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Tyler Daniels
Beth-Cook Cornell
American Dream
7/21/2015
Facebook, A New Tool In The American Dream
Section A: Ideological Context
The American Dream is a difficult concept to grasp for there is no true definition
anymore. If you ask any elderly person what the American Dream is they will likely give you the
text book definition that you have to buy a house and support your family, or some variation of
that. However after this class Im starting to think there isnt a true definition of the American
Dream, for it is always changing as time goes on.
The Changing definition of the American Dream closely relates to social media, more
specifically Facebook. The way we achieve the American Dream is changing as well. Facebook
may be labeled as something kids waste time on and use to escape from reality, but it can be used
for their greater good. We can now use social media as a tool rather than a source of leisure to
achieve the American Dream.
We are chasing the American Dream that history has defined for us. We are told what to
expect and how to get it but history has shown the old concept of the American Dream is almost
non-existent. I think Zinn likes the idea of sub cultures. Imagined communities is quite similar
to sub cultures. My website was about the relation between imagined communities and social
media. Facebook is one of the largest social media sites we have today. Within it, there are
thousands of communities that were created based on common interests and ideas.

Facebook is a powerful form of expression. Right now if you look at anyones profile
who is active on Facebook, you can get a strong sense of what kind of person they are based on
the content the share and post for their friends to see. You basically form your own identity with
Facebook. There is unlimited opportunity, no limits with what you can do. Similar to the movie
The Searchers that we watched in class, the wide open desert represents opportunity with no
limits to what you can build for yourself. Social media, more specifically Facebook, is that desert
for our generation. By using social media as a tool to create something for yourself, is a part of
the American Dream.

Section B: Justification
While our American identity may have a definition, you will never learn about the true
identity of Americans in any textbooks. The American culture is more complex than it seems.
Social media has brought together countless sub communities or imagined communities.
Now more than ever the idea of being different is all over the place amongst the younger
generations. Something like this doesnt travel with the word of mouth, but rather social media. I
chose to use Facebook in this essay because for me, I dont need to turn on a TV when there is
200 of my friends and other pages posting current events and news daily. The freedom of
expression on Facebook lets anyone share what they want.
Youth movements are all over Facebook today. A more recent one Black Lives Matter
became very popular over the last several months. How would a movement like that have been
created without Facebook? Before, you would have to take to the streets in hope a news article
would be written about you or that youd made the local news channel. For example, the protests

at Wounded Knee occurred in the 1970s long before the internet. They had to take over an entire
town in order to have their voice heard. They had to do something big, risky, and dangerous in
order to capture the attention of news outlets who would then relay the message to the rest of the
world. Once their protest became popular, reaching out to different countries, the government
had news reporters leave the area to stop their wide spread attention. The news coverage was the
only thing the Native Americans at Wounded Knee had going for them, their lifeline was
basically cut off. With todays movements and online protests, it is almost impossible to shut
down one in particular. The government can shut down online communities or pages to stop
them from posting, but they cannot censor the individuals who believe in, or follow those
movements.
When talking about the U.Ss involvement in Vietnam Zinn explained, there was talk
in 1950 of what came to be known as the domino theorythat, like a row of dominoes, if one
country fell to Communism, the next one would do the same and so on. It was important
therefore to keep the first one from falling. (Zinn Chapter 18, Paragraph 14) I believe that there
is the same fear today within the government. One movement that opposes can gain enough
traction and get wide spread acceptance from society. Social media is truly a powerful tool that is
often overlooked by many.
When I ask my friends how they think social media relates to the American Dream, they
are quick to say that it does not. The fact is many people dont see the benefits social media can
have for our society. We are told how to achieve the American Dream. With Facebook and social
media, we are telling each other what it is and how to achieve it. It is no longer the white male
historian. Telling us what it is, but rather the real people of society, the average person on social
media.

Section C: Historical Context

As I mentioned in section B, Black Lives Matter is an increasingly popular youth
movement today. To clarify, no movement can be traced to one specific group. Black Lives
Matter isnt a single Facebook page hat has thousands of internet likes, it is an imagined
community built on an idea and all involved want to send the same message.
The Black Lives Matter movement was created in 2012 following the controversy about
the murder of Treyvon Martin. After George Zimmerman was acquitted of his crimes there was a
massive uproar over our broken justice system. Justice for Treyvon was one of the first big
movements following the murder of Martin. After that the phrase Black Lives Matter turned
into a movement, hundreds of thousands of people became a part of the movement.
Since the movements start, Black Lives Matter protests have been popping up all over the
place. Any time an unjust incident occurs to any black man or women, they are there protesting
it. The group members post videos and a series of hashtags on Facebook to try to get something
to trend. A trend on Facebook is any rapidly reoccurring phrase or hashtag that is posted by its
users. Trends are displayed on everyones public newsfeed for them to see.
The rallies and protests you are seeing today look quite familiar to the civil rights
movement in the 1960s. It makes you wonder if the civil rights movement never ended, but is
rather still going on today. Black Lives Matter is still fighting for equality that has never been
achieved on a national societal scale.
Section D: Specialization
The idea is to change the way you think. Black Lives Matter isnt about putting black
lives above anyone elses, they are challenging you to view society differently than your brain is

hardwired to do so due to mainstream culture. When African Americans are arrested,

immediately they are deemed a thug. The problem is that black males and females are
victimized by the police and labeled as low class criminals by society.
In DuBoiss treatise The Souls of Black Folk he explained,
the Negro is a sort of seventh son, born with a veil, and gifted with second-sight in this
American world,a world which yields him no true self-consciousness, but only lets him see
himself through the revelation of the other world. It is a peculiar sensation, this doubleconsciousness, this sense of always looking at ones self through the eyes of others, of measuring
ones soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. One ever feels his
two-ness,an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two
warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder.
(Du Bois Chapter 1, Paragraph 3)
This is one of his famous quotes regarding double-consciousness. It is a feeling as though you
have more than one social identity, which makes it difficult to develop a sense of self. Negative
perceptions from the rest of society had begun to change their life experiences because of
stereotypes perpetuated by the mainstream culture. Black Lives Matter is aiming to put an end to
double-consciousness. Essentially changing the way everyone thinks about black people, and
empowering others to think differently about themselves. born with a veil is referring to the
way people look at black people. The veil represents their stereotypical social identity, you can
see though the veil, but choose to believe the stereotype rather than the true identity of that
person.

Looking back on American history, you will find that our country was built on slavery
and oppression. After slavery was abolished in 1865 racism would prove to be alive and well
through the years. Although extreme forms of racism have ended, it still exists today.
Traditionally, black people are not thought of being able to achieve the American Dream.
Typically, history written about America excludes black people from having any major role in
society. However, they are brutally misrepresented and were labeled something they are not. The
beauty of social media today is that now anyones voice can be heard and with imagined
communities like Black Lives Matter they have other people who share the same beliefs with to
socialize with.
By using Facebook as a tool, the Black Lives Matter movement is successfully making
changes in our society. Instead of keeping quiet, people can be heard with their community
behind them giving them a legitimacy. They are fighting their oppressors and stereotypes. The
black community cannot be denied the American Dream because of old politics. Just by fighting
for their rights and freedom from oppression, in itself is a part of the American Dream.

Works Cited

Du Bois, W.E.B. The Souls of Black Folk. New York: Bartleby. Web. 1999.

Figueroa, Alyssa. 8 Developments of the Black Lives Matter Movement Most People
Don't Know About. Web. 15 December. 2014

The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. 13th Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution: Abolition of Slavery. Web.

Zinn, Howard. A People's History of America. New York, New York, USA.
HarperCollins Publishers, 1995.