In today’s day and age, it would be very difficult to find someone who has not heard of the American dream. Although most people have heard of the American dream, if you were to ask a couple people what the phrase means to them, there would probably be very different responses. With all the various interpretations of the American dream out there, it has probably become somewhat difficult to truly understand the meaning behind the phrase. However, no film better portrays what the American dream is than Gran Torino. In Gran Torino, it is shown that the American dream is much more than owning large amounts of material objects, but rather being able to live happily in America, and that is a goal that anyone can reach, no matter the race or gender. As long as they are willing to travel down a potentially hard road and put in the work, the American dream is attainable. Sometimes on the path of achieving the American dream, it can be easy to forget what the American dream truly is, and make the mistake of believing that wealth equates to being successful a person. Almost all of the characters in Gran Torino are materialistic in their own way. A great example is Walt, who primarily cares about his car, a material possession which also represents the American dream. “The American pragmatist, he fixes things as well as finishes things. He spends a lifetime accumulating the tools in his garage, material goods, naming them and knowing how they work.” (Alpert) Even though Walt and his
For some the American dream is the value of hard work. To others it's a huge emphasis on material possessions. So, the American dream is no longer the American dream. It is a dream that anyone and everyone can relate to. This dream is the idea of having what ever you want. May it be material goods, ideas and values, or freedoms and rights. This idea also represents the uniqueness of America. It is a dream a lot of people around the world don't get to enjoy;
The American Dream is a two sided discussion. Some believe the American Dream is easily accessible to anyone. Others believe the American Dream does not exist today. Then there is the gray area of believing the American Dream exists but is harder to achieve for some. The American Dream is also different for every person. People have materialist dreams. Hoping to have nice cars, big houses, and a full wallet. Compared to the Americans who dream of freedom, safety, and family.
Through everybody’s eyes is their own version of the American Dream. Whether it’s the stereotypical dream with a good job, a family, and a house with a white picket fence, or it could be just getting by at the end of the month financially. The American Dream doesn’t have a specific image but rather a particular mindset. Lots of people have a goal in their life that they have to work hard to be successful towards that goal, but in most cases that goal may be unrealistic.
America provides opportunity to achieve the American Dream yet so many argue that it is impossible today. The American Dream consists of having opportunity to be someone financially stable and having success in your life. It is a long road to the American Dream with many obstacles on the way. Everyone is given an opportunity to start, with education being free. It is up to the person to decide whether they will continue their education to open more opportunities for their future. The American Dream is a reality that can be achieved today through hard work, self-perseverance and motivation to succeed.
Achieving the American Dream is like fighting over the last TV on Black Friday. The American Dream is very limited. A person has to have a certain background to achieve it. The American Dream is an illusion. America wants one to believe that they have the perfect set of materialistic things to make their life better. The American Dream consist of having money, a nice house, a great looking car, and a family. Not everyone can achieve that though because of the barriers that they have in this country. The American Dream is not achievable by all people because individual’s divergent backgrounds.
“The American Dream”, a national phrase in which is mainly praised by those who pursue the goal of living a better life. All of this is merely an illusion, there is no such thing as “The American Dream”. It is just a big hypocrisy in America and will not change the fact that everyone will still be labeled in a social class and used as a lure for those migrating to the US for a better life. Not only will those in America label your class, but the people you speak to and go out with will also depend on your income. “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald and “The Big Short” directed by Adam McKay are a great example of the dilemma occurring during this saying. Both the novel and the film portrayed “The American Dream” as a horrible portrait, having everyone seem inconsiderate and will do whatever it takes in order to fulfill their desires, no matter the outcomes.
The American Dream is pivotal to America's upbringing and culture. It has existed before America has. Its is the belief that a person could achieve success in America through hard work. The American Dream is somethings everyone wished to accomplish, and for good reason. However, the dream is increasingly getting harder to achieve than ever before. Be it for prejudice, persecution, social constructs, or even sexism. For some people, the American Dream is still a reality, but for others it will always be a dream.
The “American Dream” is a complicated topic to discuss. It has many different meanings depending on who you’re talking to. To me it means to have a healthy and happy family with a nice house and to do what I love to do. For many people their dream or even my dream is not attainable. I do not think that the “American Dream” is attainable for everyone. Some people do not have the perseverance or are not born into a situation where they can get an education. Some people may have that drive or the education or talent needed to accomplish what they want.
The American dream, for most people, is exactly that – A dream. It’s make believe, fiction. It’s what we think American should be like, not what it actually is. The American dream will always be out of reach for common people. The majority of people I interviewed said something along the lines of, “the American dream is to be given a chance to do something or be something you want to be.” This opinion seems to be too optimistic. Everyone wants more than what they have. It’s not enough to be given the chance, you have to succeed. What it takes to succeed is an entirely different aspect of the American dream.
The American Dream is one of the things that describes what America is made of. Although the definition of the American Dream may be different from individual to individual, the main purpose is one thing: to gain the wealth and success you need to live a good life. People come to America because this is the land where you have equal opportunity, and the ability to become very successful. There have been many movies and books that depict the American Dream, but both show that the American Dream is not always the happy story that most Americans yearn for. These two movies are Citizen Kane and Mildred Pierce. As these two movies show that the American Dream is not what it seems, they show how middle class life
The American Dream is the belief where any American can be successful when completing hard work. Do you believe that the American Dream is achievable? Is it guaranteed for both natural-born Americans and immigrants? The American Dream is a definite reality because the United States is a country that allows various opportunities for individuals to work for what they want and access prosperity while doing so.
The American dream is something people, mainly immigrants, strive to reach. People all over see the Americas as a magical place, or a place of unlimited opportunities that everyone wants to have. " The American dream is a dream of "getting ahead..."(the right to fail, William Zinsser). What provides for the American dream in modern day society is the rights given to you when you become an American, and the rights to get a job and earn money. The American Dream is accessible because those who can achieve it, and those who try to, can reach it. but because the focus has shifted to realistic terms, it may or may not be accessible to all. It is still accessible because if you try hard enough, you will be able to achieve the American dream of freedom, a home, a job for money, and anything else you wish to be able to do when being an American. Anything can be achieved if you try hard enough and you want it bad enough to work for it. If you don’t try to work, or try to succeed, then you don’t want to achieve the American dream.
The American dream is the idea held by many in the United States of America that through hard work, courage and determination one can achieve prosperity.
Achieving the American Dream has been the ideal for people living in the United States for decades. People believed that the way to get there was through hard work, also known as the “Protestant work ethic”. The American Dream can vary depending on the person. Some people think that owning a house with a white picket-fence is the American Dream while others think that it is becoming a celebrity with a lot of money.
Within the movie “Crash” each of the characters struggle to obtain and maintain the American dream, which according to Merriam-Webster’s definition is “an American social ideal that stresses egalitarianism and especially material prosperity; also: the prosperity or life that is the realization of this ideal”. Which coincides with the film critic Roger Ebert’s review of “Crash” stating, “’Crash’ is about different races, social status, as well as professions, which are defined by stereotyping and racism (Eberts).” Another example of the American dream is given by Mr. Soergel of the U.S. News, stating that it “includes a house, a car, plenty of food, enough disposable cash to occasionally go out on the town and a family with whom these luxuries can be shared (Soergel).”