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In his video he discusses why the American dream is dead, gone. That the modern generations does not confomr to this "general dream". It is something that the masses will use to get jobs or a dislored image of america. The modern ideology does not fit "The American Dream" of old. The dream is long dead for others selfish goals. The new people want for their own goals rather than the set ones. Everyones dreams or goals are far different now than ever.

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Video 20 - The American Dream is Dead and Buried

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In the campus they discuss how the American has been for far long. To be more precies is that it barely belonged to begin with. In the article they say "The image put in our head was a husband and wife, living in a small, simple house in the suburbs, with two to three children, and perhaps a dog.". This was the American dream once so long ago that no one achives for anymore. Along with this it is a stereotype that fits anyone. Not only that but they say "outdated concept that barely existed in the first place and was created to keep Americans happy...". As it is an outdated topic that no longer fits the people. It is used by corperations to fuel work but not by anyone else. For if you do use that phrase it would not fit their agenda.

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When someone references "the American Dream," one is often reminded of something we were taught about in elementary school. When learning about immigration in the third grade, we were taught that people were immigrating to the United States to chase "the American Dream." The image put in our head was a husband and wife, living in a small, simple house in the suburbs, with two to three children, and perhaps a dog. These houses came with green, lush, well-manicured lawns and white picket fences. The image included the idea of the mother being a housewife, as the father - the "breadwinner," per se - worked a job that paid well enough to allow him to be the only one that needed to work.

In the theater department, we read plays of many different genres, of many different styles, and from many different countries. From Ancient Greece, to medieval France, all the way up to recent productions on- and off-Broadway, I have read many plays thus far in my college career.

My junior seminar focused on American drama and American playwrights. These included people such as Eugene O'Neill, Tennessee Williams and Lorraine Hansberry. Most all of these American dramas deal with the idea of "the American Dream." Given this, and my own experience living in the United States for 21 years, I can confidently say that the American Dream is a dead, outdated concept that barely existed in the first place and was created to keep Americans happy about working for money-hungry corporations.

The first issue I have with "the American Dream" still being used as a viable term is that it is not the same for Black, Indigenous and People of Color as it is for white people, both historically and in today's world. The modern-day definition of "the American Dream" was born in the mid-1950s, during the rise of post-war consumerism. As women returned to being housewives from their wartime factory jobs, advertisements for household appliances quickly changed their targets to the idealized post-war American family. In this image, we have the hardworking man who earns all the money the house needs, the housewife who has all of the best appliances that she needs to be the perfect spouse, and children that play sports and need to eat picture-perfect meals every day of their lives.

What this image does not have, and did not ever have, was a BIPOC family in the same scenario. This is because "the American Dream" sets an inherently racist expectation, one that focuses on the "perfect," white American family that BIPOC folk should assimilate to. It effectively disregards the existence - and therefore, importance - of families of color.

One could argue that the reason this was never depicted was because BIPOC families did not live that way, and they would be correct. Families of color did not live idyllic lives due to the systemic racial inequality they have faced throughout history. "The American Dream" has never been a privilege extended to persons of color, and that is certainly seen in both post-war consumerism as well as modern-day America.

The main reason "the American Dream" is dead for all Americans, regardless of race, is due to wealth inequality in the United States today. As the world has become more evolved, more jobs require education further than high school. Much to the working class's disadvantage, the cost of higher education has disproportionately risen in comparison to the income of average Americans. This makes a college education much harder to achieve for people from lower-income families.

One must also consider what it currently means to be a "middle-class" family in America. With the general range of the "middle-class" status being between $45,000 and $130,000, and the median American income being approximately $30,000, it is clear to see that most families who manage to fall into the middle or lower-middle class are closer to the poverty line than they are to achieving upper-middle class status (at approximately $140,000 to $150,000).

Furthermore, the generational gap between then and now is exceptionally wide. While it was perfectly viable for a person just out of high school to pay for their college education by flipping burgers for $4 per hour, that is not the case today. Inflation has increased at an alarming rate, while the national minimum wage has not. In Pennsylvania, the minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. In Crawford County, this is the standard most any job will start you at, although some will bump you up to $7.75-$8 per hour if you have previous experience. But for a young person who has never worked before, the prospects are grim for the amount of money they will be able to make in a single summer.

