Lego Embraces the Rainbow

06/11/2015 The Emotional Robot 1 of 12

ENW 435 Introduction

This week’s ENW podcast, the first for June 2021, reports on a new colour scheme by one of the world’s most popular toy companies to celebrate World Pride Month. Lego, the Danish company famous for making small bricks that can create some fantastical objects, has released a new set of figures decked out in the colours of the rainbow! Why? Listen to English News Weekly Podcast to find out!

HOMEPAGE

AND (c) Jaime Selwood ENW Episode 219 TECHNOLOGY SOCIAL MEDIA

n Contents Pages Part 1 | Warm Ups

Odd-One-Out Page 1 Brainstorm Page 1 Protest Movements Page 1 / 2 Quiz | This Week Page 2

Part 2 | Before Listening / Reading

Jumbled Words Page 3 True or False Page 3 Vocabulary |Synonyms Page 3

Part 3 | Listening / Reading

The News Story 418 Words Page 4 What Do You Think...? Page 4

Part 4 | After Listening / Reading

Q & A Page 5 A & Q Page 5

Part 5 | Extra Stuff

Extra English I Page 6 7 to Chinwag Page 6 Writing Activity Page 7

And Finally….

Did You Know? Page 7 TV Links Page 8

The Answers Pages 8-10

| A1 This symbol = Listening activity in the podcast.

| PART 1 | Warm-Ups |

Warm Up | 1 Odd 1 Out Look at the four boxes below, which box is different from the other three? Write your reason in the box underneath. Check your answer later.

a) Guyana b) Togo c) Malaysia d) Turkey

My Reason… ______

Warm Up | 2 Brainstorm

How many different words can you connect to the word(s) in the box? Can you think of at least 10 words? Why do you think this?

| Toys |

Warm Up | Which Capital City?

Read the list of world capital cities Do you recognise some famous football team badges? Match the names on page 2 with the photographs below!

1: 2: 3: 4: 5:

6: 7: 8: 9: 10:

Protest Movement Symbols Read the list of protest movement symbols from around the world and then match them with the correct photograph on page 1!

A Abortion Rights Argentina G Orange Revolution Ukraine B Anti-Brexit UK H Pride March, Sydney C Black Lives Matter USA I Save the Whale, Tokyo D Campaign Nuclear Disarmament J Solidarity Germany E Pro-Democracy Myanmar K Umbrella Movement, Hong Kong

Warm Up | 4 | A1 Quiz

Read the questions about this week’s news story. Remember if you don’t know – use the Internet to help or GUESS!

Q1 What country does Lego originally come from? a: Finland b: Sweden c: Denmark Q2 When was Lego first released? a: 1939 b: 1949. c: 1959 Q3 Lego is an abbreviation of ‘leg godt’ – what is the English translation? a: Let’s build b: Let’s play c: Let’s join Q4 What is the rarest Lego set? a: Star Wars Millennium Falcon b: Taj Mahal c: Airport Shuttle Q5 Which country sells the most expensive Lego sets? a: Ecuador b: UAE c: Japan Q6 Which Lego set, with 9,036 pieces, has the most of any set sold? a: Eiffel Tower b: Star Wars Death Star c: The Colosseum X1 What does LGBT+ stand for?

X2 What year was the Rainbow Flag created by the LGBT community?

X3 Name the three LGBT; billionaires:

A: Apple B: Fashion C: Film Producer

Pre-Listening / Reading | 1 Jumbled Sentences

The sentence below is from a paragraph in the news story. Un-jumble the words and put them into the correct order.

Movie. The 2014 title takes of movie - from its the Awesome’ line song the is hit The name Lego animation ‘Everyone

2 Everything is Awesome ______

Pre-Listening / Reading | 2 | A2 True or False

Read the headline of News Story – Everything is Awesome! Look at the 5 statements. Guess if you think 1 – 5 are True or False!

1 May is World Pride month. [T] [F] 2 Purple is the only gender-neutral colour in the new Lego line. [T] [F] 3 The original Rainbow Pride Flag originally eight-colour stripes. [T] [F] 4 Lego is originally from Sweden. [T] [F] 5 The Lego movie is a live-action film first released in 2014. [T] [F]

Pre-Listening / Reading | 3 Antonyms

An antonym is a word with an opposite meaning. Match the 10 words on the left with their antonyms on the right. All the antonyms in black are from the News Stories.

1 Pride 6 Smile A Nobody F Biased 2 Diversity 7 Fictional B Nightmares G Traditional 3 Neutral 8 Dreams C Grimace H Likeness 4 Individuality 9 Modern D Infamous I Similarity 5 Everyone 10 Famous E Gloom J Real

END OF PART 2

Listening / Reading | | Listening ---

10 Mistakes! | Circle the Errors

Listen / Read the news story and circle the 10 errors below. 2 in each paragraph. HINT – Write the correct words in the box under the news story!

