The American Dream: A Can of Coke and a Lexus :: Argumentative Argument Media Papers

The American Dream: A Can of Coke and a Lexus Following the crowd in 2001 is the American way. Our lives have been infected with directions on who, how, and what we should be and do. Every day our televisions blare out talk shows, sitcoms, and soap operas to stagnate our minds. Our radios scream obscenities and false hopes with a beat that permeates our thoughts. Magazines, newspapers, billboards, televisions, and radios continually tell us what we need and want. Fashion dictates the way we dress, what styles we wear, and even the food we eat. We must follow rigid exercise routines in expensive gymnasiums, drive only the best automobiles, and buy only certain brands of products for our families to consume. The media constantly inundates our subconscious with messages that instruct us how to behave, what to say, and gives directions on what is necessary to be accepted in the elite privileged society that we perceive to be the American dream. This is the education we get from the world around us. Where has this propaganda come from? Why are we not able to see the forest for the trees? Why do we accept all that is handed to us without questioning the motives? We have been led to believe that â€Å"they† are always right. We have been taught to fear our own judgment, to accept life without question. Such programming begins at birth, is exemplified by our elementary education, and snowballs as we continue to learn. We are a society of sheep, waiting for slaughter. Paulo Freire describes this kind of education in his essay â€Å"The Banking Concept of Education† as: Education thus becomes an act of depositing, in which the students are the depositories, and the teacher is the depositor. Instead of communicating, the teacher issues communiquà ©s and makes deposits which the students patiently receive, memorize, and repeat. This is the â€Å"banking† concept of education, in which the scope of action allowed to the students extends only as far as receiving, filing, and storing the deposits. (349) Schooling in American society has become a process of transferring a pre-arranged amount of information to our children. It begins around age five and continues through the late teens, or until the students have successfully completed the courses required of them. Teachers force-feed a curriculum determined by the state, the county school board, and the school itself.

Pretty Woman Essay

Pretty Woman is a romantic comedy, which is based on the stories of Cinderella, the Prince and the Pauper and My fair lady. The film was produced in 1990 and directed by Garry Marshall. It is set in the Hollywood hills and the rough Hollywood Boulevard. Richard Gere and Julia Roberts play the two main characters, Vivien Ward and Edward Lewis. Edward is a wealthy man who is respected and admired by others. Whereas Vivien is a lot poorer. Her only way of earning money is by her job as a prostitute in Hollywood Boulevard. In the film the music is very important. At the beginning it is set at a party. It is Edward’s party so it is very posh and classy. All throughout the party scenes there is piano music being played in the background. This shows that Edward and his friends are very sophisticated. The music changes though when Edward is in his car driving through the Hollywood hills down into the Hollywood Boulevard. It turns into a more upbeat song it’s lyrics include ‘I’ll get over you,’ this is a signifier because it links in with the fact that he has just broken up with his girlfriend. When the shot moves to Vivien in her bedroom the music changes again, it changes to a louder, heavier song called ‘Wild women do’ which matches Vivien’s character as a prostitute living in the rough part of the Hollywood Boulevard where she lives life wildly. Just from this you can see a contrast between Vivien and Edward straight away. The costumes that the two main characters wear are very different. At the party at the beginning of the film, Edward and all of his friends are wearing very posh expensive clothes probably made by famous designers. The people are wearing clothes that have quite a bright colour like red or blue and most of them are just wearing one colour. They are also wearing lots of expensive jewellery like gold necklaces, bracelets, rings etc. Just by looking at the people at the party you can tell straight away that they have lots of money and can afford to buy expensive clothes and jewellery for parties. When you first see Edward he is upstairs in his office away from the party. The walls in his office are just plain white with not a lot of decoration and he is wearing a plain grey suit which is quite dull and lifeless this is a signifier that he is a businessman and that he doesn’t like to wear bright colourful clothes and that he prefers to stay wearing neutral colours.

The Nazi Seizure Of Power By William Sheridan Allen

In The Nazi Seizure of Power by William Sheridan Allen, the author portrays the power gaining and support building strategies, used by the Nazi party, by focusing on the small German village of Northeim. This gives the reader a more focused example to see how small towns/villages were locally affected. Allen s thesis is that the Nazi party was able to take control over small towns and villages like Northeim because they were able to reach out to the lower and middle class. These classes took up the majority of the German population at the time, so, the Nazi party sought out what they wanted from government officials and then used that to persuade these lower/middle classes to vote for them. After reading The Nazi Seizure of Power By†¦show more content†¦He then follows this claim by stating â€Å"In the years after 1930 this flaw split Northeim wide open, led to bloody riots and the deterioration mood, and culminated in the Nazi seizure of power. The Nazi answer to the problem of class division was to abolish its expression by force.† (The Nazi Seizure of Power By William Sheridan Allen, page 22). Although all of this was stated fairly early on in the book, to me these were impactful statements that foreshadowed later events in the book. For that reason I felt that the author was shrewd in making such big claims so early on. They also supported his thesis well because they (although somewhat generic) roughly gave the reader an idea of how the Nazi party would go on to take control through the flaws in social and political systems. Allen continues this idea throughout the book, for example on page 298, he writes â€Å"The single biggest factor in this pr ocess was the destruction of formal society in Northeim.† (The Nazi Seizure of Power By William Sheridan Allen, page 298) when referring to the Nazi seizure of power. As you read further into the book, you begin to see the emergence of Nazi influence in Northeim. At first when I was reading, there were little hints and foreshadows of the party scattered about. InShow MoreRelatedEssay about Nazi Politics: A Work of Art1315 Words   |  6 Pagesunder Adolf Hitler. Hitler and the Nazi Party essentially turned politics into an art by using, and indeed abusing, power to benefit themselves in any possible way. Hitler sought perfection in his regime and attempted to achieve it through organization and assimilation of the volk, dealing swiftly and affectively with opposition, thus not allowing alternatives to the regime, and by emphasizing discipline and a chain of command. Through Hitler and the Nazi Partys efforts, politics in the ThirdRead MoreNazi Seizure of Power Essay890 Words   |  4 PagesIn The Nazi Seizure of Power by William Sheridan Allen, the author is able to show the reader the support building strategy used by the Nazi party in Nor theim and surrounding areas. Allens thesis is that Nazi party was able to succeed the village of Northeim and else where because they were able to reach out the lower and middle class. Since these classes held the majority of the population, the Nazi party discovered what they wanted from government officials and then used that to persuade theseRead MoreThe Importance of Archaeology1232 Words   |  5 Pagesthe study of historical and prehistorcial civilizations through the recovery and analysis of their materials culture. Moreover, it contains the study of human activity in the past. It has been often put to political use. In time of Adolf Hitler the Nazi Leader, archeology was unlikely special interest. The importance of Archeology was used by its leader to make his case that Germany had every right to invade surrounding countries. They used nationalism and the archeology itself to maintain and rationalizeRead MoreThe Reasons For The Weimar Republic s Collapse1284 Words   |  6 PagesLucas Schwartz Modern Democracies Professor Powers 4/15/16 If Hitler Hadn’t Existed By 1919 Germany’s entire governmental structure that had ruled Germany since 1871 was eradicated. An outbreak of violence fled through Germany while revolutionary communists fought battles with right-wing militias in hopes of gaining control. Through all the violence and mayhem, the Social Democratic party was still able to hold elections for a national assembly, which thus formed the Weimar Republic. This new government