Frida Kahlo's Self Portrait Along The Borderline Of The United States?

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I have always been intrigued by the power and influence that the United States has over our everyday lives. We watch American movies and TV shows, listen to American music, buy American products and are exposed to mostly American media. I’ve always been curious as to how they became the dominating force they are today. In her piece ‘Self Portrait Along the Borderline of Mexico and United States, Frida Kahlo (whose portrait is in the AP Seminar Stimulus packet) stands between two distinctly different countries: On the left hand side, Mexico, with beautiful plants and vegetables growing, and the moon and the sun clear in the blue skies. On the other side, the United States of America, whose tall commercial skyscrapers dominate the skyline as industrial smoke billows out of factories, clouding the American flag in the process. Her portrait inspired me to take a deeper look at the economic system in the US, and the ways in which it has contributed to their influence around the world. I did further reading on their free enterprise system, a system where governments place minimal regulations and restrictions on businesses and ownership. It’s a system which President Barack Obama believes “is the greatest engine of prosperity the world has ever known” (Harsanyi). However, it was here that the focus of my paper narrowed. The free enterprise system covers economic topics such as taxation, government regulation and right to private property. I decided to focus on the labour force