James Truslow Adams coined the term “American Dream” in 1931, intending that life be better and richer for everyone, each according to achievement, regardless of status. It has since become the national ethos, an ideal of individual prosperity, success, and upward mobility attained through risk, hard work, and sacrifice.
The American Dream has such a powerful influence over the American psyche, many films have been made about its pursuit. Some, like Wall Street and The Great Gatsby, glorifying wealth and status, and others portending its dangers. These movies share a belief that every American has the ability to improve themselves.
‘The Pursuit of Happyness’ (2006)
In The Pursuit of Happyness, Chris Gardner (Will Smith) can’t sell the medical device he invested in. Tired of struggling, his wife leaves him, and he loses his apartment. Homeless with his son (Jaden Smith), Chris takes an internship as a stockbroker, hoping to change his luck. But first, he and his young son will have to survive six whole months without a paycheck.
It’s clear from the get-go that Gardner is an American Dreamer, having taken a gamble on the next big thing. His gamble didn’t pay off, but the American Dream preaches that you can’t win without taking big swings. The American Dream always involves hard work and sacrifice, and no one is going to hustle harder than a single parent experiencing homelessness with their child. The reality of such sacrifice is more nightmare than dream, with some scenes so heartbreaking that viewers wonder if even winning big can be worth such a price.
‘The Founder’ (2016)
Dick (Nick Offerman) and Mac (John Carroll Lynch) McDonald open a fast-food burger place and call it McDonalds in The Founder. It does well enough to attract the attention of Ray Kroc (Michael Keaton). What starts as a business partnership ends up in theft – Ray steals their idea, their speedy production system, even the name – and goes on to make billions, screwing over the McDonald brothers and never looking back.
Whether Kroc is the hero or the villain of this story depends on the viewer’s perspective of the American Dream. The American Dream lauds the "self-made man," but most are made on the backs of uncredited hard-working people. Like it or not, the American Dream is an individual pursuit; Kroc makes a lot of money as a business partner, but makes much more once he ruthlessly pushes the McDonald brothers out. Kroc is the epitome of the American Dream: it's not pretty or honest, but personal integrity is just another commodity to be bought or sold.
‘Spanglish’ (2004)
Single mother Flor (Paz Vega) and daughter Cristina (Shelbie Bruce) emigrate from Mexico for a better life in America in Spanglish. Flor works for a wealthy family where Cristina is exposed to a culture that Flor isn’t ready to accept or respect.
Flor compromises a lot to give her daughter a better life, but there’s still a push-pull between the values she holds dear and the values that spell American success. America was once called the land of opportunity, where immigrants could pull themselves up through hard work and determination. Flor is no stranger to work or sacrifice the American Dream is not one size fits all.
‘Hustle & Flow’ (2005)
DJay (Terrence Howard) is a Memphis pimp with a stable of three sex workers, including pregnant and out-of-work Shug (Taraji P. Henson) and Nola (Taryn Manning), who turns tricks out of the back of DJay’s car. Struggling to make ends meet, DJay decides to chase his dream of being a hip-hop emcee. With the help of his stable, he turns out a demo tape for hometown success story, Skinny Black (Ludacris).
Hustle & Flow emphasizes how when starting from the street, upward mobility can be particularly difficult. And as much emphasis as the American Dream puts on equal opportunity for all, that’s never been the case. In truth, the deck has always been stacked against certain citizens, and DJay’s community is a prime example.
‘Gangs of New York’ (2002)
To get close enough to his father’s killer for revenge, Amsterdam (Leonardo DiCaprio) joins Bill The Butcher’s (Daniel Day-Lewis) gang and works his way up the ladder. Five Points Manhattan is riddled with prostitution, theft, and murder during the early 1860s as the American Civil War rages on. There’s plenty of room for corruption, and opportunity for ruthless men to make their mark.
Arguably, many if not most of Martin Scorsese’s films are about the American Dream. Gangs of New York, however, is possibly ground zero when it comes to the American Dream. Manhattan is nearly lawless, and a certain kind of man sees nothing but opportunity. Crime overlords and politicians are one and the same, both equally vile as they battle for control of the burgeoning city.
‘Minari’ (2020)
In 1983, Korean immigrants the Yi family moves from California to rural Arkansas where patriarch Jacob (Steven Yeun) will own and farm a plot of land. From Korea, America seemed like a promised land, but the reality is much grimmer.
In fact, the Yi family’s standard of living is much lower here, and pursuing Jacob’s dream means real sacrifice: half the living space, twice the work, and marital stress. Still, the pull of the American Dream is so strong Jacob prioritizes it over everything else in the poignant and brilliantly complex family drama that is Minari.
‘Revolutionary Road’ (2008)
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Young couple April (Kate Winslet) and Frank (Leonardo DiCaprio) live in a 1955 suburb in Revolutionary Road. Though they look like the perfect family, they’re deeply unhappy and resentful of each other. April has given up on her acting career, and Frank hates his job. They agree to move to Paris where they can be happier, but a pregnancy and a promotion prove difficult to overcome.
Suburbia is the ultimate symbol of the American Dream, proving April and Frank have already achieved it. Yet they’re both miserable. Only the fantasy of quitting work, moving abroad, and living more freely can pierce their unhappiness, but Paris remains a dream unfulfilled as the American Dream proves too irresistible for Frank. They stay, Frank takes a promotion, and they remain trapped and ever more committed to a life neither enjoys.
‘Dolemite Is My Name’ (2019)
Dolemite Is My Name follows Rudy Ray Moore (Eddie Murphy), a struggling rapper and comedian in 1970s Los Angeles. Only when he adopts a crude-talking pimp character named Dolemite does he gain any traction. Inspired by this success, he self-finances a kung-fu Blaxploitation film as a vehicle for Dolemite. He makes the film with an amateur crew on a shoestring budget and when no studio will buy it, he promotes and premiers it himself.
Moore, a true self-made man, believed in himself and pursued the American Dream all the way to the top. He hustled his whole life and when he found a working formula, he was brave enough to bet on himself. He continued to star in sequels to Dolemite until his death in 2008, reaching back and bringing members of his community along with him.
‘99 Homes’ (2014)
Set in the aftermath of the 2008 housing crash, 99 Homes follows the construction worker and single father Dennis (Andrew Garfield) loses his job, and the ability to pay his mortgage. Real estate broker Rick (Michael Shannon) evicts him and his young son without a second thought. Desperate and living in a seedy motel, Dennis decides to make a deal with the devil and goes to work for Rick. Rick shows him how to scam and steal from banks and government, and Dennis learns quickly and rises even faster, earning big money.
No one ever mentions that the pursuit of the American Dream is a loop that never ends; money and status are good, but more is always better. Tasting that life, Dennis ends up doing the very thing that crushed him: evicting honest families from their homes. It doesn’t feel great, but this is how the rich get richer. Money is seductive. It may not buy happiness, but it does buy a comfortable home, regular meals, and stability.
‘War Dogs’ (2016)
When David’s (Miles Teller) money-making schemes don’t pan out, he agrees to partner with his friend Efraim (Jonah Hill), a gunrunner who sees a way to exploit the war on terror for profit. Almost effortlessly, they stumble into their first government contract to deal weapons. They get paid, take on more contracts, take bigger risks, and it inevitably goes to Efraim’s head, who’ll screw over anyone to keep a bigger piece of the pie for himself.
War Dogs is a classic American Dream story. Ordinary guys have the balls to seize an opportunity when they see it. It’s a big risk, but the rewards are irresistible. Despite their shady deals, this kind of war profiteering is encouraged by the U.S. government, the American Dream practically ingrained in the constitution.