Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris

March 23, 2023 by Ethos Team

Assembly Objective:

Do we treat people differently according to their appearance or social status? Is a poor woman’s cash worth as much as a rich woman’s credit? This assembly defines prejudice and encourages self-examination. Through a New Testament letter to a church, students will examine their own prejudices and be challenged to treat others with respect and fairness regardless of appearance or social class.

Film:

Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris (Universal, 2022, PG). Click here to buy the DVD online.

Bible:

James 2:1-5 (NIV-UK)

Supporting Values Education:

The value of democracy assumes equal access to decision-making within society. The value of mutual respect for and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs and for those without faith demands that we treat our fellow citizens without discrimination.

This assembly invites students to consider how equality of access and opinion is practised in any social environment.

OPENING ACTIVITY

Bin-bag Couture (Illustration)

Invite two volunteer ‘models’ to come to the front of the assembly and choose two-three ‘designers’ to work with them. Give the teams two bin bags, a pair of scissors, a roll of sellotape and an assortment of scrap paper and junk to work with. Tell them they have three minutes (longer if you have more time) to create an outfit for their model. Set a timer and play some music as they work. Encourage the rest of the assembly to cheer on the team on their side of the room. After three minutes is up, ask the models to walk up and down to show off the outfit, then hold a vote to decide the winning outfit.

Award a small prize to the winning team and send them back to their places.

Fashion is big business. The couture houses of the world craft outfits that are beautiful and very expensive. But, as your volunteers have just demonstrated, imagination and creativity doesn’t need to cost lots of money. Explain that in today’s assembly you are going to discuss whether we treat people differently according to what they wear or how much money we think they have.

FILM CLIP

Play the clip from Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris (Universal, 2022, PG)

Start time: 00:29:32
End time: 00:36:57
Clip length: 7 mins 25 seconds

Mrs Ada Harris (Lesley Manville) is a cleaner from London who dreams of being able to afford a designer dress from Paris. After scrimping and saving for months, she finally has enough to afford the flight and dress. On arrival she walks into the city centre and spends the night in a station waiting-room with some down-and-outs. One of them escorts her to the House of Dior in the morning, wishes her good luck, telling her that she is a noble woman. On arrival at the red-carpet entrance to a fashion show, she sees one of the models (Alba Baptista) tripping up as she arrives late for the fashion show, dropping her handbag in the process. Mrs Harris follows her into the building to return it and after doing so she makes her way to the room where the collection is to be shown. At a table by the entrance is Mme Colbert (Isabelle Huppert) who responds to Mrs Harris’s request to see the ‘frocks’ by telling her she must have found the wrong place. As the wealthy guests for the show arrive and are greeted warmly, Mrs Harris notices that she is being ignored. She tells Mme Colbert that where she comes from ‘shop girls are pleased to be of service.’ When the staff threaten to escort her from the premises she digs her heels in, explaining that she has saved every penny scrubbing floors so she can buy a frock. She then deposits rolls of cash onto the table. M Fauvel (Lucas Bravo), the accountant, comments that it’s real money, something that most clients don’t have. Mrs Harris is rescued by the Marquis de Chassagne (Lambert Wilson) who invites her to view the collection as his guest. They then walk arm-in-arm into the room and take up their seats in the front row, much to the glee of the staff who are watching from behind a curtain.

TALK

Download the Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris PowerPoint for use with this talk.