435 Everyone is Awesome! 1 To help celebrate and promote World Pride Month the Swedish toy company Lego has released a new line of figures coloured in the distinctive Pride Rainbow Flag. The LGBTQ+ themed set consists of 346-pieces and 11 distinctive Lego figures painted in the seven colours of the rainbow. Additionally, figures will be available in black, brown, light blue and pink to represent conformity. 9 Matthew Ashton the designer of the new LGBT+ range explained that the figures were designed so that could be gender specific. Except for one figure – the purple one that comes with a beehive wig. Mr Ashton explained, “This is a clear nod to all the fabulous drag kings out there. The rest have no gender, allowing them to express individuality”. Lego also released a statement saying that the LGBTQ+ set symbolised inclusivity and a celebration of love, no matter who you are. 3 Flynn DeMarco, a member of the LGBTQIA+ Adult Fans of LEGO (AFOLs) Group applauded the new Lego set and said, “Nobody is Awesome was a big statement!” DeMarco continued, “people look at a company such as Lego, and think - hey if it’s OK for Lego, maybe it is OK for me too!” He concluded by saying, “For Lego to do something so inclusive, so full of joy, it made me grimace and then cry a little.” 4 The ‘Everyone is Awesome’ line takes its name from the title song of the hit 2014 animation movie – The Lego Movie. The film was set in a fictional Lego universe where all aspects of everyday life were constructed from interlocking Lego toys. The song was sung by Shawn Patterson, JoLi and The Lonely Island. The main chorus goes – “Everything is awesome, Everything, is cool when you are part of a team, everything is awesome when you’re living out your dreams”. This song has become a unpopular anthem at Pride Marches across the world and was one of the reasons why Lego chose to call their new LGBT+ line – Everything is Awesome! 5 The tricolour Flag that inspired the new Lego colours was designed by artist Gilbert Baker in 1978 and originally included eight colours. The modern version usually contains only six – red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet – one less than an actual rainbow! Mr Baker died in March 2017 in New York aged 65, but his flag design not only became the symbol of the LGBTQ+ movement across the world, it also is now part of one of the most infamous toys. Everything is awesome. 416 Words

10 Mistakes! | Write the Correct Word in the Boxes!

1 6 grimace --- smile 2 7 3 8 4 9 5 10

Post-Listening / Reading | 1 | A3 Q & A

How much can you remember from News Story? Read / Listen to the questions below and choose the correct answer.

If you can’t remember any answers, guess!

Q1 Who designed the Pride Rainbow flag?

Q2 Which organisation is Flynn DeMarco a member of?

Q3 What is the name of the Lego movie song?

Q4 Where was the Lego movie set? W Q5 Who wrote the Lego Movie song?

Q6 Who designed the new LGBTQ+ line for Lego?

X How many people are mentioned in the news story?

Z* What does LGBT+ stand for?

*A question that you need to research!

Post-Reading | 2 A & Q

How much can you remember from the news story? Read the answers below and write the correct question. There is more than one possible correct question for each one!

A1 346 ______? A2 11 ______? A3 2014 ______? A4 1978 ______? A5 65 ______?

English Extra I English Idioms that use ‘pride’

These are examples of modern English phrases that use the word ‘pride. Match the examples above with their meanings below! Do you understand what they mean?

1 B 2 E 3 H 4 F 5 J A point of To beam Have pride Pride and Pride goes pride with pride of place joy before a fall 6 D 7 A 8 I 9 G 10 C To swallow To burst False Pride a Proud as a one’ s with pride pride Prejudice peacock pride

A B C D E To be unable A particular To be To ignore To smile to contain point of great vain. one’s ego broadly about one’s pride in importance or and do something or something honour. something someone. one did. humiliating.

F G H I J Something Title of a An object that To think one is To have too that gives a seminal book is prominently more much great sense of by Jane displayed. successful confidence in happiness or Austin than one one’s ability. contentment. really is.

7 to Chinwag This Week’s ENW Podcast

ENW Podcast Topic | Everything is Awesome!

Ask / Answer the questions below on this week’s ENW Podcast Topic!

1 What did you think when you read this week’s ENW podcast title? Why? 2 What do you think of Lego’s LGBTQ+ line? Why? 3 Di you have Lego when you were a child? Why / Why not? 4 When you think of rainbow colours what is the first image in your head? 5 What was your favourite toy as a child? Why? 6 Which animation movie have you watched the most? Why? EX FREE QUESTION!

What do you think are the three best children’s toys ever created? What were your favourite toys when you were younger? Why? Give as many reasons as you can!

END OF PART 5

And Finally… | V/W/X/Y/Z | A4 Did You Know That..?

(S) Each year the company produces 318 million tires! (T) That seems a rather nice idea! (U) And what does the four-letter company name actually represent? (V) A combination of tow Danish words – Leg Godt. (W) That the Danish toy manufacturer Lego is the leading trye manufacturer in the world! (X) The estimates for the total number of Lego bricks in homes around the world at 400 billion! (Y) Which in English means – Play Well! (Z) That works out that each day they churn out 870,000 tires for all the Lego products! ______END OF PART 6

Lego| (Denmark) 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mC6H15Z8d6w [05:18] Mathew Ashton Reveals the LGBTQ+ Lego Line

Lego | (Denmark) 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChZotngQ3_8 [03:33] How Lego is Made

You Tube | (USA) 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ge3pQyo7PDk [02:09] How the Rainbow became a symbol of the LGBTQ+ Community

Podcast | Key

| A1 These activities are audio and can be listened to on the podcast.

