Sepia-toned image showing a vintage ticker tape machine spilling dominoes, with the New York Stock Exchange building behind it featuring a stock graph. Silhouettes of a family look up at the scene. Text reads 'Built on Debt. Sold as a Dream.'

SECTION 4: Power, Perspective, & Meaning* *Film Title:* _Paper Mountain_ *Historical Event:* The 1929 Stock Market Peak and the lead-up to the Great Depression *Time Period:* 1928 – September 3, 1929 --- *SECTION 2: Tagline & Historical Message* *Proposed Tagline:* _“Built on Debt. Sold as a Dream.”_ *Explain what this tagline communicates about the event:* The tagline shows that the 1920s boom wasn’t based on real wages or production. It was built on borrowed money through margin buying. People thought they were living the American Dream, but the system was unstable. When confidence broke, millions lost everything. --- *SECTION 3: Central Image (5 pts)* *What will be the main image or symbol on your poster?* A vintage ticker tape machine spilling paper that transforms into falling dominoes. Behind it, the New York Stock Exchange with a graph spiking to Dow 381.17 on September 3, 1929. *Who or what will appear most powerful or important on your poster? Why?* The stock chart and ticker look powerful, but they’re made of fragile paper. This shows that the “prosperity” depended on public confidence and debt, not real economic strength. In the foreground, silhouettes of an average family look up at the chart, showing who had the most to lose. *What idea about American government, power, or civic life should viewers understand from your poster?* Viewers should understand that without regulation, economic power rests on risk. In the 1920s, the U.S. government chose not to regulate Ver mais