Center for Women's Studies and Research, University of Tehran International Journal of Women's Research 2322-3901 2 1 2013 05 01 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Setting the American Dream’s Homeownerships Standard of Living and its Costs 79 94 30591 EN Heshmat Sadat Moinifar Prof, FWS,UT Rayeheh Ali Tavoli MA Student, American Studies Journal Article 2014 11 16 This article discusses how the Extreme Makeover: HomeEditionUS<br />television reality program, which focuses on rebuilding houses for those in need,<br />sets unrealistic boundaries for the American Dream’s standard of living of<br />low-income homeowners in the United States. Passing through economic hardship<br />in the past several years, it is important to study how this program can meet the<br />real expectations of the deserved families and viewers in a way that it doesnot<br />lead to more economic pressure for the selected family who is having their<br />house reconstructed. Based on Gerbner’s Cultivation theory, the media shapes<br />the peoples’ reality and view on the world around them and in this case,<br />it shapes the expectations of an American dream home. This article analyzes<br />how homeownership has become an American Dream and how the low-income<br />families participating in Extreme Makeover: HomeEdition had struggled to become<br />homeowners. It will do so by looking at five examples of families who have faced<br />difficulty in maintaining the lavish homes that have been rebuilt for them by<br />Extreme Makeover reality program team, with the use of a multidisciplinary frame<br />and discourse analysis methodology. Hencit will describe how this program has set<br />boundaries and raised expectations for the target families and viewers according<br />to the Cultivation theory. https://ijwr.ut.ac.ir/article_30591_1f1eb1eaff40d5b16011f0d5c49fbf13.pdf