I am thankful to have one of the few well-paying hourly summer jobs in Crawford County. I started at $8.50, given my experience working for minimum wage the previous summer at a farm market and now make $10 per hour. Each paycheck, I made around $450-$500. After working for approximately 12 weeks (June through August), I'd made around $3000 for the summer. My monthly bills come to approximately $75. Already, one-third of my total summer income is going to be spent on bills. The remaining $2000 is less than one-tenth the cost of tuition alone in a single semester at Allegheny College, and for comparison, approximately over one-tenth of the average yearly cost of attending Edinboro University. Unfortunately, my summer employment situation seems to be unique compared to the majority of students on campus. It is absolutely no longer possible to pay for a college education with a summer job alone, and "the American Dream" only perpetuates the idea that it is.

The same idea applies to the millennial housing crisis; the cost of owning a home is almost 40% higher than it was in the 1980s, which is around the time the later boomers were finishing college. We can no longer afford the lives our parents led, or the lives their parents led during the birth of "the American Dream."

On the same level, "the American Dream" is something commonly used by today's older folk to berate and belittle millennials for their financial instability. The idea that a person who works a full-time job 40 hours a week, with benefits, can be totally financially stable is a fallacy we need to stop perpetuating. It is by no means possible for every American because of racial inequality, gender inequality and a lot of other things that cause people to be stripped of any chance at "the American Dream."

In countless plays I have read since coming to college, families are torn apart by "the American Dream." Some struggle to find housing, some struggle to find identity, others struggle to find employment. The worst part is that these plays primarily take place in the mid- to late-twentieth century, between 1950 and 1999. "The American Dream" has never been real for most Americans, and instead, has served as an unachievable standard for generations, for people of all backgrounds. It is a concept that I despise, and that I am tired of hearing used by older generations as a reflection of their relative success in attaining this unrealistic ideal, as if proof of their superiority. Its goal was the promotion of consumerism and capitalism as a societal norm, and sadly, has reached past this goal and still seeps into our lives half a century later.

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"The American Dream" is dead, and barely existed to begin with

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When someone references "the American Dream," one is often reminded of something we were taught about in elementary school. When learning about immigration in the third grade, we were taught that people were immigrating to the United States to chase "the American Dream." The image put in our head was a husband and wife, living...

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My Mothers thoughts on the American dream

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My Mothers thoughts on the American dream

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When I interviewed my mom who had similiar thoughts about the American dream. My mother told me the American dream is a generalized idea that is pooled by all including race or minority. It was something everyone could go with but it has died within the last couple of decades. As she says that it no longer fits people. The people have their own goals with something different in mind to the "American Dream". It is long dead and people find to strive for their own goals or desires.

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It is to have a house where I can live and be happy. A house were i could be happy and live in peace.

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"Richard Cory" by Edwin Arlington Robinson

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"Richard Cory" by Edwin Arlington Robinson

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"Richard Cory" is about a person who has achieved what others call their "American Dream". Richard is a person who has vast wealth and intellegence. He is someone admired by all and sought to be one like. The people who admire him hate their bastard like lives and want to be him. One day Richard kills himself on a summers evening. Richards story is about the American dream being dead. That even with all this greatness his american dream was dead. He had such promise and such a great life but dead. Him dying is the essence of the American dream dying as well. Richards dream is something he gave up on because it was something no longer worth while. Something that didn't fit him anymore so he gave up on it. The American dream died alongside with him.

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Carlos is the embodiment of the American dream being dead. He goes to try and achieve but gives up and settles. Carlos no longer wants to achieve a so called "American Dream". Carlo even states how hes given up saying "I don't care, I'm going to marry her!"(pg 273). Reyna American dream of education or wealth don't fit the people . That it is no longer there anymore for any person. Just like Carlos people would give up and leave it to die. It is no longer an American dream but a distant facade.

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The last part of my American dream is to have a dog. I really want to have a dog in the future by myself. As a last rite of self-reliance to myself.

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Another dream is to just be finacially stable and not have to worry too much about debt. As it is a scary thing that no one want to deal with. I'd rather be stable than not and stressed out.

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My understanding of the American dream is that it is something as old as this country. Though a sentimental idea it is dead never the less. The "American Dream" that everybody thinks of no longer fits what everybodies indivisual wants are. As my own dreams may not be for everyone but something I myself aspire for. They are no longer a general idea of what people want but rather the idea of the American dream is dead. People no longer retort or speak of it because they do not aspire for it. It is but distant saying and something lost to the ages before us.