1C Lesson Plan for “Masters of Desire” (524)

 One. Lexicon

1.    The curse of egalitarian society: the loss of individuality and distinction.

2.    Increase the “my” at the expense of “your” 525

3.    The contradictory nature of the Myth of Equality 525

4.    Advertisers don’t persuade; they manipulate 525

5.    Thesis: paragraph 5

6.    “I’m special” and Cadillac

7.    I’m successful” and Mercedes Benz

8.    “I’m hip” and Audi and Mini Cooper

9.    Supercilious: not having to look at the “lower orders”; one looks up during the Chanel No. 5 Moment.

10.                   Chevrolet says “I’m a populist; I’m the heart-beat of

America

.” This ad caters to the need to belong.

11.                   Patriotic iconography: Chevrolet and Ford

12.                   McDonald’s success is rooted in its age chameleon nature; it morphs into any age group and caters to all ages as a result. See page 529.

13.                   Ads that exploit the fear of guilt and ostracism as a result of being malodorous and in general falling short. 532

 

Part Two. Writing Assignment Option

 

Compare David Brooks’ red state/blue state dichotomy described in “One Nation, Slightly Divisible” (487) with Jack Solomon’s populist-elitist paradox. Use consumer habits to illustrate your comparison, for example, citing the differences between SUV and Mini Cooper drivers.

 

In your first page, summarize the major points in both essays. Then your thesis might look like this:

Solomon and Brooks successfully show that

America

is divided in its elitist (Blue state) and populist (red state) consumer iconography evidenced by ___________________________, ______________________________, ____________________________, and __________________________.