Thursday, December 3, 2015

Guillaume Pierre-Louis - Favorite Multimedia Journalism

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/us/the-way-north.html#p/39

This article asked people all around America what being an American meant to them. The article itself is a collection of quotes from people who describe America in their own words, complemented by photos of them. I think it's really interesting how different people's concepts of what it means to be an American change based on their backgrounds. "The American Dream" often gets treated as though its meaning is universal, that America is the land of opportunity for those willing to grasp it, but this article shows that the "truth" of that dream is not nearly as universal as people pretend that it is.

With these kinds of stories photos aren't the focal point, in this article their purpose is to add context to the different versions of the American Dream. The Mexican man who immigrated illegally is going to have a much different view of the American Dream than the man who immigrated from Ghana after taking part in an exchange program or the woman who lives in the same town she was born in. These photos allow people reading the article to get a peek into that person's life, whether they are waiting in line to find work or are tending to the store that they own.

The article has a much more skeptical view of the American Dream than the view that is normally presented and I appreciate that.

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