Scripted Talk

[PowerPoint slide 1]
- Have you ever felt that other people were looking down on you, maybe because they don’t like what you’re wearing or because you just don’t fit in? Have you ever been guilty of judging someone by their appearance and leaving them out? Feeling left out or excluded by a group is a horrible experience, and probably all of us have experienced that at some point in our lives.
[PowerPoint slide 2]
- In today’s assembly we’re going to hear what the Bible says about judging other people by their clothes, and by how much money they have, but we’re going to begin by watching a clip from the film Mrs Harris Goes To Paris. Ada Harris is a cleaner from London. Mrs Harris dreams of going to Paris to buy a dress from the fashion designer, Christian Dior, and she has saved up enough money to go for one day. The clip begins as she arrives in the city. Pay attention to how she treats people, and to how they treat her.
[PowerPoint slide 3]
- Watch the clip. Ada Harris encountered a number of people on the first day in Paris. There was the group of homeless men in the train station, the model who was late, the workers in the atelier (workshop), Mme Cobert (the lady on the desk), the wealthy customers and the Marquis. Did you notice how she treated the people she met?
[PowerPoint slide 4]
- She treated everyone equally – she made friends with the down-and-outs, she was kind to the model, she wasn’t prepared to allow the rich customers to queue jump and she wasn’t going to be put off from buying her dress.
[PowerPoint slide 5]
- What about how other people treated Mrs Harris? Many of them were kind to her – the homeless men, the workers and the Marquis. Others looked down on her – Mme Colbert and the wealthy clients. If you had been in Mrs Harris’ position I wonder how you would have responded to being told you weren’t welcome. Perhaps you’d have felt embarrassed and left quietly, or perhaps you’d have been like Mrs Harris and kicked up a fuss. She was determined to buy the dress and she knew that she was equal to anyone.
[PowerPoint slide 6]
- Did you notice what M Fauvel (the accountant) said about her? When she emptied her money onto the desk, he commented that she had real money, something that not everyone had. He meant that many of the wealthy customers took a long time to pay their bills, which meant that the House of Dior was in danger of going out of business. Mrs Harris may not have been a wealthy woman, but her money was as good as anyone else’s, and she was prepared to pay for the dress on time!
[PowerPoint slide 7]
- Judging people without knowing them is often described as prejudice. Prejudice means making your mind up about someone before you know them or their circumstances, and it’s often about judging a person on the basis of what you know about where they come from, or how they look.
[PowerPoint slide 8]
- So, forms of prejudice could include racial prejudice, educational prejudice, gender prejudice or prejudice on the basis of someone’s social background or poverty.
[PowerPoint slide 9]
- In the clip we watched, there were a few examples of this. When Mrs Harris arrived at the train station she might have formed a view of the down-and-outs. She might have felt afraid of them, and looked down on them for being homeless. Instead, she became friends with the individuals in the group. She chose not to be prejudiced about the men in the station.
[PowerPoint slide 10]
- The wealthy customers and Mme Colbert were prejudiced, too. When they met Mrs Harris they saw that she was a poor woman, and rather than taking the time to listen to her, or treating with respect, they dismissed her. They allowed their prejudice about cleaners to influence how they treated Mrs Harris.
[PowerPoint slide 11]
- All of us have prejudices, and it’s important to notice them, to choose to take time to get to know people as individuals, and to listen to their experiences.
[PowerPoint slide 12]
- In the Bible there is a letter that was written to a church by a man called James. James was an early Christian, and some people think that he may even have been Jesus’ brother. In his letter, James had some strong words for the church about how they were treating different people.
- My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favouritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, ‘Here’s a good seat for you,’ but say to the poor man, ‘You stand there’ or ‘Sit on the floor by my feet,’ have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
- Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?
[PowerPoint slide 13]
- James is saying that in God’s kingdom there should be no favouritism. God’s love and forgiveness is the same for everyone – rich or poor, no matter what they look like or how they appear.
- These are challenging words for Christians to remember, and they remind people who want to follow Jesus that they should treat everyone equally and with respect. They are also words that show us what God is like, whether we follow him or not, and they are good words for anyone to hear because they remind us to notice how we act towards other people.
- Prejudice is something we can notice in our society, and in ourselves, but noticing is not all we can do.
[PowerPoint slide 14]
- The best way to deal with our prejudice is to take action.
[PowerPoint slide 15]
- In the film clip, the Marquis de Chassagne took action. He was a very wealthy man and being called ‘Marquis’ meant that he was a Lord or a Duke. When he saw Mrs Harris he probably had some prejudice – he knew she was not a wealthy woman, and he knew that she was not a regular customer at Dior. Instead of ignoring her or looking down on her, he chose to include her, and invited her to be his guest at the fashion show. He escorted her to a front row seat – the best seat in the house.
[PowerPoint slide 16]
- For you and me, taking action might mean giving someone a seat on a bus. It might mean choosing to say hello to someone who is not like us. It might mean including people who are different to us in our friendship groups. It will definitely mean treating other people with kindness and respect.

Headings and Bullets

Download the Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris PowerPoint for use with this talk.

