The American Dream
for Sale:
Ethnic Images in Magazines
Pre-reading
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What is “American Dream”? What are the
connotations of “for sale”? As a society, the
Americans love “sales” and have made
salesmanship and business competition
international ideals. So shouldn’t the
American Dream naturally be associated
with the idea of selling and buying?
What are your attitudes towards advertising?
Is it fun? A seductive way to get you to part
with your money? Cynical? Necessary?
Does advertising inform people about what
they desire? Or does advertising create
desires? Or both?
In-reading
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Hanging participle: encyclopedia
article about Hanging participle.
Ranging in price from 10 to 15 c,
easily within…, they were an…. (par.
2)
Great Depression (par. 5): article
about the Great Depression
The Noble Savage: encyclopedia
article about The Noble Savage.
Building vocabulary
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A. Used in the sense of social
mobility, the idea that each person
should have an equal chance to rise
or gain a place in society through his
or her talents
B. the activities of the skilled and
devoted housewife who “manages”
the home as her husband manages
a business; the cheery outlook of the
homemaker, ostensible happy with
sharp gender distinctions, has given
this task and word a negative
connotation
Building Vocabulary
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C. a sterotypical or
characteristic image, using the
work “stock” as in “stock in
trade,” meaning the defining
practices or standard equipment
of a person or group
Building Vocabulary
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D. The “five and dime” was a general
store where you could buy more or
less anything at a modest price, and
a wooden statue of an Indian in full
headress, sometimes holding
something for sale in his hand, would
frequently be found outside the front
door; once one might have said that
these were five and dime Indians
and not the real thing, but today
these statues recognized as
demeaning
Building Vocabulary
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E. like apple pie, meaning
composed of qualities
essentially American but maybe
too much so, including an
implication of race or ethnic
exclussiveness.
Understanding the writer’s
ideas
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1. “How to live perfect American life”
(par. 1).
2. Commonly held stereotypes (ar.
4)—e.g. the courteous but
subservient black railroad porter (par.
5).
3. the production of “a plethora of
ready-made goods”, all seeking
mass markets, and the availability of
low postal rates, improved typesetting, etc. which prompted the
growth of popular magazines as
ideal vehicles for sales messages
Understanding the writer’s
ideas
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4. The mass audience required
creation of “an average person” (par.
3). Ethnic groups were often
depicted through commonly held
stereotypes (par. 4).
5. Those from ethnic groups are
depicted as subservient (par. 5), in a
service role (par.6), or by the broadbrush stroke of simple external
attributes (Chiquita banana, the
Scotsman in kilt) (par. 7-9).
Understanding the writer’s
ideas
6. Magazines.
7. In addition to whites, other American
groups were targeted in advertising.
8. Advertising is now directed at
specific minority groups; these ads
reflect the difficulties of attempting to
reconcile being “accepted” into the
mainstream and yet sustaining
ethnic identity.
Understanding the writer’s
techniques
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1. In the opening paragraph, the
writer lays out a many-faceted thesis,
the gist of which is that images of
ethnic groups in magazines reflect
the economic and social changes of
the last century, changes
characterized by conflicting attitudes
about ethnicity and the relation
between ethnicity and the American
mainstream.
Understanding the writer’s
techniques
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2. To place the depiction of
ethnic groups within the broad
story of the rise of advertising
and its causes.
3. The subservient Negro; the
Noble Savage; the colorful
foreigner.
Understanding the writer’s
techniques
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4. It may not have relied as
much on the pictorial evidence;
it may have used less
accessible (more professionallydirected) diction, and more
scholarly references. An op-ed
piece implies a more popular
audience than an exhibition, and
might be written in simpler
English.
Understanding the writer’s
techniques
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5. She offers examples
organized by chronology and
type. Her transitions underscore
the chronological development,
while also using helpful linking
words: “An
advertisement…reveals another
way…” (par. 6)
advertisement…
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7. Literary images are not often as
succinct, or as “graphic” as visual
images, especially those in advertising.
Advertising, as the writer says,
necessitates simplification. Literature
aims at the greater complexity and
ambiguity of life. The image of Jim in
Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn, for
example, is made up of a complex
actions and events, not just one snapshop. And to this day opinions vary as
to how Jim should be view—as a
portrait in depth, or as a stereotype.
advertisement…
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8. In three ways: first, the conclusion
brings us to the present, ending the
chronological sequence; second, it
brings the story full circle, from the
targeting of whites only to the
targeting of ethnic groups as well;
and finally, it notes the complex
implications and conflicts of the
present state of affairs, as compared
with the past.