The Movie Park Avenue : Money, Power And The American Dream

The American Dream is “a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position” (Adams, 1931). It is the guarantee that with hard work and passion anyone can achieve upward mobility regardless of their origin. Many Americans believe in this promise, hoping that one day their first circumstance will not dictate the outcome of the rest of their lives. However the American Dream can be elusive without any real he American Dream eludes The novel Ragged Dick; or, Street Life in New York with the

Regardless if we are aware of it or not, not many Americans live the supposed American Dream of having a nice car, big house, well paying job, and have a secure family. In the renowned novel The Working Poor: Invisible in America by David K. Shipler he captures those Americans who live invisible in America that work so hard to suffer from the psychological effects of poverty. Not only does Shipler do that but he also indirectly talks about the “American Myth” and the “American Anti Myth through the lives on these individuals.”

Many of famous figures in our society’s past have spoken their minds about the American Dream, for each and every one of those minds, are a different response. J. G. Ballard once spoke of his American Dream, “The American Dream had run out of gas. The car has stopped. It no longer supplies the world with its images, its dreams, its fantasies. No more. It’s over. It supplies the world with its nightmares now: the Kennedy assassination, Watergate, Vietnam.” The outlook on this dream has changed over the years it has existed, most societies nowadays look onto this as a “curse” or something worse. This dream now is speculated as hurting our home, America. As Steinbeck wrote Of Mice and Men, the grave story of the American Dream was revealed by main characters, George, Lennie, and Candy. These main characters give us an inside look into what they think the American Dream is.

In my opinion being bias has both good and bad characteristics. I believe the negative part of being bias is that you only think one sided and not open minded. You can 't be biased in some situations where you have to see both sides of view. A positive aspect is that you are consistent and not indecisive. If you have a passion or believe in something, then you will stay consistent with your decision.

Through various pieces of literature, including F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, the words of Eugene O’Neil are undeniably and vividly illustrated valid on innumerable occasions. The American Dream, dissected to its bare skin and bones, is all about prosperity and the relentless pursuit of happiness through material possessions. However, what does the dream evolve into once the ideals and goals have been fulfilled? The protagonist of

The American Dream is often one of the most well-known benefits of living in America. It is the push factor that has driven millions of foreigners to flock to the so-called land of opportunity. Originally, the American Dream was established by a clause in the Declaration of Independence. It reads, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” (Declaration of Independence par. 2). The original American Dream, as laid out by the founding fathers, was freedom from religious persecution and the right to live a happy life. That simple idea has undergone a significant metamorphosis and now the American Dream is much more complex. It has turned into a deep avaricious dream. This transformation has been noted in contemporary literature, especially in the novels Reservation Blues by Sherman Alexie and The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. These pieces of literature can be read as a larger commentary on the mutation of the American Dream and how it is now more of a negative desire for greed and material. Both Fitzgerald and Alexie surmise that the American Dream has been twisted and corrupted into an uncontrolled desire that has become unattainable for many and that the pursuit of the dream has become dangerous.

Behind the ideology of every person “proud to be an American” lies the major tenets of the quintessential American dream. The America seen today is not the same as it was 50 years prior, so how can one expect the central “dream” to be the same? In fact, each person has developed an opinion on what the American dream may mean for him/her. For one, the dream may still be the white picket fence still life from so many years ago, but for another, it may be the accumulation of riches and fame. In Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild, he shows us that Chris McCandless cared not for the quotidian rat-race that he had grown so accustomed to, but more about the intricacies that the natural world had to offer. I believe that although Chris McCandless may

Throughout the years knowledge and culture has been passed down within generations. Elders within the community often teach life lessons to the young adults growing up in the neighborhood. This idea still holds true today, especially in low-income communities. People from different socioeconomic backgrounds live different lifestyles they also have different opportunities made available to them. Because of this idea, people with a higher social standing have an advantage over those in lower class standings. Social classes divide the people of our nation and have existed for as long as we can remember. The American Dream created the American nation that we know today. The dream itself is different for each individual. Money plays a major part in the American Dream because to be successful in America means to bear great wealth. We live in a nation, in which money controls our very existence. “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara creates an argument about society’s unfairness that involves financial opportunities by revealing the differences in living environments between upper class and lower class.

