From the outside, the Bergman family is living the American dream. Ada balances shifts at the local library with life as a devoted wife and mother. Her husband, Berg, works hard at the Delta Inn, takes pride in his country, and believes family values matter. Their home is immaculate, their faith is unwavering, and their daughter Melissa is everything parents could hope for: helpful, polite, and responsible.
Their teenage son Weldon is a little different. Preferring the company of his video games, Weldon spends most of his time secluded in his bedroom, immersed in military-style video games. While Ada worries that he may be shutting himself off from life, Berg sees nothing unusual at all. In fact, he believes Weldon’s virtual combat skills will one day help him to defend America from those gosh darn evil terrorists.
But beneath the neatly trimmed lawn, patriotic slogans, and wholesome family values lies a far more complicated reality. As family life begins to collide with ideology and blind devotion to a carefully manufactured version of the American dream, long-held beliefs are tested and uncomfortable truths emerge.
Lightly sharpened and provocative, The American Way is a biting satire that holds up a mirror to modern society and asks a simple question: what happens when believing in the dream becomes more important than seeing the truth?
1M, 2FM.
