I tried to stay aheadI tried to stay on top

I tried to play the partBut somehow I forgotJust what I did it for

And why I wanted moreThis type of modern life

Is it for me?—Madonna “ American Life”

The American Dream

The ideals of freedom, equality, and opportunity held to be available to every American. A life of personal success and material comfort as sought by individuals in the U.S.

What is the American Dream?

Origins of the American Dream

Puritan notion of “city on a hill”—a theocracy organized around the word of God (where material success was an indicator of God’s favor)

The Historical Origins of the American Dream

From the Revolutionary War later half of the nineteenth century

Much of America was undeveloped and represented to many people a promise of land ownership

(Far and Away)

The Industrial Revolution

Wealth as Possible: Many early American prospectors headed west of the Rocky Mountains to buy acres of cheap land, hoping to find deposits of gold.

Western Europeans escaping the Irish potato famines, the Highland clearances and the aftermath of Napoleon in the rest of Europe came to America to escape a poor quality of life at home.

Irish family evicted during Land War, c.1879.

They wanted to embrace the promise of financial security and constitutional freedom they had heard existed so widely in the United States.

By the turn of the century, however, our capitalist economy was producing economic surpluses; now,

success is indicated by displays of excessive wealth

 ”The pace was faster, the buildings were higher, the morals were looser and liquor was cheaper…” F Scott Fitzgerald

Late nineteenth century writer Wrote over 103 stories aimed at juvenile boys

His novels about down-and-out young boys who were able to achieve wealth and success through honesty, hard work, frugality, and luck helped entrench the dream within popular culture.

Though not considered talented, his influence is considered second only to Mark Twain.

Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller

Close to the 20th Century, major industrialist personalities became the new model of the American Dream.

Many of these begin life in the humblest of conditions but later control enormous corporations and fortunes.

This acquisition of great wealth appeared to demonstrate that if you had talent, intelligence, and a willingness to work extremely hard, you were likely to be a success in life as a result.

“Beverly Hills” by Weezer

What reasons does the speaker give for wanting to live in Beverly Hills? What does he find wrong with where he is currently living? How does the goal of living in Beverly Hills relate to the American Dream?

Where I come from isn't all that greatMy automobile is a piece of crapMy fashion sense is a little whackAnd my friends are just as screwy as me

I didn't go to boarding schoolsPreppy girls never looked at meWhy should they I ain't nobodyGot nothing in my pocket

Look at all those movie starsThey're all so beautiful and cleanWhen the housemaids scrub the floors They get the spaces in between

I wanna live a life like thatI wanna be just like a kingTake my picture by the pool Cause I'm the next big thing!

VS

Now compare that to Switchfoot’s song,

“American Dream”

As you listen to this song, ask yourself what the speaker of the song is criticizing about the American Dream

When success is equated with excessThe ambition for excess wrecks usAs top of the mind becomes the bottom line When success is equated with excess

If your time ain't been nothing for money I start to feel really bad for you, honey Maybe honey, put your money where your mouth's been running If your time ain't been nothing but money

When we're fighting for the Beamer, the Lexus As the heart and soul breath in the company goals Where success is equated with excess

'Cause baby's always talkin' 'bout a ring And talk has always been the cheapest thing 

Is it true would you do what I want you to If I show up with the right amount of bling?

Like a puppet on a monetary stringMaybe we've been caught singingRed, white, blue, and greenBut that ain't my America,That ain't my American dream

Fitzgerald believed that the true American Dream, the quest for happiness and fulfillment by re-inventing yourself with imagination, tenacity and hard work had been corrupted.

In the Roaring 20’s, people associated happiness with wealth, and the quest for happiness and self improvement became replaced with the quest to simply acquire monetary wealth.