The American Dream
"The American Dream" can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people. The classic idea of The Dream consists of a husband and wife with 2 (or maybe even 3) kids - the perfect family. All members of the family - including the dog - are physically and emotionally perfect. This family lives in a fairly small, but well-kept, house in a neighborhood filled with families and houses just like theirs. You'll rarely see an American Dream where the husband and wife don't drive brand-new cars. Thirty or forty years ago, that family may have looked like this:
But now, the idea of the American Dream has shifted from a life and family of tranquil perfection to a life and family of star-studded fame. The most famous family in the current pop-culture scene is the Kardashian clan. The story of this family began with Robert Kardashian, who represented the legendary O.J. Simpson. That's where the initial money came from - but nowadays, that money is chump change. Robert (who is Armenian) married Kris Houghton, a woman of Dutch descent, and had three girls and one boy. A mixture of Dutch Armenian hardly fits the old American Dream. Neither does defending a man who killed his wife (does anybody still doubt that?). Then, Robert passed away and Kris got married to Olympic legend Bruce Jenner and the glamorous Kardashian children became related to Brody Jenner: notorious Hollywood heartbreaker. Combined, the Kardashian-Jenner family is so glamorous that they've been able to re-shape what families try to be. The glamor of the girls is headed by Kim (the second oldest). Kim is undoubtedly the most famous of the Kardashian children because she's done more to make her name known by the American public - and because she's one of the most gorgeous women to ever live. But even though Kim is the most well-known, she really hasn't done anything monumental, other than star in a few reality TV shows and one very scandalous home movie.
Decades ago, the heroes of the time were Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, and Harper Lee - classy artists that encouraged regular American people to respect everyone around them. The three of them had a lot of money, yes, but they earned it through many years of hard work at their craft. Today, people would rather just hope to win the lottery or be given money - like the Kardashians. Today, People and US are filled with photos and stories relating to these young women who have tons of money solely because their last name is Kardashian or Hilton or Jenner.
The new version of the American Dream discourages the typical American values of hard work and perseverance. Arthur Miller's play Death of a Salesman exhibits these values in the main character - the father of the family, Willy. Willy is (obviously) a salesman who travels across the Northeast for business. In the period of time that the play is taking place, Willy's career and mind are in a declining state: he's not making any money as a salesman and he's losing his marbles as he goes. But Willy refuses to quit his job or find a less stressful job closer to his family, because the values that have been instilled in him tell him to not back down. He literally works himself to death. Today, no business man wants to work himself to death - and very few of these men work as hard as Willy did. Perhaps Salesman discourages people from working themselves to insanity, but personally I respect his hard work and persistence despite the fact that he wasn't getting results. As the late Aaliyah said, "if at first you don't succeed, dust yourself off and try again."
"The American Dream" can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people. The classic idea of The Dream consists of a husband and wife with 2 (or maybe even 3) kids - the perfect family. All members of the family - including the dog - are physically and emotionally perfect. This family lives in a fairly small, but well-kept, house in a neighborhood filled with families and houses just like theirs. You'll rarely see an American Dream where the husband and wife don't drive brand-new cars. Thirty or forty years ago, that family may have looked like this:
But now, the idea of the American Dream has shifted from a life and family of tranquil perfection to a life and family of star-studded fame. The most famous family in the current pop-culture scene is the Kardashian clan. The story of this family began with Robert Kardashian, who represented the legendary O.J. Simpson. That's where the initial money came from - but nowadays, that money is chump change. Robert (who is Armenian) married Kris Houghton, a woman of Dutch descent, and had three girls and one boy. A mixture of Dutch Armenian hardly fits the old American Dream. Neither does defending a man who killed his wife (does anybody still doubt that?). Then, Robert passed away and Kris got married to Olympic legend Bruce Jenner and the glamorous Kardashian children became related to Brody Jenner: notorious Hollywood heartbreaker. Combined, the Kardashian-Jenner family is so glamorous that they've been able to re-shape what families try to be. The glamor of the girls is headed by Kim (the second oldest). Kim is undoubtedly the most famous of the Kardashian children because she's done more to make her name known by the American public - and because she's one of the most gorgeous women to ever live. But even though Kim is the most well-known, she really hasn't done anything monumental, other than star in a few reality TV shows and one very scandalous home movie.
Decades ago, the heroes of the time were Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, and Harper Lee - classy artists that encouraged regular American people to respect everyone around them. The three of them had a lot of money, yes, but they earned it through many years of hard work at their craft. Today, people would rather just hope to win the lottery or be given money - like the Kardashians. Today, People and US are filled with photos and stories relating to these young women who have tons of money solely because their last name is Kardashian or Hilton or Jenner.
The new version of the American Dream discourages the typical American values of hard work and perseverance. Arthur Miller's play Death of a Salesman exhibits these values in the main character - the father of the family, Willy. Willy is (obviously) a salesman who travels across the Northeast for business. In the period of time that the play is taking place, Willy's career and mind are in a declining state: he's not making any money as a salesman and he's losing his marbles as he goes. But Willy refuses to quit his job or find a less stressful job closer to his family, because the values that have been instilled in him tell him to not back down. He literally works himself to death. Today, no business man wants to work himself to death - and very few of these men work as hard as Willy did. Perhaps Salesman discourages people from working themselves to insanity, but personally I respect his hard work and persistence despite the fact that he wasn't getting results. As the late Aaliyah said, "if at first you don't succeed, dust yourself off and try again."