1. Gaertner 1
Alex Gaertner
Dr. DiSarro
ENG 101- Section 12
29 February 2012
The New Athletic American Dream as Portrayed in Films
The American Dream can take many different shapes and forms. There are many
different aspects that compromise the American Dream. Andrew Miller looks into the athletic
American dream in his article,“The American Dream Goes to College”. This dream became
evident during the late 1920’s. While analyzing many films and other authorities, Miller
describes to the reader the significance of this dream. The use of rhetorical appeals leads the
reader to recognize the significance of the audience (pathos) in Miller’s article. The article was
intended for researchers and people in academia. Also, the communicator (ethos), Miller, is a
credible author. He holds an assistant professorship at Sacred Heart College in Fairfield,
Connecticut and is researching and writing on the topic of media production. Focusing on
understanding the message (logos) and arrangement of this article proves the effectiveness at
persuading an audience. These features of the article are important because they are the
critical components that make the article a worthwhile read.
“TheAmerican Dream Goes to College”, written by Andrew C. Miller, discusses the mass
numbers of movies of the sports film genre that were created in the late 1920’s. Miller is
explaining why this happened and what was happening in America at the time to influence it.
He believes these films have portrayed a new athletic American dream. With an examination of

2. Gaertner 2
many films of this time, Miller was able to identify three main factors contributing to their
making. First, football was incredibly popular at this time and Hollywood wanted to portray
that. Second, the college campus was an ideal location for this scenario to take place. Lastly,
these films displayed an elimination of class differences. After going into further detail of these
points, the audience, people in academia, is able to have an understanding of why these films
were created in such large numbers and what was happening in America that influenced their
popularity.
In scholarly articles, logos is the most important and prevalent rhetorical appeal when
trying to persuade an audience. The main purpose of writing an article is to reveal some type of
message. There is a major difference between just stating a message and describing a message.
The audience will not fully believe or understand the message if the author does not use any
evidence. He can use many different types of evidence to persuade an audience. The least
noticeable appeal is pathos; it is harder to interpret the intended audience for this article.While
the other rhetorical appeals are more obvious, logos is what is written and ethos is the quotes
that the author uses, pathos is not clearly written. It is left for interpretation.
The author, Andrew C. Miller, establishes his personal credibility through a small
biography at the very end of the article. The reader learns he is an assistant professor at Sacred
Heart College in Fairfield, Connecticut focusing on media production. This article is within his
field therefore proving his knowledge.While writing this article Miller was also furthering his
studies on the American sports film genre by writing a manuscript for the cultural history of this
genre. Throughout the article the reader ascertains that Miller is knowledgeable because of the

3. Gaertner 3
many facts he uses to support his statements. Miller quotes many outside sources and then
goes on to further explain how they relate to his message. A good example of Miller using
quotes to grab the reader’s attention would be when he quotes John Tunis describing sports as
a new religion, “…described as the era’s new religion with ‘it’s high priests (prominent coaches)
and acolytes (players), and it’s saints (great players and coaches who have passed on), and
sanctuaries (stadiums)’” (quoted in Miller 1225). This is an excellent quote to grab the reader’s
attention because taking something as powerful as religion is making a big claim, it’s surprising,
but it works.
The author is writing this article to inform people of a topic that has been overlooked.
He believes the 1920’s were a time period in which many movies were made circling around
sports in college and the new “athletic American dream” they created. This athletic American
dream portrays a life in which with a lot of hard work and determination one can be lead to
victory. Miller is questioning whether the student/athlete problem, student athletes focusing
on their sports and dismissing their academics, may have begun with these movies. Throughout
the article, Miller is explaining the reasoning for why so many movies of this genre were made
during this time period. He intends to answer the question of why there was a heightening view
of student athletes occurring in cinema and in American society at this time.
The use of a lot of specific evidence is very helpful in portraying his specific message.
Andrew Miller uses various forms of evidence to support his claims and further develop his
discussion. He references numerous screen plays of the sports film genre that were made
during the late 1920’s. Miller’suse of many real-life examples helps to make the argument more

4. Gaertner 4
believable. This furthers the reader’s opinion that Miller is educated on the subject he is
discussing. In addition to referencing movies, Miller also quotes many other authorities,
including sports historians. This shows that Miller is relying on other credible sources and not
solely basing his information off of personal opinion. Another key piece of evidence Miller uses
to persuade the audience is visual aids. Miller includes pictures of a movie poster and a book
advertisement. The use of these visual aids is extremely powerful in persuading the reader
because it is giving them something tangible to look at. The reader is able to make the
connection to real life through the use of real advertisements. Visuals are a persuasive way to
explain a message because they are more concise and it is much easier to grab the reader’s
attention. An image on a page full of words boldly stands out and attracts a reader right away.
The article is arranged in a very easy to follow format. Miller starts out by laying out the
main points of his article, as well as some background information in the first two and half
pages. Miller states the exact question his article is going to answer, why student athletes are
becoming characters of interest, and then lightly touches on the three main points that answer
this, the popularity of college football, life on university campuses, and issues of class conflict.
After the introduction the article breaks into 4 sub sections going into further detail of the three
main points he outlined in the introduction. This arrangement helps the reader to easily
understand the main point of each section. It is laid out in question and answer format,
therefore making it simple for the reader to absorb the most important information.
While reading the article the audience can tell Miller is very passionate about the
subject because of his language. Occasionally he will make statements which indicate his

5. Gaertner 5
opinion. For example, while describing the three main points of the article he portrays which
one he favors, “And finally, and most interestingly, these football films repeatedly engage with
issues of class movement…” (Miller 1224). The use of the phrase, “most interestingly”
demonstrates to the audience Miller’s own interest in this specific subtopic. By displaying his
own interest in the information it can make the audience gain more interest because they will
want to continue reading to find out why he believes it is interesting.
Overall Miller does an excellent job of creating an effective article. Through the use of
quotes and visuals, Miller undoubtfully portrays his message, the perception of student
athletes, to his audience, people in academia. These techniques appeal to the audience by
easily proving Miller’s knowledge and creating a fast way to see the connection. By focusing on
portraying his message (logos), Miller educates his audience (pathos) on his views of the
athletic American dream as it was portrayed in films during the late 1920’s.

6. Gaertner 6
Works Cited
Miller, Andrew C. "The American Dream Goes To College: The Cinematic Student Athletes of
College Football." Journal of Popular Culture 43.6 (2010): 1222-1241. Academic Search
Premier. Web. 29 Feb. 2012.