The film American Winter is a documentary based in Portland, Oregon. It followed several families on their struggle through hard times that lead to each family facing a different problematic outcome. Some families lost their jobs, others lost their homes, and all fought to feed their families. The film went against the grain of the image that many people associate lower class and poor families with. Each family was making ends meet, living fairly comfortably until a rough patch hit, and were then struggling to keep the electricity on in their homes, if they still had them. American Winter generally focused on the failures of the families, and left some questions unanswered; however, the film still portrayed an accurate depiction of poverty in today’s world by showing the lack of the “American dream”, the dwindling aspect of meritocracy, and the challenges of poverty on both parents and children.
American Winter emphasized on the changing meaning of the phrase the “American dream.” America was seen as the land of equal opportunity, and today many do not see it that way. These struggling adults with families were not lazy, each looked for work almost every day, and they believed that if you worked hard and did your part, you would be rewarded (Pugh). The rewards for these families were simple: paying rent, feeding their children, and not constantly worrying about money. While the film could have selectively casted those types of families in poverty to make a point, the point was still achieved: the so called “American dream” was a thing of the past to these families.
An idealism that goes hand and hand with the “American Dream” is meritocracy. Meritocracy is a system in which rewards are distributed based on merit (Ferris and St...
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...families during the great recession because it follows families who had jobs and supported their families, and then lost those jobs because of a major roadblock. This set back influenced how well of caretakers they could be to their children, and how well their children will succeed in life. As each family goes through their own individual problems they had fleeting faith in the “American Dream”, stopped believing in meritocracy, and parents and children were affected by the loss of income. American Winter may have type casted those types of families struggling with the recession to pull at heartstrings, only focused on the failures of each family, and left some answered questions. Nevertheless, their message was clearly brought to the surface: the days of American being a land of equal opportunity are long behind us, and it may be awhile before those days return.
The American Dream has always been a driving force in the lives of Americans. It has become a foundation of ideals and hopes for any American or immigrant. Specifically, one of the ideals that always exist is the dream of America free of class distinction. Every American hopes for a society where every person has the opportunity to be whomever he or she desire. Another ideal in the American dream is the drive to improve the quality of life. As one’s idea of the American Dream gets closer and closer, often times political and social ideals of America cause their American Dream to take a turn for the worst.
Growing up in The United States, people are given this idea of an American Dream. Almost every child is raised to believe they can become and do anything they want to do, if one works hard enough. However, a majority of people believe that there is a separation of class in American society. Gregory Mantsios author of “Class in America-2009” believes that Americans do not exchange thoughts about class division, although most of people are placed in their own set cluster of wealth. Also political officials are trying to get followers by trying to try to appeal to the bulk of the population, or the middle class, in order to get more supporters. An interesting myth that Mantsios makes in his essay is how Americans don’t have equal opportunities.
In “What Do We Deserve?” Namit Arora compares three different approaches to distributive economic justice: the libertarian, meritocratic, and egalitarian models. In the United States, media and culture play an integral role in forming our understanding of “what we deserve.” As Arora observes, “[The United States] is under a self-destructive meritocratic spell that see social outcomes as moral desert.” (91) Perhaps repurposed or rebranded, the American dream nevertheless has changed very little over the past two hundred and fifty years: work hard and you will succeed. This is the ethos of our nation. The idealism of this sentiment, however, fails to appreciate the significant impact of inequalities of opportunity. Personally, the high school
The concept of the American dream has been related to everything from religious freedom to a nice home in the suburbs. It has inspired both deep satisfaction and disillusioned fury. The phrase elicits for most Americans a country where good things can happen. However, for many Americans, the dream is simply unattainable. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “Winter Dreams,” Dexter Green, a hardworking young man born into the middle class, becomes wrapped up in his pursuit to obtain wealth and status in his life. These thoughts and ideas represent Dexter’s fixation on his “winter dreams,” or, the idea of what the American Dream means to him: gaining enough wealth to eventually move up in social class and become somebody, someday. As Dexter attempts to work himself up the social ladder, he falls in love with Judy Jones, a shallow and selfish, rich woman. But to Dexter, Judy represents the very idea of the American Dream-- obtaining wealth and status. Dexter’s pursuit of Judy and essentially the American Dream becomes an obsession. In the end, Dexter is forced to accept the realization that his “winter dreams” are actually just empty wishes. By characterizing Judy as a superficial, materialistic woman, Fitzgerald criticizes the destructive nature of the American Dream.
Another example of their poverty is when the family goes to the slumps to pick up a plow that Mr. Slump had borrowed. The author explains that the Slumps just left their tools where they unhitched but, the little girl’s family had a shed where they put the machinery when it was not being used. Obviously the Slumps are not as openhanded as the little girl’s family, and are being treated as inferior because of this.
