E Pluribus Unum

The most popular American myth is a mystery. Its cultural significance is incontestable, yet hard to grasp. What is its essence? What kind of portrayals and manifestations may be discovered? And how does the myth relate to modern US-American culture? Hollywood’s movie industry and Barack Obama’s presidential campaign constitute two remarkable contexts which reveal the American Dream’s scope of relevance and diversity of meaning. At the same time, they also expose how conformably the myth may be applied to seemingly diverging scenarios: E Pluribus Unum – Out of Many, One. In his study, David Schnicke explores the myth’s historic milestones, contemporary role, and strategic utilization in reality and fiction by analyzing exemplary Hollywood productions and decisive traits and momentums of the Obama campaign. In the process, the reader gains a profound understanding of how to navigate through a narrative system so powerful in Western thinking, that its complexity is more than once concealed by its pellucid guise.