History UsefulNotes / TheAmericanDream

'''"Positive"'''

In this setting the average citizens are shown to all be busy working on their own GetRichQuickScheme, which they are convinced will one day, maybe even tomorrow, make them very rich, and they are, if not uninterested, then outright opposed to the conditions of the losers in life - in other words, [[LogicalFallacy survivorship bias]]. If fortune waits just around the corner, why worry about such things? After all, losers are losers for a reason. These more cynical takes may also feature the observation that the road to success is a lot more difficult to travel than the Get Rich Quick Schemers anticipate, and that their own search for an easy route to success is holding them back and preventing them from accomplishing anything meaningful; in essence, they themselves become the losers they dismiss. ''Theatre/DeathOfASalesman'' deconstructed the dream this way: pursuing greatness and riches actually prevents/impedes a less grand but ultimately more attainable level of success.

This came from the perception that 19th- and 20th-century immigrants from the Austro-Hungarian, Russian, and Italian Kingdoms had of the USA. The first two nations weren't fond of democracy, socialism, or free speech, but Austria-Hungary wasn't fond of ethnic-nationalist sentiments (because it was such a threat to her multi-ethnic society) and Russia didn't like religious dissent (because it was also a threat to her multi-ethnic society, which was held together by the Orthodox religion and loyalty to the Tsar). Lastly, Southern Italy was run by brutal crime rings. So much like Australia, Canada, and New Zealand the USA was also a place where people would be free and could hopefully earn a better life for themselves and their kids. So many people aspired to this, in fact, that the USA's ethnic makeup became 'German+Other' where before it had largely been 'Celtic+German-ic'. [[note]]Although the two largest ethnic groups in the United States today are still, respectively, the German- and Irish-Americans.[[/note]]

This came from the perception that 19th- and 20th-century immigrants from the Austro-Hungarian, Russian, and Italian Kingdoms had of the USA. The first two weren't fond of democracy, socialism, or free speech, but Austria-Hungary wasn't fond of ethnic-nationalist sentiments (because it was such a threat to her multi-ethnic society) and Russia didn't like religious dissent (because it was also a threat to her multi-ethnic society, which was held together by the Orthodox religion and loyalty to the Tsar). Lastly, Southern Italy was run by brutal crime rings. So much like Australia, Canada, and New Zealand the USA was also a place where people would be free and could hopefully earn a better life for themselves and their kids. So many people aspired to this, in fact, that the USA's ethnic makeup became 'German+Other' where before it had largely been 'Celtic+German-ic'. [[note]]Although the two largest ethnic groups in the United States today are still, respectively, the German- and Irish-Americans.[[/note]]

'''Flavor 1: "Positive"'''

'''Flavor 2: "Cynical"'''

In modern day America, this tends to mean any number of things, including having a stable job, owning a paid-for house and car(s), and raising a family.

This came from the perception that 19th- and 20th-century immigrants from the Austro-Hungarian, Russian, and Italian Kingdoms had of the USA. The first two weren't fond of democracy, socialism, or free speech, but Austria-Hungary wasn't fond of ethnic-nationalist sentiments (because it was such a threat to her multi-ethnic society) and Russia didn't like religious dissent (because it was also a threat to her multi-ethnic society, which was held together by the Orthodox religion and loyalty to the Tsar). Lastly, Southern Italy was run by brutal crime rings. So much like Australia, Canada, and New Zealand the USA was also a place where people would be free and could hopefully earn a better life for themselves and their kids. So many people aspired to this, in fact, that the USA's ethnic makeup became 'German+Other' where before it had largely been 'Celtic+German-ic'.

This view tends to argue that the American Dream is either not real, being [[JadeColoredGlasses really just a dream, or flawed (or dead)]]. Often complaining that the illusion of some future prosperity is used to [[BreadAndCircuses keep the "masses" happy]] while they are oppressed in the present. Those who have read ''TheGreatGatsby'' will know what this view is like.

More recent interpretations reflect on the isolation of Suburbia or the high amount of personal and national debt Americans have accrued over the last thirty years. Families in these works appear to have the perfect life, but [[StepfordSuburbia it's all a sham]]. To maintain the facade, the characters may have [[SoulSuckingRetailJob given up their ideals]] to lick their [[CorruptCorporateExecutive soulless boss]]' boots, or have a secret second life [[{{Weeds}} selling drugs]], or [[GoldDigger marry someone they don't love just for their money]], or kill somebody (including themselves) [[InsuranceFraud for the life insurance]]. In this version, you ''can'' have the American Dream™, but it comes at a great price, literally and figuratively.

This came from the perception that 19th- and 20th-century immigrants from the Austro-Hungarian, Russian, and Italian Kingdoms had of the USA. The first two weren't fond of democracy, socialism, or free speech, but Austria-Hungary wasn't fond of ethnic-nationalist sentiments (because it was such a threat to her multi-ethnic society) and Russia didn't like religious dissent (because it was also a threat to her multi-ethnic society, which was held together by the Orthodox religion and loyalty to the King). Lastly, Southern Italy was run by brutal crime rings. So much like Australia, Canada, and New Zealand the USA was also a place where people would be free and could hopefully earn a better life for themselves and their kids. So many people aspired to this, in fact, that the USA's ethnic makeup became 'German+Other' where before it had largely been 'Celtic+German-ic'.

