DreamsReflection

As our examination of American dreamers and the American Dream impacted me greatly, I felt it was important to create a wall on dreaming. I first made a section on our own dreams. I found a mystical painting that reminded me of Gatsby's journey, and the American Dreamer's course of life. This painting includes a figure walking in a direction, either away from the vantage-point of the painting, or towards it - the painting is ambiguous in this sense. The path that the individual is walking on is guided by lights, something that Jay Gatsby is metaphorically driven by himself. This painting is the ideal dream for many Americans - a somewhat straight, well lighted path is in place for the dreamer to glide upon towards their destiny. What I have learned this year, though, is sometimes, even dreams can go wrong. For this reason, I included Keane's //A Bad Dream// - a haunting song about what it's like to be stuck in a bad dream, where no matter how hard you fight, nothing changes. Dreams do take over lives, though. To show this, I paired a split-up portrait of a sleeping man with a quote from //A Streetcar Named Desire//'s Blanche DuBois. Blanche, like many Americans, does not want reality, she wants "magic" - "I don't tell truths. I tell what ought to be truth". Her way of living, as if she is in a lucid dream, can not continue consistently; the photo beneath the quote symbolizes the lack of continuity in dreams. I then examined the American Dream, focusing on the 'classical dream' and what the dream has become. For the classical dream, I used a painting of an upscale suburban American home and intended Buddy Holly's "Everyday" to be played in the background. The audio/visual combination represents my perception of the classic American Dream. Next, I embedded a commencement address from President Obama stating that the American Dream is still alive, and that we must continue to keep passing it from generation to generation. The truth about the American Dream, though, is that it is out of reach for many people. I have attached a link with statistics regarding homelessness that are sobering to read. Many Americans continue to follow their own dreams, often aimlessly, to attain their version of the American Dream. Though that dream is often not attainable, giving up hope would often cause these dreamers to have nothing left.

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