Social Commentary - "The Great Gatsby" (F. Scott Fitzgerald), "American Beauty", "Betty Bowers"

A successful piece of social commentary selects an issue (or feature) of a society and identifies a series of aspects that contribute to that society. By doing this, the author raises the awareness amongst readers and makes them reconsider the accepted state of affairs and challenges a position held on those certain issues. F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby is a severe indictment on American society in the 1920s, with particular emphasis on the disintegration …

…exaggeration and tone in "Miss Betty Bowers" and shot construction, dialogue and symbolism in American Beauty. Although there is a variation, they have all successfully managed to comment on issues such as materialism, hollowness and image/success because of their individual techniques. The texts that have been considered were generally effective at making social commentary on various issues relevant to their culture by production by raising awareness of certain issues or features of their society.