The “American Dream” was originally centered around the pursuit of happiness, but during this time was contaminated by greed and corruption. Americans were blinded by materialistic wealth, prosperity and fame. America, once the land of equal opportunity, now became engrossed in becoming successful by any means necessary. In turn, moral values and family ties took a backseat and were no longer the center of society. The poor were exploited by the rich for their own personal gain. The author describes this era and characters objectively, while allowing us to interpret the characters’ motivation on our own. By doing so, we get a better sense of the difference between their social classes and their way of
America has always seen as the symbolic ideal country of prosperity and equality. This is the reason why people come to America hoping to become successful, but in matter of fact we all have an equal plan field to be successful is not entirely true. For there are social boundaries that keep use limited based upon our own status. Whether we are born of a low class or of a high class the possibility of economic mobility in a sense are predetermined by two factors of social class and success together they both affecting one’s another opportunity of success. In order to achieve success, we must know that it is made up of two main concepts and they are fortune and position.
The Frontline documentary “Two American Families” produced by the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), portrays the life of two typical middle class families living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Frontline Video, 2013). This follows the life of the Neumann family and the Stanley family as they pursue the ideal type of life, The American Dream from 1991 through 2011 (Frontline Video, 2013). Although, the pursuit for their fantasy quickly turned into a fight for economical struggle (Frontline Video, 2013). These struggles were all brought upon by the new shaping economy (Frontline Video, 2013).
A picture of a woman with her two children shows that not every family is the stereotypical family with two parents and responsibilities are spilt with gender roles. The tired eyes, wrinkled skin, and aging face illustrates the struggles that a woman has to face, physically and emotionally, for her family. It shows the individual worth of being a woman, as she is not only the caretaker for her children but also the provider for their needs, which is a generally a man’s responsibility that she is executing, even though many men couldn’t provide for their families as they lost everything they had. A woman during this era is expected to stay with the children and make their home a haven, and she was stripped of the ability to do that by the necessity to become a migrant. The image cues for emotional responses with economy, as there were a few families during the Depression that hadn’t been severely affected and at least had a solid roof over their heads, food to eat and clothing to keep them covered. This image portrays a clear distinction of social class issues in the United States during the time, and “Migrant Mother” shows people what the life if a migrant worker from a poor family is really like during times of crisis. It proves that the Depression was a systematic failure in the political, economic, and social spheres, and the poor pea pickers are suffering an outcome for something they hadn’t caused. Their living government in the image show that there has been no political or economic help extended to them by a failing government. The pea crop had frozen; there was no work. There was no opportunity for prosperity and success, no possibility for an upward social mobility for the children, there was no land in which life was better and richer for everyone. This wasn’t the American Dream that everyone grows up thinking because this was about a crisis that left the entire
The “American Dream” consists of all U.S citizens having the opportunity to obtain success and prosperity through hard work and determination, but, in a capitalistic economy such as the United States the “American Dream” is merely impossible. Low wages are masked as starting points, taught to eventually pay off in the form of small raises or promotions. Competition to obtain unequally shared resources, is used to define an individual’s extent of initiative. In reality, these are all concepts used by the wealthy to deter the poor working class from obtaining upward mobility. Middle class America, the key factor in helping the wealthy stay wealthy, have adapted to these beliefs and concepts, created to keep them far behind. Conflict theorist
With America actually being seen as the land of assurance, the American dream is usually associated with the freedom and opportunity of gaining prosperity, recognition, power, triumph, and contentment. On the surface, this dream appears virtually delighted, offering individuals the exceptional hope of accomplishing success despite of one’s race, religion, or family history. The American Dream is accurately what it seems to be the chance of perfect lying nearby the corner. However, the actual nature of this dream prohibit the pleasure of the victory one has earned, as the desire is always demanding one to work a slight harder and gain a slightly more.
The American Dream is a promise for liberty, opportunities, and social mobility. It envisions a society with few barriers where social class does not determine one’s future—an environment where anyone can reach their ambitions. Throughout In Cold Blood, Truman Capote narrates the story of various individuals capturing their share of American Dream to different extents. Capote elucidates that those who have accomplished their dreams live with higher contentment, but that the ideals of the American Dream are noninclusive and ineffective.
Throughout Society, many families have seen struggle and lived through poverty. The economy is not always thriving which takes a toll on people who suffer through unemployment or low wage jobs. The Frontline documentary, “Two American Families”, is the perfect example of struggle in the United States. It shows the lives of two struggling families and their efforts to survive. Two essays, “The Sociological Imagination” by C. Wright Mills, and “The Uses of Poverty: The Poor Pay All” by Herbert J. Hans, support the analysis of the video strongly. They express many ideas that relate to the world and struggle throughout society. Also, there are many sociological terms that depict the events that occurred in the documentary.
Evensvold, Marty D. "The American Dream: Stories from the Heart of Our Nation." Library Journal Dec. 2001: 200. General OneFile. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.
Debra Granik presents the unforeseen and diametrically opposed stereotypical, Hollywood representation of America in her film Winter's bone. She provides the audience with multiple visual elements (key scenes). She outlines the idea that, “in the land of opportunity, opportunity is not given”. This means that many in America such as Granik’s character “Ree Dolly” have no ability to pursue their hopes and dreams. They face difficulty standing on their own two feet, without being so reliant on society. Because the opportunities that are supposed to be freely given, are just not given. This gives the audience intuition to think and comprehend what opportunities they have. Additionally, it outlines that American's are free to, but not free from