The Discursive Regime of the "American Dream" and the New Suburban Frontier: The Case of Kendall County, Illinois

Abstract

This study examines the current role of ideology in maintaining and reproducing consumer demand for residential suburban spaces in the outer ring of American metropolitan regions. It highlights the contradiction between the promises that are made through the ideology and discourse of the American Dream and the inherent limits of those promises within the realities of a highly dynamic capitalist society. It is argued that this powerful discursive formation has evolved through recent neoliberal times, and is manifest in the suburban landscape in new ways. It must continue to produce simulated images that signify mythologized narratives of the past that cater to sentiments of hope and a better life in the future. At the same time, it works through existing fears and anxieties in order to secure the progressive accumulation of capital in the suburban built environment. Evidence will be provided from the ongoing suburbanization of Kendall County, Illinois at the southwestern edge of metropolitan Chicago.