By Tyler Carr
I decided to do a social media blog format. I also included an audiogram using a quote from my interview. I did this in a way that made it seem like my interview was on a radio show. I used these strategies for my artifact because, as a BDJ major, I need to be able to recap my shows and be able to make media available to the public easily.
Today, I talked to R about the American Dream and we more specifically talked about how she has experienced and criticized the idealism behind the Dream. R is a white woman from New York. She is heterosexual and is not religious. She attended an esteemed university in New York, and now lives in her hometown again. Right away, she talked about what the American Dream was to her. She explains how her life’s opportunities came to fruition and expands on why she thinks she wouldn’t have had those opportunities had she been born elsewhere or to different parents.
The American Dream is commonly misunderstood. Certain people believe they will come to the United States and work their way into success that didn’t seem possible prior. Certain people believe that with an opportunity, they can finally get through the challenging obstacle course that is life. However, American opportunity often comes from privilege and/or luck. Unpopular opinion, I know. But Heather seemed to agree with me. She explains how her background and upbringing created the luxury to pick her career path and find opportunities. She works at a non-profit organization, and she explains how she had the privilege to find a job that she personally enjoyed instead of hunting for a job to earn immediate money to survive after college. The choice to do that is a privilege that not many people get. She explains how her family being supportive and financially stable was her greatest privilege. And it’s probably true. Having a financially stable family that supports you consistently is like having a head start on a great amount of the population.
R helped me understand more about the huge role that privilege plays in the American Dream and in American Society as a whole. I think it is important to realize that the American Dream is really an idea of excess opportunity. But in reality, and as Heather pointed out to me, people with privileges like financial stability or smaller school size have a sizable advantage over those without them.
INSERT AUDIO
R is…
- 39 Years-Old
- Female, Cisgender
- White
- Upper Middle Class
- Straight