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Post by briwiegand on Feb 2, 2016 3:36:08 GMT
I've been reading a lot of these posts now and I wanted to step back and just ask what exactly is the American Dream for a second. At first I think like business world making your own company, selling bonds and 1920s Wallstreet imagery pops in my head. But in modern times I think of having the white picket fence with the house and family and the soccer mom that drives the mini van with Dixie the golden retriever running in the background. So really the American Dream is "making it" in society, and one of the new dreams I wanted to talk about is our modern take on fame.
It used to be if you were talented and had the right connections, you could get a record deal, publish a book, etc, become famous. Now with the Internet and memes and all that all it takes is a picture of a disgruntled cat or a video of a kid getting hit in the head with a basketball. The idea of viral, has become linked with fame. With this concept, anyone with a camera and wifi can essentially become famous. Just look at PewDePie, he comments on video games and boom Insta rich. This "American Dream" has become so modernized that it's changed from work to luck. So is this a good thing?
In one sense, the dream has become more "mainstream" and accessible, but it's also become more difficult. With so much access and so many people trying to make their names known in the world you end up with the equivalent of trying to shove 120 pounds of butter into a thimble. Only a very select few hit it big and even fewer stay in the limelight. The 15 seconds of fame is hard enough to achieve. But to those few who do achieve the Dream, we admire them and aspire to be them. With that one shred of hope, we cling to the idea that maybe we don't have to work hard everyday, maybe we can just make a video or do a makeup tutorial and suddenly become filthy rich and be the next Kardashians. But this hope also comes with the underlying fact that "hitting it big" is about as possible as hitting the sun with a pebble and a slingshot. So is this idea of the American Dream so distorted that it's not even a dream at all? Only a pitiful offering of hope to the less fortunate?
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Post by rileymcgrath on Feb 3, 2016 23:12:31 GMT
I think not much has changed. You mention how the old American Dream is about talent and connections, but it's mostly just connections. People like the Kardashians, for example, have those connections and the perseverance to continually shove themselves down Americans throat's with 100 different tv shows. Countless talented people throughout history have attempted to make a name for themselves and failed, and those who have hit it big usually end up washed up anyway. I feel like the American Dream has always been about luck. Taking Gatsby for example, meeting Dan Cody was pure luck. If he never met him he wouldn't have made his fortune. A big part of the concept of the American Dream is its accessibility; it's always been just hopes and dreams for the average person. I don't think it has really distorted, only evolved to fit with our modern society.
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Post by cnelson on Feb 7, 2016 0:25:10 GMT
I agree with both your points. The American Dream was corrupted in the past just as it is today. It really depends on how you yourself define the American Dream. Many people think the ultimate American Dream is to be famous, and be known by everyone, but really many people don't see the American dream in that way. Many still do believe in the pure American dream of hard work providing permanent success. Of course it is also clearly visible that many have given up such thinking and dreaming today, but many were like that in the past as well. Discrimination against African Americans really illustrated this, they felt just as hopeless in regards to the American Dream as many do today. With the social media today and the difficulty to gain success it is arguable that the American Dream is an unattainable fairytale in society. In concern of history the saying "History repeats itself" can really be applied here, because there will always be individuals who truly believe in the American Dream and those who don't and of course those who are in the middle. While famous individuals may have gotten success through chance or luck there are still many others who worked hard to be where they are, and in an external perspective they all still face everyday struggles and still need to put in exceptional effort. So luck, and chance may seem to overshadow hard work but could that possibly be just an allusion of society?
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Post by dgarrett on Feb 7, 2016 2:32:16 GMT
All three of you make great points. I think that in today's society we see famous people as idols. This leads us to believe that the only way to achieve success is to become famous and rich, but that's not the case. To answer your question, I think it is an allusion of society that luck and chance seem to overshadow hard work. Many people are just as successful as the famous people we see on the internet today, and they might've gotten lucky at one point in their career, but they still worked hard to get where they got. In other words, people can achieve success through hard work, we just don't know about it because they aren't famous.
