America

Character
America was a beloved supermodel who went missing in ''America the Beautiful. ''She was severely depressed and had planned on committing suicide. Duckman eventually found her living in the city dump, feeling used up and uncared for after her previous four relationships. The first of which was a buttoned down old fashioned values misogynist who didn't believe women should question his authority. The second was a hippie college student who said that she was yearning to be free when they met. He got her into experimenting with drugs, which apparently resulted in such new experiences as trying to tie her shoes after being up for a week and staring at her hand all day. She then dated a disco dancer who was callous and vain, caring about little else but having a good time. Her last boyfriend was a ruthless wall street executive who dumped her for a trophy wife after she took a leave of absence from the company to have a tumour on her colon removed.

When Duckman finds her she is ready to give up on her life. He tells her that there were times he felt the same way she does and that there were times he too wanted to give up but "if I do, how can I expect anything to get better? What kind of a world would I be leaving for my kids? Don't give up America, you've gotta keep going, for your kids." Taking these words into consideration, and seeing how much the young fans in her fan club idolize her eventually gives her the strength to go on.

Metaphorical Context
America herself is a very obvious and thinly veiled metaphor for the United States of America. The idea of her being missing, and then of her giving up on life represents the uncertainty of the American people in the early 1990's, seeming directionless, disenfranchised with the past and the apparent loss of "the American Dream."

Her first boyfriend represents the 1950's, the red scare, the mistreatment of women, racial and cultural minorities, all hidden beneath a seemingly perfect environment. Her second boyfriend is the 1960's, the hippie movement, the birth of drug culture and the civil rights movement. Her third is the 1970's, portrayed as a flashy time where not much was accomplished, but people felt good and safe. Her last represents the 1980's and the birth of wall-street, portraying it as a time where money and power mattered more then indaviduals.

Her fanclub, made up of small and cultrually diverse children, represents the American citizens and the generation that will inharit the country. They are portrayed as idealistic and full of hope, and ultimately the reason America must learn from her mistakes and go on. In other words the American people need to learn from the past in order to have a brighter future.