It is entering the holiday season, which of course means watching Buddy the Elf roam around New York City. I use this example because I am a huge Will Ferrel fan, but many christmas movies, It's a Wonderful Life for example, preach the same message. Throughout the movie Buddy the Elf teaches his estranged father about what christmas really means, and that family and friends are more important than money and success. Individuals like Buddy's father are evidence of the hegemony that surrounds our American economy.
We are taught that money is extraordinarily influential, and is the key ingredient to getting anything you need in life. So without question so many people will work their lives away trying to simply accumulate wealth. It seems so logical in our society that if only we had more money, we would be happier with our new lives. We forget the other aspects of happiness and success in our lives, or in the case of the novel we read, Ralph's desire for wealth simply takes a greater toll on his financial integrity.
The American ideal is simply that money is the most important thing in the country, and literally makes the world go round. It is good people like Buddy the Elf that stand up to question the hegemony that only he has noticed, because it is so ingrained in our society.
So on that note, Happy Holidays!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elf_(film)
Accumulation of wealth and material goods seems at the root of the American Dream. It is easy to agree that too many people lose sight of the more significant things in life while living with the "another day another dollar" mindset. During our in-class exercise in which we described what the idea of the "American Dream" meant to us, a lot of us described the perfect house with a white picket fence, with a family, a dog, an education, and a good job. Although Buddy the Elf would probably be saddened to hear it, most of us are working hard every day so that we can someday enter the workforce.. and work hard every day. All of us ultimately hope to attain enough monetary wealth so that we can live comfortably and provide for our families. In the world we live in, money is extraordinarily influential and I think one could easily argue that, in many ways, money is indeed the American Dream.
ReplyDeletePS I like smiling. Smiling's my favorite.
Money is a necessary evil. In this day and age, everything costs something - food, shelter, transportation. In order to have money you need to earn it through work. People do not work just to get by, just to make it to the next meal. People work to create stability in their lives. Fundamentally, I believe the American Dream is about being healthy and happy. However, if you are homeless and starving, you probably are neither healthy nor happy. This is why money and hard work are such an integral part of the American Dream.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jacob in the sense that our world revolves around money, and that it is the golden ticket to the fantasized notion of the American Dream. It is sad to say, but there are millions of people in the world just like Buddy's father who primarily live for the purpose of reaching their desires to become wealthy. Americans have a materialistic mindset in which we tend to focus on the idea of consistently wanting things. Buddy's father is a perfect example and epitomizes the everyday man in an attempt to reach the American Dream through financial purposes.
ReplyDeleteI agree with SuskiaV's quote of "money is a necessary evil", but too what extent is this true? While I feel money is definitely an essential aspect to living a happy life, people like Buddy's dad put too much focus on the importance of work and money. For example when Buddy's dad is told to come in and work on Christmas Eve, and he agrees, that is where I would draw the line. While one needs money in order to support a family and achieve the American Dream, one may put their family at risk by working too much and not being home enough. I feel that in order to achieve the American Dream, there should be a solid balance between work and family.
ReplyDeleteI've never seen this movie, so I don't know the specifics, but in reference to the comment about working on Christmas Eve: perhaps this is a line he has to cross? While not spending time with your family for monetary gain will not earn you "Father of the Year", if he will lose his job (and therefore only source of income) by not coming in on 24 December then it is probably for the better. If he loses his job, would his family be able to retain their comfortable lifestyle? Would they have to make undue sacrifices to keep their home, to keep food on the table?
ReplyDeleteI think there is a lot of strife over the holidays about people who work rather than take time off for familiy. This really depends on a lot of factors (income, religion, family dynamic, etc) and it isn't really fair to judge those seeking economic security over a contrived holiday experience.