What is “The American dream?” Webster’s New World Dictionary calls the American dream “the U.S. ideal according to which equality of opportunity permits any American to aspire to high attainment and material success.” How ideals are manifested in American stories on film is the subject of this unit. This unit seeks to develop critical perspectives in elementary students viewing media, while also explaining some traditional and emergent values inherent in American culture. The ideals of justice, truth, and loyalty are themes for an examination of meritocracy, culture, social order, and ideology. These are explored by using two film classics and two popular “movies “of American cinema. Students learn that no medium is innocent of ideology - a body of ideas on which a particular economic, political, or social system is based, and that American “movies” consist of cultural images perpetuated by filmmakers in the context of storytelling. Each film will provide students with opportunities to improve their proficiency in their communications with peers, teachers, and their families while articulating the meanings of abstract social studies concepts. By helping students define what it means to be “American,” teachers play an instrumental role in mediating the school culture to diverse populations and grounding both the student’s worldview and their personal identity.