[PowerPoint slide 1]
- Have you ever felt excluded?
- Have you ever been guilty of judging someone else and excluding them?
- Feeling left out or excluded by a group is a horrible experience.
- All of us have experienced that at some point in our lives.
[PowerPoint slide 2]
- Introduce assembly.
- What the Bible says about judging other people by their wealth.
- Introduce film.
- Ada Harris is a cleaner from London.
- Mrs Harris dreams of going to Paris to buy a dress from the fashion designer, Christian Dior.
- Saved up enough money to go for one day.
- Pay attention to how she treats people, and to how they treat her.
[PowerPoint slide 3]
- Watch the clip.
- Ada Harris encounters different people.
- The group of homeless men in the train station.
- The model who was late.
- The workers in the atelier (workshop).
- Mme Cobert (the lady on the desk).
- The wealthy customers.
- The Marquis.
- Did you notice how she treated the people she met?
[PowerPoint slide 4]
- Mrs Harris treated everyone equally.
- Made friends with the down-and-outs.
- Kind to the model.
- Not prepared to allow the rich customers to queue jump.
- Not put off from buying her dress.
[PowerPoint slide 5]
- How was Mrs Harris treated?
- Many of them were kind to her.
- Others looked down on her.
- How would you respond to being told to leave?
- Perhaps you’d have felt embarrassed and left quietly.
- Perhaps you’d have been like Mrs Harris and kicked up a fuss.
- She knew that she was equal to anyone.
[PowerPoint slide 6]
- What M Fauvel (the accountant) said:
- Commented that she had real money, something that not everyone had.
- Many of the wealthy customers took a long time to pay their bills.
- The House of Dior was in danger of going out of business.
- Mrs Harris’s money was as good as anyone else’s, and she was prepared to pay for the dress on time!
[PowerPoint slide 7]
- Prejudice.
- Prejudice means making your mind up about someone before you know them or their circumstances.
- Often about judging a person on the basis of what you know about where they come from, or how they look.
[PowerPoint slide 8]
- Forms of prejudice.
- Racial prejudice.
- Educational prejudice.
- Gender prejudice.
- Prejudice on the basis of someone’s social background or poverty.
[PowerPoint slide 9]
- Example of prejudice.
- Mrs Harris might have felt afraid of the homeless men.
- Instead, she became friends with the individuals in the group.
- She chose not to be prejudiced about the men in the station.
[PowerPoint slide 10]
- Example of prejudice.
- The wealthy customers and Mme Colbert viewed Mrs Harris as a poor woman.
- They dismissed her.
- They allowed their prejudice about cleaners to influence how they treated Mrs Harris.
[PowerPoint slide 11]
- All of us have prejudices.
- Important to notice them.
- Choose to take time to get to know people as individuals.
- Listen to their experiences.
[PowerPoint slide 12]
- Introduce the Bible passage.
- A letter that was written to a church by a man called James.
- James was an early Christian, and some people think that he may even have been Jesus’ brother.
- James had some strong words for the church about how they were treating different people.
- James 2:1-5.
[PowerPoint slide 13]
- In God’s kingdom there should be no favouritism.
- God’s love and forgiveness is the same for everyone – rich or poor, no matter what they look like or how they appear.
- Challenging words for Christians to remember.
- They remind people who want to follow Jesus that they should treat everyone equally and with respect.
- They are also words that show us what God is like, whether we follow him or not, and they are good words for anyone to hear because they remind us to notice how we act towards other people.
- Prejudice is something we can all notice in our society, and in ourselves, but noticing is not all we can do.
[PowerPoint slide 14]
- The best way to deal with our prejudice is to take action.
[PowerPoint slide 15]
- Marquis de Chassagne took action.
- Wealthy man and a ‘Marquis’ (Lord or a Duke).
- He probably had some prejudice towards Mrs Harris.
- Instead of ignoring her or looking down on her, he chose to include her.
- He invited her to be his guest at the fashion show.
- He escorted her to a front row seat – the best seat in the house.
[PowerPoint slide 16]
- Taking action might mean…
- Giving someone a seat on a bus.
- Choosing to say hello to someone who is not like us.
- Including people who are different to us in our friendship groups.
- Treating other people with kindness and respect.

RESPOND

Reflection

[PowerPoint slide 17]
- Play some reflective music and show the slide with the questions:
- What prejudices do I carry?
- What action can I take today to include someone or show them respect?
- Invite pupils to spend a moment looking at the slide and thinking about the two questions.

Prayer

[PowerPoint slide 18]
- God, thank you that your love is equal for all. Thank you that your forgiveness is available for all. Forgive me when I exclude other people or judge them. Help me to treat others without prejudice or judgement. Amen.

YOU WILL NEED:

A copy of Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris (Universal, 2022, PG). Click here to buy the DVD online.
Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris PowerPoint.
Bin-bags, sellotape, scissors and paper scraps for Bin-bag Couture illustration.

Share this:

Like this:

Related