Myth: the American dream

The American Dream

            The American dream is merely a myth. It has been changed and distorted throughout generations to fit what each person wanted, but always relates back to its origins. The American dream originates back to the beginning of the United States of American and the Declaration of Independence. It was drawn from the like “that all men are created equal… with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” (Declaration, 2010).  This is the building block from which the dream began and has now formed into an idea of not just these basic liberties but of the wealth and fortune of the people.

            The basics of the idea of the American dream is to be happy and healthy. It started out as a dream for the basic essentials of life and equality for all: “That dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyman, with opportunity for each according to his ability or achievement” (Wright, 2009).Different people define this in different ways. One person may be content and feel like they are living the American dream living in an apartment with just enough to get by and take care of their family. Another person may not consider themselves living the American dream unless they have a multi-million dollar home with a trophy wife, kids in private schools and enough money to buy whatever they want. Either way the idea of the American dream is starting to change. It has changed from being able to get what you need to having many material items (Washington, 2010).

            Two artifacts from the American culture that help to define the American dream are the Barbie and a television series 7^th Heaven. The two artifacts represent the two sides of the American dream. Barbies are dolls with beautiful figures and every imaginable accessory you can think of. They are the epitome of the American dream. They represent the idea that the American dream is about how much clothes you have, how many pairs of shoes you have, how big your dream house is, how nice of a car you have and how cute and stylish your partner (in Barbies case it would be Ken) is. They are the popular culture’s version of the American Dream instead of the high culture’s version. The television program, 7^th Heaven represents the original idea of the American dream. It is based on a story of a pastor and his family. They are by no means rich, but they make enough to comfortably provide for their family. They are relatively happy with their life and represent the idea that they have made the nest out of what they were given. Both of these artifacts describe different aspects of the American dream.

            The idea of the American dream is so powerful that it brings immigrants to America every year. It is mostly the inflated dreams of wealth and power that is so attractive (Jiang, 20090. A multitude of people from various countries have moved to the United States in search of this dream; some find it, some do not. It is the ideas in this myth that draw people in. It is thought of to be easy in America to accomplish your dreams; that all you need is a little hard work and determination and all the opportunities are available to you. This is why this myth is so attractive to insiders and outsiders.

            The media helps in these inflated expectations of the American dream. In the movie Titanic, the lower class passengers were all headed to America for the great opportunities available to them. They were searching for the American dream. All types of media look for ways to incorporate the American dream into their work because this is a popular culture topic that people are interested in. Everyone wants to live the American dream. The amount of research available on the idea of the American dream is overwhelming. One example is the research done on what happened to the dream. The idea that it had died (or is changing) is a popular topic (Wright, 2009).

            I grew up with the idea that happiness is based on how much money you have. That in order to live the American dream, I first had to go to college and get a high paying job so that I can be successful. It is important to keep yourself in check and remember that the American dream is not just about the materialistic items you own, but the happiness that you possessions give you. Now that the issue is fresh in my thoughts, I am thinking back to the movies that I have watched and how they incorporated these ideas into their movies and in return reflected them on to me. It is interesting to think about all of the ideas the media gives us, when we think they are our own ideas.

            The American dream has a different meaning to different people. Throughout the decades it changes as a whole as well. One way in which it is currently changing is it is going back to valuing happiness rather than materials. With the economic crisis, more people are now realizing their American dream is more of their happiness than of what they own (Washington, 2010).

References

“Declaration of Independence”. (2010). Archiving Early America. Retrieved on October 9, 2010 from www.earlyamerica.com

Jiang, T. & Lee, Y. (2009). “The American dream in African American, Asian American and Hispanic American drama. Mellen.  Retrieved October 8, 2010 from Ebsco Host Databases.

Washington, K. (2010). “Chapter 6: the new American dream”. Consumer Behavior. Retrieved October 8, 2010 from Ebsco Host Databases.

Wright, L. (2009). “The death of the American Dream. Virginia Quarterly Review. Retrieved October 8, 2010 from Ebsco Host Databases.