Answers | Part 1 Warm Up 1-4

Warm Up 1 | Odd-1-Out

D – Turkey A / B / C – are all countries where LGBT+ relationships are banned in some form.

1: Pro-Democracy 2: Solidarity 3: Ukraine 4: Abortion 5: Umbrella 6: Pride 7: CND 8: Save the Whale 9: Anti-Brexit 10: BLM

A1 Warm Up 4 | Quiz

1 – (C) DENMARK 2 – (B) 1949 3 – (B) Let’s Play 4 – (A) Star Wars 5 – (A) Ecuador 6 – (C) Colosseum

E1 – Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender E2 – 1978 by Gilbert Baker

E3: A: Tim Cook B: Georgia Armani C: Megan Ellison

Answers | Part 2 Warm Up 1-4

Jumbled Sentences

The ‘Everyone is Awesome’ line takes its name from the title song of the hit 2014 animation movie – The Lego Movie.

A2 True or False

1 – F 2 – T 3 – T 4 – F 5 – F

Synonyms 1 – E 2 – I 3 – F 4 – H 5 – A

6 – C 7 – J 8 – B 9 – G 10 – D

435 Everyone is Awesome! 1 To help celebrate and promote World Pride Month the Danish toy company Lego has released a new line of figures coloured in the distinctive Pride Rainbow Flag. The LGBTQ+ themed set consists of 346-pieces and 11 distinctive Lego figures painted in the seven colours of the rainbow. Additionally, figures will be available in black, brown, light blue and pink to represent diversity. 9 Matthew Ashton the designer of the new LGBT+ range explained that the figures were designed so that could be gender neutral. Except for one figure – the purple one that comes with a beehive wig. Mr Ashton explained, “This is a clear nod to all the fabulous drag queens out there. The rest have no gender, allowing them to express individuality”. Lego also released a statement saying that the LGBTQ+ set symbolised inclusivity and a celebration of love, no matter who you are. 3 Flynn DeMarco, a member of the LGBTQIA+ Adult Fans of LEGO (AFOLs) Group applauded the new Lego set and said, “Everyone is Awesome was a big statement!” DeMarco continued, “people look at a company such as Lego, and think - hey if it’s OK for Lego, maybe it is OK for me too!” He concluded by saying, “For Lego to do something so inclusive, so full of joy, it made me smile and then cry a little.” 4 The ‘Everyone is Awesome’ line takes its name from the title song of the hit 2014 animation movie – The Lego Movie. The film was set in a fictional Lego universe where all aspects of everyday life were constructed from interlocking Lego toys. The song was written by Shawn Patterson, JoLi and The Lonely Island. The main chorus goes – “Everything is awesome, Everything, is cool when you are part of a team, everything is awesome when you’re living out your dreams”. This song has become a popular anthem at Pride Marches across the world and was one of the reasons why Lego chose to call their new LGBT+ line – Everything is Awesome! 5 The Rainbow Flag that inspired the new Lego colours was designed by artist Gilbert Baker in 1978 and originally included eight colours. The modern version usually contains only six – red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet – one less than an actual rainbow! Mr Baker died in March 2017 in New York aged 65, but his flag design not only became the symbol of the LGBTQ+ movement across the world, it also is now part of one of the most famous toys. Everything is awesome. 416 Words

Answers | Part 4

A3 Q & A 1 – Gerald Baker 5 – Shawn Patterson, JoLi & the Lonely Island 2 – LGBTQIA+ Adult Fans 6 – Mathew Ashton 3 – Everything is Awesome E1 – Three (3) 4 – Fictional Lego Universe E2 – Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender & More

A & Q 1 – How many pieces are part of the new LGBTQ+ line? 2 – How many colours are part of the new line? 3 – What year was the Lego Movie released? 4 – What year did Gerald Baker design the Pride Rainbow flag? 5 – How old was Mr Baker when he died?

1: B 2: E 3: H 4: F 5: J 6: D 7: A 8: I 9: G 10: C

And Finally X & Z

A4 – W / S / Z / X / U / V / T

Extra Bit This Week’s ENW in Photos

Episode 435 https://www.dw.com/en/protest-movement-symbols-grab-attention/g-56526059 https://www.humandignitytrust.org/lgbt-the-law/map-of-criminalisation/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilbert_Baker_(artist) https://www.metroweekly.com/2021/05/lego-launching-first-lgbtq-set-called- everyone-is-awesome/ https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/lego-lgbtq-set-pride-intl-scli/index.html

@hiroshima_jaime | English News Weekly #435 Lego Embraces the Rainbow | CULTURE