Cynical takes on the American Dream also tend to treat it more as a fantasy, or even a delusion (or [[ComicBook/CaptainAmerica a con perpetrated by a HYDRA agent]]), than a realistic dream. Instead of a land of unlimited possibilities and opportunity, America is a land of limited resources and people all competing for them; this means that there's only going to be so much of the pie available to share, and not everyone is going to get an equal slice. Thus, there's at least one loser (if not more) for every winner; someone's got to clean the streets and scrub the toilets after all.

Cynical takes on the American Dream also tend to treat it more as a fantasy, or even a delusion, than a realistic dream. Instead of a land of unlimited possibilities and opportunity, America is a land of limited resources and people all competing for them; this means that there's only going to be so much of the pie available to share, and not everyone is going to get an equal slice. Thus, there's at least one loser (if not more) for every winner; someone's got to clean the streets and scrub the toilets after all.

In this setting the average citizens are shown to all be busy working on their own GetRichQuickScheme, which they are convinced will one day, maybe even tomorrow, make them very rich, and they are, if not uninterested, then outright opposed to the conditions of the losers in life - in other words, [[LogicalFallacy survivorship bias]]. If fortune waits just around the corner, why worry about such things? After all, losers are losers for a reason. These more cynical takes may also feature the observation that the road to success is a lot more difficult to travel than the Get Rich Quick Schemers anticipate, and that their own search for an easy route to success is holding them back and preventing them from accomplishing anything meaningful; in essence, they themselves become the losers they dismiss. ''DeathOfASalesman'' deconstructed the dream this way: pursuing greatness and riches actually prevents/impedes a less grand but ultimately more attainable level of success.

The "AmericanDream" is the hope that people can earn a better life for themselves in The Americas, or after the huge surge in European emigration in the late 19th century the USA in particular. Prior to the 19th century, when the banking and financial sectors as we know them today really took off, the ownership of land [[SlobsVersusSnobs separated the 'haves' from the 'have-nots']] and so in those days the dream was more specifically about owning farmland (whether or not you tilled it yourself, which we'll get into later). This changed as the supply of 'free' land dried up (once the Amerindians had been ethnically cleansed from it in North America and every ethnic-Amerindian Subject in Central-South America already had a lord) in the mid-late 19th century and the value of agricultural products declined relative to services (e.g. shops), non-organic resource extraction (e.g. mines), and manufacturing (e.g. clothes-making factories).

In a single word, the AmericanDream was ''Prosperity''. But not everyone could be rich; in the north-east prosperity was second to ''survival'' and mere ''independence'', and through the rest of the Americas even impoverished landlords could console themselves with ''prestige'' and ''control''. But unlikely as it was to work out, many believed that Diligence, Hard Work, Willpower, and a bit of Luck could make any man rich and respected in The Americas. See [[SelfMadeMan By Your Own Bootstraps]] and HardWorkFallacy.

As the Industrial Revolution changed the importance of ownership of farm land, the AmericanDream morphed to include elements such as owning your own small business, or your own home with a bit of lawn. All elements of economic independence in the modern age. This independence meant that obtainers of the American Dream could see their children free to become whatever they wanted to.

Immediately after UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, the AmericanDream was the standard idea of a husband, who went to work in a major city, usually by driving to the train station (or being driven by his wife) and commuting; a ranch-style house in [[{{Suburbia}} the suburbs]]; two cars and [[{{Housewife}} a stay-at-home wife and mom]] who raised their average brood of 2.5 children. (See also NuclearFamily).

This view tends to argue that the AmericanDream is either not real, being [[JadeColoredGlasses really just a dream, or flawed (or dead)]]. Often complaining that the illusion of some future prosperity is used to [[BreadAndCircuses keep the "masses" happy]] while they are oppressed in the present. Those who have read ''TheGreatGatsby'' will know what this view is like.

Again in fiction the AmericanDream tends to be depicted as either to getting really, really rich or else living a happy suburban life like [[TheFifties 1950s]] sitcom characters. But this time if you go for the former you'll discover that it's LonelyAtTheTop and if you go for the latter you'll find yourself condemned to an AwfulWeddedLife. [[SadisticChoice Take your pick]].

Seriously, what the AmericanDream entails is constantly up for debate, but it's usually agreed that it involves all citizens being allowed to achieve what they want, or at least the opportunity to ''try''. Often it is pointed out that different minorities have commonly been handicapped in chasing the AmericanDream compared to other Americans. The term AmericanDream is often used in the context of immigrants coming over to the "Land of Opportunity" (think of the song "America" from ''Theatre/WestSideStory'').

Just like {{Eagleland}}, the AmericanDream comes in two flavors: