Movie Review: The American Dream

are ideals used to define the American Dream. The American Dream promises immigrants and citizens a chance to pursue a better life, which is portrayed throughout the novel Behold the Dreamers . Behold the Dreamers , by Imbolo Mbue, follows the lives of Jende and Neni Jonga, an immigrant couple from Cameroon, who live in Harlem in hopes of providing a better life for their family. Throughout the Jonga’s journey, Imbolo Mbue proves that the essentials of hard work, education, and strong families are not enough for achieving the American Dream. Jende and Neni came to America in hopes of a brighter future for their family, but come to face with reality and are forced to make an impossible choice.

Aspiring to be free, to be successful, to be a picture perfect family, and to be happy; these are the traits of the American dream. Although, in one 's mind a specific picture forms when reading about the American dream this does not mean everyone is seeing the same landscape. A prevalent theme in The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan, The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, and Flight by Sherman Alexie is the potency and prevalence of diversity on the American dream. In each of these compelling works, connoisseurs get a taste of life from different demographics’ viewpoints and a measure of what it means to be yearning for the diverse definition of American ideals.

The American Dream has long been considered the ideal that represents everything the United States stands for: hard work, determination, and reward. However, it can mean many different things to many different people. It is simultaneously the beacon that lures immigrants to this country and a forgotten myth to some native-born citizens (many who take it for granted each and every day). The story of Barack Obama’s family represents one of the most archetypical scenarios of the American Dream. His father moved to the United States in hope of a better life for himself and his children, a goal which he undoubtedly achieved (his son would go on to be the first United States president with African heritage) (Obama). This serves as evidence that the American Dream was attainable through hard work and resilience in the past. However, could Barack Obama Sr.’s inspiring story be a possibility in the modern world? Although it is true that the American Dream is significantly harder for many to accomplish due to rising competition in our modern society, its core philosophy is still very much in existence.

Today the “Dream” is more of a struggle for success. For some it’s a fantasy while for others, it is a long term goal. The media defines society today, thus it’s only natural that it defines the American Dream, one which is no longer focused on freedoms or liberty, but rather money and success. The American Dream not only calls for financial success but also emotional success.

encountered by members of every level of society; however, most of all affected by this idealism

The American Dream is indefinable. There is no one set of words or characteristics that the entire population assigns directly to its definition. With the American population consisting of people of various races, ethnicities, ages, classes, and genders, it seems trivial to even attempt to attribute a single definition to the concept of the American Dream. It is this inability however, to be confined within one single meaning, that allows for the American Dream to govern the desires and goals of the large and diverse American population. And, regardless of all of the heterogeneity within society, the American Dream is generally a goal of all American peoples. In examining this idea, I began to think about the specific meanings attributed to the American Dream for different types of individuals. I broadly outlined the American Dream for myself, to represent the belief in hard work as a pathway to success and raising oneself in society. Consequently, this higher position in society allows for the possession of increased amounts of power. My definition however, neglects to take into account the certain other societal constructs that could possibly have a decisive role in how to both define and achieve the American Dream for the wide variety of people who pursue it.

Research conducted by Sandra L. Hanson and John Zogby concerning shifting attitudes toward the American Dream states, “lack of thrift, effort, ability, motivation, and self-control are the most popular explanations for poverty among Americans” (Hanson 571). Such explanations demonstrate the growing issues that help to create the darkness of the American Dream. In placing such an emphasis on achieving success, the American Dream belittles those unable to achieve it and allows no room for failure. Though some individuals may work hard their entire lives, they may never find the material success that others such as Ben or Charley do. Even in the case of characters who have worked their entire life, such as Willy, the lack of tangible, material success creates a false idea that they did not do enough or did not work hard enough. Concerning Willy’s career and life, Ben states, “What are you building? Lay your hand on it. Where is it?” (Miller 1271). This statement pushes the misconstrued idea that whatever success one has achieved needs to be tangible and seen, which is not always the case. It can be argued that by the end of his life, Willy had found success. Linda’s proclamation that they were “free and clear” after having finally paid off the mortgage furthers this argument (Miller 1298). Out of debt, and with the comfort of a devoted wife and loving sons, Willy had achieved a life that many can only dream. However, because he and others do not recognize love and happiness as

