Dissecting the American Dream
VOLUME 22. ISSUE 2.
America has long been praised as a land of economic prosperity and equal opportunity, but what happens when these ideals face reality is often less than ideal: rampant consumerism, gentrification, heteronormativity, and white ethnocentrism. What causes these pitfalls in the American dream, and how do they apply to our lives?
photos by sophie confer and leyla dumke
illustrations by eliot schlaack
“I think the American Dream is dead… my Grandpa moved here, and was able to put himself through medical school and start a practice to set his family up for success… [but] I don’t think he’d be able to accomplish that today.”
— quote from Juswin Judge in article “Modernizing the American Dream” by Chris Jordan
THE CONTENT
How consumerism shaped America
feature by mason hanks
Americans buy a lot of stuff… like a lot, a lot. According to The Wall Street Journal, Americans spend 1.2 billion dollars on nonessential products each year. The buying of goods is heavily promoted within our society…
Modernizing the American dream
feature by chris jordan
When the idea of the “American Dream” was coined in the early 1930’s by American author James Truslow Adams in his book The Epic of America, it was very different from its current form. Today, when you think of the American Dream…
Breaking down the nuclear family
feature by camp daniels
In post World War II America, cities were unstable and suffering. Minority populations grew, and with the increase of car ownership, so did traffic. Many white families decided to get away…
Expanding the suburbs: white flight
feature by cooper white
Lying at the core of the American social and economic dream is the concept of the white nuclear family, traditionally seen as a mark of success within American society…
Money, opportunity, and the American dream
feature by rhys conybeare
Everyone treats money differently. Some save consistently, and spend little, letting frugality determine their relationship with money. Others spend lots and save little, and some are happily in the middle…