Truth, justice, and the American way : what Superman teaches us about the American Dream and changing values within the United States

Graduate Thesis Or Dissertation

Public Deposited

Citeable URL: https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/graduate_thesis_or_dissertations/3f462979m

Descriptions

Attribute Name	Values
Creator	Karp, Lauren N.
Abstract	This thesis is a study of the changes in the cultural definition of the American Dream. I have chosen to use Superman comics, from 1938 to the present day, as litmus tests for how we have societally interpreted our ideas of “success” and the “American Way.” This work is primarily a study in culture and social changes, using close reading of comic books to supply evidence. I argue that we can find three distinct periods where the definition of the American Dream has changed significantly—and the identity of Superman with it. I also hypothesize that we are entering an era with an entirely new definition of the American Dream, and thus Superman must similarly change to meet this new definition. Keywords: superman, comics, American, literature, comic books, english, thesis, culture
Resource Type	Masters Thesis
Date Available	2009-06-24T22:46:27+00:00
Date Issued	2009-06-04
Degree Level	Master's
Degree Name	Master of Arts (M.A.)
Degree Field	English
Degree Grantor	Oregon State University
Commencement Year	2010
Advisor	Gottlieb, Evan
Committee Member	Lewis, Jon Bernell, David
Academic Affiliation	English
Non-Academic Affiliation	Oregon State University. Graduate School
Subject	Social values in literature Comic books, strips, etc. -- Social aspects -- United States Superman (Comic strip)
Rights Statement	In Copyright
Publisher	Oregon State University
Peer Reviewed	No
Language	English [eng]
Replaces	http://hdl.handle.net/1957/11926

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