The capability of all Americans to achieve the American dream is what many believe to have made this country great. Perhaps this is why more immigrants flock to the United States than any other nation, because they view America as “the land of opportunity”, because here anyone can achieve the American dream. Generally, the American dream is the belief that anyone, even one at a low income level, can achieve success and make themselves content if they work hard enough and are determined. Unfortunately, when looking at certain aspects of society, it’s apparent that nothing can be further from the truth. For example, a person can pursue and live the American dream and still be unhappy. Also, the lifestyle that one may live to pursue the American dream can be dehumanizing. Both of these examples are flaws in the American dream that can be seen in the film Fight Club. Furthermore, rising levels of income inequality and the crushing debt people face also shows flaws in the idea of the American dream. When analyzing the evidence, it’s clear that in the modern United States, the American dream is non-existent.

The so-called American Dream is one of the most time-honored and cliché phrases used to describe the conception of the United States. It is commonly used to refer to the notion that anyone can come to this country and, through hard work and sheer will, change his or her fortune and lot in life in a way that other countries simply do not allow people to do. However, it is interesting to see that this popular idea of the American Dream does not necessarily correlate to the perceptions of two authors who wrote about this subject both directly and indirectly, Martin Luther King Jr. in his "I Have A Dream Speech" and J.B. Priestley in "Wrong Isms". In fact, both of these authors view the American Dream through respective lenses in which they do not believe that the promise of the American Dream is coming to fruition. Still, they both utilize similar rhetorical devices to attempt to change their view of what the American Dream has become, which they believe is negative, to what they hope the American Dream will come to be, which is positive, by using an abundance of metaphors, anaphora, and

American Dream: Noun, the ideals of freedom, equality, and opportunity traditionally held to be available to every American. That is the definition of the American dream according to Dictionary.com, but the American Dream is more than a definition, but a way of life for many. Millions of immigrants come to our country in search of this “American Dream” including my grandparents but more and more are disappointed. So does the American Dream exist? Has it ever existed or has it all been an illusion?

From the early stages of American literature the dream of success has always been around, even at the very beginning. It has gone on the journey of merely surviving in small amounts of the literature from the native people to thriving in a growing society and being in everything. The dream to myself is becoming wealthy and being successful in everything I do. Today I believe that the dream has become different for everyone, every person has a different dream, a different way they want their life to go.

Throughout life everybody has heard the line “Follow your dreams!” This simple sentence has inspired many. This idea of creating a dream and chasing it has inspired the American Dream. The American Dream is different for everybody. It could be getting married, creating a business, or being a hero. It turns out the American Dream is not for everybody. There is always something standing in the way of the American Dream. Race, social status, and the individual are standing in the way between the person and the American Dream.

The American Dream has been redefined through different eras of the United States. At its most optimistic, the American Dream is about having the freedom and opportunity to do and be whatever one chooses, the success stemming from one’s achievement of individuality. But the influences of capitalistic ideals in the United States have shifted the common definition and instead of optimism the American Dream is now defined in more cynical terms of upward mobility and wealth. UK director Andrea Arnold’s 2016 film American Honey about a young woman who joins a roaming magazine crew critiques the American Dream through the lens of this cynicism. Conversely, the 2006 comedy Little Miss Sunshine by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie

Introduction: Kids in U.S. are taught to believe the process: good at high school, then a good college, then a good job, career, which is the American dream

Today, The American dream is not fully represented in the same way as the ideas were initially raised. The ideas were primarily fabricated in the very beginning of our country. The propagandist role of any medium has changed just as much as the times have since the signing of the Declaration of Independence. In contemporary America, film is the leading component of the propagation and detraction of the American dream. The film The Pursuit of Happyness (2005) supports the idea of the American dream our founding fathers set out. Wall Street (1987) on the other hand, supports and acts as a detractor of the true American dream and leads people to believe, what a lot of people already believe, that it is a dream to become monetarily