Delanie5

=Reflection= The American Dream The first picture to me represents the essence of the American dream, and the quote underneath represents the positive attitude towards accomplishing the American dream. The video clip shows the materialistic influence of the American dream, the clips within the video show how many different ways materialism influences the American dream. The picture of the family of four and the large home behind them is the automatic image that comes to mind when I hear "American Dream". The first quote from __Democracy in America__ shows the positive attitude towards achieving the American Dream, through hard work and determination. The second quote from __Democracy in America__ has a bit of a negative connotation to it, this quote shows how achieving the American Dream is simply gaining "property, power, and reputation" but not really going any deeper than acquiring those things. The comic shows the ways in which the American dream is interpreted. The broad explanation of the American dream has a lot of room for negative interpretation and the quote under the comic shows that negative interpretation of the American dream.

City Upon a Hill The first image I selected because I feel it shows the epitome of a "City Upon a Hill". The man at the top of the stairs looking down upon everyone is set to resemble the United States and how they view the rest of the world, small and inferior to the United States. The video clip I then selected shows exactly how America's superior attitude towards the rest of the world only sets the United States up for criticism. The video shows the statue of liberty hovering over a large amount of skulls set to resemble the amount of civilian deaths in Iraq. My impression of the video is that because American views itself as superior it makes it seem as if America does not care about any other countries. America has invaded Iraq and instead of talking about how many innocent Iraqi civilians have been killed the United States talks about the progress they are making and they talk about how many US troops they have lost. The video really makes America out to be a selfish country. Lastly I chose the painting by Ignatius Keller and the quote from __The Scarlet Letter__ because both showed the definition of a "City Upon a Hill" as John Winthrop puts it, he says "all eyes are upon you".

Racial Mores The photograph of the man on the sidewalk with people walking right by him is the perfect example of the invisible man, although clearly there no one recognizes his presence or even acknowledges him for that matter. I put the quote from __Invisible Man__ by Ralph Ellison on the page because I think it perfectly depicts racial mores in America. In this quote the invisible man comes to many realizations that he cannot live his life in anger because he has become invisible. He realizes that he has to learn how to forgive those who have made him invisible and accept the fact that he will remain invisible, to many, for the rest of his life. The quote also shows how even if invisible he still feels all the same things as a normal human does, which ties in the concept of equality of races in the American Dream. The next picture is one of Martin Luther King, Jr. giving his famous "I have a Dream" speech, I chose the quote below it because during this speech he talks about his American Dream. From this ever so famous speech we only hear his views on segregation and how he hopes for equality, I chose the quote because as he still stands for equality in this quote he stands for equality among the American Dream. He speaks about how it is important that all races and religions try to achieve the American Dream, and I think that is very important because he recognizes that we are all Americans regardless of color. I chose the quote by Al Sharpton because I felt it agreed very nicely with the Martin Luther King, Jr. quote, it also explains the hope for equality that lies within the American Dream. The poem by Langston Hughes "Let America be America Again" I chose because I liked how in the start of the poem Hughes talks about what his America is and what he would like his America to be but then later in the poem proceeds to tell the actual America he sees and tells how that is not at all the America he had envisioned.

Media Influence On this page I wanted to show how skewed the American Dream has become with the influence of the media. In the first video clip it talks about reality shows and how being on one of those shows gives you instant gratification, good or bad, either way however you are a celebrity. You get instant fame, and you do not have to work for it. One example she uses is that even if you are just on American Idol and don't win everybody still knows your name, and you develop this instant fame. I then chose two quotes associated with the American Dream one by Madonna, a famous singer, and another by Malcolm X, a social activist. Between these two quotes there is great contrast along with a great similarity. In Madonna's quote she talks about how she is all for peace and she has made that clear by writing a song, a form of media. While Malcolm X is saying how the media has so much power, and that it is the media that controls everything. I say there is a similarity between these two quotes because Madonna says she gets her message of peace across through song, which is type of media and people pay attention and listen to her cause. Malcolm X however is saying that that is the exact issue, that the only way people become aware of things is through media, and the media has the power to tell the world information through their own eyes, which is not always the 100 percent truthful way. With the quotes from Toni Morrison's __The Bluest Eye__ I wanted to show how being rich and beautiful has also become associated with the American Dream. Jean Harlow was a very famous actress, and girls aspired to be her not because of her extreme talent but because she was both wealthy and beautiful. The second video clip is a Television ad for a reality TV show. In the clip it says "win the American Dream" and by American Dream they simply mean money, showing the intense way in which we lose sight of the American Dream through the media. The last few comics show how not only the American Dream has been skewed and lost with the influence of the media but how everything can be easily changed in the media to fit our own personal interest because scandal sells more than truth. I thought the final quote from John Mayer sums up exactly what I was trying to get across on this page, that when forms of media are our only way of receiving information things get skewed, and we have to assume that what they tell us is the truth.