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Post by tmehta on Feb 7, 2016 3:03:38 GMT
I do agree that becoming internet famous (or famous in general) has become a lot harder because everyone is out there doing crazy stuff to achieve their 15 minutes of fame, but I wouldn’t classify that as the American Dream. Fame distorts our view of success, and we end up believing that we’ll be set if we make a couple of viral videos. Maybe I’m old-fashioned, but I still believe that the American Dream is working hard to achieve success. The famous make a very small percentage of those who are successful, and the pool becomes even bigger when we broaden our definition of success. My parents, like many other immigrants, moved to the U.S. as students and newlyweds trying to make a better life for their family, and I think they succeeded; they have jobs, we have a house and food and clothing, and we’re happy. When I was younger I always wanted to be famous because that equaled success for me, but now I realize that I can go my entire life without being on TV or making it big on the internet and still be successful and happy.
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Post by katecavallo on Feb 7, 2016 17:40:39 GMT
The idea of viral, has become linked with fame. With this concept, anyone with a camera and wifi can essentially become famous. I don't agree with this at all, to be honest. It' s pretty clear that, at least in America, there's levels of fame. There's the short-lived "viral" fame you talked about, and then there's the mildly famous people, followed by the truly famous legends that go down in history. To keep the examples all on the same playing field, let's compare singers. Some examples of each level of fame are Rebecca Black, Ingrid Michaelson, and Michael Jackson, respectively. Someone like Rebecca Black most definitely won't be winning any awards for her talents, but she sure went viral and therefore enjoyed temporary fame. On the other end of the spectrum, Michael Jackson has been and will be revered by the majority of music listeners as the King of Pop and is appreciated for his level of talent. Both of these people had connections, and so both of these people made it big; while it's easy to assume that because someone like Rebecca Black succeeded in the American Dream because the internet was at her disposal is misunderstanding the American Dream in itself. The American Dream is, at its core, about the name you make for yourself. Yes the internet makes it easier for kids with cameras to fake fame for a little while, but those who still work hard for the REAL American Dream- using their talents and skills to better others and themselves- their efforts go above and beyond those of the privileged teen with a family friend who happens to be a cinematographer. |
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Post by Emily Shea on Feb 7, 2016 21:42:22 GMT
It used to be if you were talented and had the right connections, you could get a record deal, publish a book, etc, become famous. Now with the Internet and memes and all that all it takes is a picture of a disgruntled cat or a video of a kid getting hit in the head with a basketball. The idea of viral, has become linked with fame. With this concept, anyone with a camera and wifi can essentially become famous. Just look at PewDePie, he comments on video games and boom Insta rich. This "American Dream" has become so modernized that it's changed from work to luck. So is this a good thing? This is a very interesting point Brianna! To answer your question, I'm not really sure. For those lucky few you made it viral, I'm sure they think it is a good thing. However, for everyone else in the world who is way too tired of the "yeeeeeahhhh" basketball kid or the potato that few around the room, I would say it's not. |
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Post by tatummcp on Feb 8, 2016 1:56:39 GMT
A big part of the concept of the American Dream is its accessibility; it's always been just hopes and dreams for the average person. I don't think it has really distorted, only evolved to fit with our modern society. I agree with this statement a lot! The American Dream really has always been hopes and dreams for the average person; "Dream" is literally in the name of the concept. Maybe today this "Dream" has become a little easier because it is much easier to get your name out there, but attaining this Dream is really just based on one's hopes. Something that people have talked about on other threads is whether or not the American Dream is the same for everyone, so maybe the big difference from the original American Dream and today's American Dream is what the Dream actually is. Maybe for some people it is to be famous like you mentioned, but for other people it could just be being able to support the family they have. Would you agree that rather than how accessible it is, the difference in American Dreams is what it means to everyone? |
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