don't resemble our own is
phenomenal and...
☐
Our community coheres only within the bounds of
our imagination, as far as our imagination will
stretch. I believe we really need to step up to the
plate and to push our imagination to be as broad
as our community actually is.
☐
What it showed is that if black minority ethnic
professionals workers were afforded promotion at
the same rate and with the same frequency as
their white counterparts it could add 24 billion
pounds to our economy each year.
☐

2. I think we need to take a leaf out the
book of our music industry. Drum & Base,
Grime, Dubstep: these are world-conquering
musical genres, that are only possible by
tapping into our multiculturalism.
☐
this is about the bottom line: the creative
industries make up 7% of our GDP, second only
to the financial services industries...
☐
got into a private school, on a scholarship, where
my acting was nurtured...
☐
West End theatre producer Thelma Holt saw me in
a play in Oxford, offered to pay, make up for
some of that gap in fees. I'm indebted to her to
this day
☐
That's a big run of luck, and I shudder to think
about all the people who felt it was just one of
those hurdles.
☐
It's only when government steps in to set the
rules of the game that you will foster true
innovation...
☐
We're at this critical moment, let's not allow future
generations to look back and judge us when
centrifugal forces were threatening to tear us
apart, because they really are.
☐
Instructions:
1) During the video: tick the sentences as you hear them.
2) Once we've viewed the video: in pairs, work out the meaning of the words in bold from the context
and answer the questions in italics.
3) Recap all the rhetorical devices Riz uses in his speech and discuss their importance and effectiveness.
- Repetition -...
4) Spot the parallel structures in the sentences above:
Speaking:
5) It's only when government steps in to set the rules of the game that you will foster true innovation...
Do you remember question 2 from the activity based on David Cameron's article/manifesto? Has your
opinion changed in light of what you've heard here?
6) Do you agree with the speaker's take-home message? to what extent?
7) Multiculturalism has always been pitched against integration. What version of multiculturalism is he
advocating here? Is it that different?
Based on a Youtube video by Channel 4
Watch Riz Ahmed's fabulous rendition of Edmund's monologue (King Lear, Shakespeare) on our blog (2
minutes :)