Myths
Analysis:
American
Dream
The American Dream
functions as a myth within our society by providing hope to citizens and
reinforcing beliefs that good work ethics will bring success and opportunities
of great achievements. Achieving the
American Dream depends upon an individual’s definition of the Dream. Martin
Luther King, Jr. dreamed of racial equality. John Winthrop envisioned a
religious paradise in a “City upon a Hill.” Both men yearned for what they
perceived as perfection (Warshauer, 2003).
The first artifact that I chose to illustrate the
components of the American Dream myth is the movie “Willy Wonka and The
Chocolate Factory.” The plot to this
movie is that Charlie Bucket a young boy who lives in poverty with his parents
and grandparents dreams of winning the golden ticket to a contest that will
allow him to go behind the gates of the Wonka Chocolate factory and to become
the winner of an unknown grand prize. Charlie sees this as his opportunity to
the American Dream of becoming a winner. There is a part in the movie where
Charlie ask his mother when will it be his turn to be happy as he watches
children all around buying several candy bars at a time to win a ticket. Charlie does win a ticket and his dreams come
true and he becomes the heir to the factory.
The American Dream was reached; Charlie and his family will never live
in poverty again.
This mythic pattern of events is attractive to
contemporary audiences. Charlie was a boy in poverty, he was honest and kind,
he just wanted to have the same opportunities as the children and families
around him. This is a dream of so many
Americans. So to watch this boy go from having nothing to becoming the heir of
a well established business leaves one with a happy heart. It leaves one believing that if you keep
trying and stay positive good things will happen.
The second artifact that I have chosen is the television
show “The Voice.” In this television show Americans who feel they have strong
vocals are invited to compete in a competition.
The first part of the competition is a blind audition where celebrity
musicians request to be coaches of individuals whom they feel have talent. After this segment of the competition there
are rounds of challenges between the contestants who have made it this far
without being knocked out. In the end one contestant will be named “The Voice”
and will receive the grand prize of a recording contract (The Voice, 2013) .
Again, this mythic pattern of events is attractive to
contemporary audiences. “The Voice” soared to the top with a 4.7 rating among
the target audience of viewers between the age of 18 and 49 and 13.4 million
viewers (Carter, 2013). Part of the American Dream especially
those that have an athletic or musical talent spend a lot of time dreaming of
becoming famous. This type of fame
doesn’t come easy. There is a lot of hard work that goes into selling your
talents. So when an opportunity arises,
many contestants attempt to make it big. As the audience, people feel they are
part of this adventure that the contestant is on. You feel like you are part of
their dream and are traveling every step with them which in return is giving
you a feeling of accomplishment. I think that this show along with other like
it help the viewers to reach for goals that they may have put aside. When you
see someone achieve it makes you want to achieve.
Watching programs where the presence of the American
Dream myth is the plot I at times feel that same sense of achievement. I often
walk away thinking of the challenges the individual faced and the obstacles
that they overcome to reach their goal. However, there are times when I have
dealt with a struggle of my own and watching such a program does not appeal to
me. In these times, a good comedy which
may have the same myth hidden within the story line I find myself needing.
References
Carter, B. (2013, March). NBC Lures Back Viewers
With ‘The Voice’ and ‘Revolution’. Retrieved from New York Times:
http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/26/nbc-lures-back-viewers-with-the-voice-and-revolution/
The Voice.
(2013). Retrieved from NBC: http://www.nbc.com/the-voice/about/
Warshauer, M. (2003). Who Wants To Become a
Millionaire: Changing Conceptions of the American Dream. Retrieved from
American Resources on the Net:
http://www.americansc.org.uk/online/American_Dream.htm
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