Part I: Jeanne McDowell and Andrea Sachs; Part II: Geneva Overholser

The authors of the following two-part viewpoint maintain that much of contemporary popular culture showcases America’s strengths rather than its weaknesses. In Part I, Time journalists Jeanne McDowell and Andrea Sachs discuss how recent books, movies, and television series feature characters who value home, family, and community with a focus on such topics as sacrifice, family reconciliation, and the emptiness of materialism. In Part II, Washington Post columnist Geneva Overholser contends that America’s popular culture should be judged by its finest—not its worst—representatives.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. What is the subject of the films Life as a House and The Royal Tenenbaums, according to McDowell and Sachs?
2. In the opinion of McDowell and Sachs, what...