What insights into the American Dream are offered through the novella Of Mice and Men and the film American Beauty? In your essay you must consider the influences of context and the importance of techniques in shaping meaning.

The American Dream is the national ethos that people’s lives would better and more abundant with many opportunities. Although the “American Dream” is still possible, many minorities, a vast portion of people in middle class, are affected by the lack of social mobility see the realization of the American Dream because of the advantages upper class have like being more wealthy. With money, the upper class can affordable anything they like high tier education in privates or better health insurance. This is a problem because not everyone in the world have the same chance to succeed. In “ LA’s Crisis: High rents, low pay, homelessness rising, and $2000 doesn’t buy much” by Steve Lopez and “Class in America -2012” by Gregory Mantsios share how the lack of mobility affects many individuals in the world. In conclusion, low income individuals are suffering within our society because of

The American Dream is so many different things to so many different people. While other countries around the World would like to argue that Americans’ only aspiration is to become infinitely wealthy, Dinesh D’Souza claims that it is not wealth that Americans want. He believes that it is simply a better life. Michael Moore too acknowledges Americans’ ambition, especially his own, to create a better life for themselves. These two views of the American Dream come from very opposite Americans, but it is their differences that make their ideals so beautifully unique.

For decades history has been repeating itself and in this continuous cycle, poverty does the most spinning. One can grow up in an environment where there is a never ending struggle to achieve “the American Dream.” Therefore, children see their parents try their hardest to provide for them while obstacles in society deter them. Society has created social classes or groups to categorize people base on their income and soci-economic status. In the stories, “The Lesson” by Toni Bambara, and “House on Mango Street” by Sandra Cisneros, these two authors discuss how fulfilling the America Dream is possible once one is willing to work for it.

The documentary film “Park Avenue: Money, Power, and the American Dream” directed by Alex Gibney is about the wealth gap between the rich and the poor in the United States. The documentary compares the access to opportunities of residents of Park Avenue both on the Upper East Side and in the South Bronx. The documentary includes interviews with a series of people: a doorman at 740 Park Avenue, journalist Jane Mayer, Yale University Professor Jacob Hacker, Berkeley Professor Paul Piff, and Republican advisor Bruce Bartlett. The documentary makes a compelling case that inequality exposes democracy and that the victims of inequality include not only those who find themselves in the rapidly expanding underclass, but the American dream itself.

Gentrification is the term that explains the process of renovating and improving homes, or a district to conform to middle-class preferences. As viewed in the documentary Class Divide, a neighborhood in Manhattan, New York called West Chelsea has already undergone a major shift in their community. The addition of schools such as The Avenues, and tourist attractions like the High Line has generated a new identity for the community. Children who are born in poverty in the United States have a harder time getting out of poverty than those children who come from other developed countries. This is due to various institutions such as The Avenues that have created a gap between social classes, making it harder for the lower class to achieve success. Throughout the documentary, the storyline constantly shifts to represent two different point of views: the upper class and the lower class. Within these different points of views, the central themes become evident: income inequality, opposing views of privileged and underprivileged students, and the gentrification of a community.

The coast of the United States is home to a dream life. It is there where the celebrity was formed and the American Dream transformed. The American Dream was often viewed as achieving some sort of security like owning a home, having money, having a family, or being safe from outside threats through hard work. That was a dream based on a character of a person. The dream eventually developed into achieving life goals through an exciting personality. These exciting personalities or celebrities, could earn a substantial income through exciting and somewhat meaningless work that can be documented on talk shows or in magazines. People can become famous because of achievement, merit, talent, or special internal qualities, garnering attention from