For centuries the American dream has been depicted through film, books, and propaganda. Though highly advertised now, the American dream was originally created as a marketing tool to get others to come to America in search of riches and wealth. Two films that depict various aspects of the American dream are Billy Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard and Mike Nichols’ The Graduate. Whether it is Norma Desmond’s blindsided view of Hollywood or Benjamin Braddock’s search for love from all generations, both of these films suggest the idea that the American dream is rather cloudy. Both Sunset Boulevard and The Graduate use isolation as a way to convey a greater idea about the American dream. In The Graduate, Benjamin’s isolation is vey symbolic and can be
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Too many times the American dream is depicted as this wonderful triumph that allows middle class Americans to overcome all odds and eventually become rich and famous. What is interesting about these movies is that they kind of throw that out the window and focus more on happiness and the road to it; rather than wealth and prosperity. This can directly be seen when Joe flees the mansion to write with Betty and when Benjamin leaves everything behind to be with Elaine. These films are very popular and noteworthy being that they show the American dream in this new sense. The Graduate in particular was very modern for its time as it showed the “relaxation of censorship… as a response to changing social values and morals during the 1960s” (Chapman 2003). In addition, Sunset Boulevard was revolutionary as it showed that although those who have everything might appear happy on the outside, they might be struggling with internal forces on the inside. Both of these films do a great job at depicting the unseen side of the American dream. They show that to achieve the American dream, happiness, not wealth needs to be sought. When wealth is placed before happiness, loads of problems arise and a life of sadness and demise is in store for the
Too many times the American dream is depicted as this wonderful triumph that allows middle class Americans to overcome all odds and eventually become rich and famous. What is interesting about these movies is that they kind of throw that out the window and focus more on happiness and the road to it; rather than wealth and prosperity. This can directly be seen when Joe flees the mansion to write with Betty and when Benjamin leaves everything behind to be with Elaine. These films are very popular and noteworthy being that they show the American dream in this new sense. The Graduate in particular was very modern for its time as it showed the “relaxation of censorship… as a response to changing social values and morals during the 1960s” (Chapman 2003). In addition, Sunset Boulevard was revolutionary as it showed that although those who have everything might appear happy on the outside, they might be struggling with internal forces on the inside. Both of these films do a great job at depicting the unseen side of the American dream. They show that to achieve the American dream, happiness, not wealth needs to be sought. When wealth is placed before happiness, loads of problems arise and a life of sadness and demise is in store for the