Talk by Isabel Allende in the TED 2007 annual conference
March 27, 2008Posted by mmarvs in : Audio and Video
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As I saw some of you bursting out laughing in the computer room when you were watching this video, I thought that you may like to have access to it and listen to it in your own time and at your own pace.
In it, novelist Isabel Allende talks about writing, women, passion, feminism. She tells the stories of powerful women she has known, some larger-than-life, and some simply living with grace, dignity and ingenuity in a world that, in too many ways, still treats women unjustly.
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Yesterday while I was watching this video I started to laugh because she tells the story, especially the one with Sofia Loren, quite funny. You know, although she has a Spanish accent, all the brief stories she talks about are very interesting. They show the both sides of the coin: the happiness and the sadness in which lots of women live nowadays. She tries to explain how in some places of the world women are treated unjustly making them feeling inferior and dependent from their husbands. She insists on having dignity to live not better but in a good way and if women could reach more power, she thinks that the world could be better because men are just hopeless.
Isabel Allende is a well known writer and she is successful in her career.I think that she is an example of fight in a world dominated by men. Literature world has always been a machism world. For this reason Isabel Allende shows how important is a passionate heart.
In this video, she tells 3 amazing stories. These share as protagonists 3 different women with a passionate heart. Each of them lived a cruel and unfair situation conditioned by the fact of being a woman; for example, a girl sold by their parents, a pregnant woman ina camp of refugees and a wife beat by her husband.
Isabel Allende believes ina egalitariam society and she encorauges women to develop their potential. She talks about feminism and she refers to women forced into a premature marriage, prostitution, no control of their bodies, no education, they´re paid less than men… Nowadays, it seems incredible, but it happens.
In her opinion, women and men working together can bring peace and prosperity. For this writer, it´s necessary the femenism energy and women in positions of power, like men.
I have enjoyed the witty way she turns her speech from amusing puns into serious and impressive real stories.
The most heart-rending for me was the one about Jenny, the dental hygienist who went to Bangladesh as a volunteer, and how a husband of a patient she had treated the day before, flew off the handle because her wife couldn’t make his dinner. Actually, it is a great pity that nowadays (well this story takes place in 2005, but it’s not too far from the current date) these kind of things can happen with all the political programs, money, and lots of resources that “first world countries” have. It seems to be that politicians don’t take enough time and money to tackle these problems.
In fact, we are not really aware of how lucky occidental women are, thanks to the progress and rights we have. So, to make a better world, developing countries deserve more dignity.
I have to confess that I´ve never read an Isabel Alleden´s novel, what is more, I had never seen her. Nonetheless after watching the video I felt a sense of curiosity about her work.
I find fantastic the way that she talks about serious issues, now that, she uses a brilliant sense of humour which make you follow the speech until the end.
I believe she was intelligent, because If she hadn´t used humour she would have had difficulties to catch the attention of the audience, because the speech was quite long. The best part is when she talks about Sofia Loren and her long legs.
By the way, the query is that there are women in world who suffer discrimination, injustice..etc,they have hard stories to tell us and we should listen them.
It is such an impressive talk…very witty and full of passion.
She definitely knows how to make people feel concerned about sexual discrimination.Isabel Allende is a special woman,she has been fighting for women’s rights all her life.Her work as a novelist is just fascinating but she has also taken part in some important movements against discrimination.She’s so active and lifely,that when she’s talking everyone becomes involved (this video is a good example).She is so talented and opinionated…
I have found her stories just heart-rending.Isabel can always mix ironic phrases and deep comments.I totally agree with her…we’re developping our independency but there are too many women who are suffering all over the world and they don’t deserve loosing their opportunities.We are privileged as we live in a ‘wealthy country’ but we can’t turn a blind eye and forget about poor women.It’s us who have to fight for them,as they don’t have any power.
Many thanks for the video.I couldn’t finish it when we went to the computer room so I was really looking forward to watching it!