“Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,” are words written on the statue of liberty inviting those to come in and search for their American dream.

Surprisingly, in America’s current society, the Statue of Liberty isn’t the only means of inspiration to encourage others to go out and find their American dream. American Beauty and Moonrise Kingdom are just two films that support that the major thread through American films is “chasing the American dream.” American films may start out with families or groups, but they end with individuals seeking out their dreams for themselves showing the American way of individualism. From a wide range of films, similar or different, they all relate back to one common theme. This will remain true as long as writers and directors see the emotional impact films like these have on the American people because of the idea of patriotism, whereas in other countries there are deeper themes in their films.

Whether one is watching American Beauty or Requiem for a Dream, there is the common theme that the characters are chasing the American dream. As defined by Google, the American dream is “the traditional social ideals of the United States, such as equality, democracy, and material prosperity.” Requiem for a Dream is such a real and hard to watch film about the trials and tribulations of a group of people individually seeking out their American dream, while American Beauty is focused on a family as they seek out their American Dream.

Requiem for a Dream focuses mainly on a group of people, whose lives are intertwined as they search for their American dream through obstacles. Harry, Marion, and Tyrone are characters who search for material prosperity, while dealing with the negative effects of drug abuse. Sara Goldfarb’s character, on the other hand, tries to achieve social prosperity of television, while battling weight loss, drugs, television, and sugar. Though these characters are intertwined as a group, they try to achieve their dreams individually. What makes this film so satisfying is the fact that, unlike other movies where the protagonists achieve their vision of the American dream, these characters have a sudden moment where everything is right before it quickly spirals out of control. The score also follows the film as it is simple music that gives the audience a glimpse of happiness when things begin to look up, and then it is quickly ripped away and with it the violins are violently sawed at. At the conclusion of the film it seems that there is no dream left for the characters to strive for, and they are all separated and lying in a comfort fetal position.

American Beauty focuses on a family who strives for their version of the American dream. The beginning is the camera panning over perfect suburbia to a white house with blue shutters and a red door. From the very beginning of the movie there seems to be tension and unhappiness, and the family starts to break apart as each member ventures out in search of their American dream. The flower, the American Beauty, is used as a symbol to strongly emphasize the family’s own dreams. Carolyn Burnham tried to achieve her version of the American dream of social and financial prosperity. Kevin Spacey’s character, Lester Burnham, went backwards in the loop and wearied away from achieving his American dream. He quit his job, began smoking pot, and began working at a burger joint. At the end he is killed, and it can be inferred that you can try for the American dream or die. These two films may start out with families or groups, but they end with individuals seeking out their dreams for themselves showing the American way of individualism.

Parallel Lines was a documentary that was very different from the list of films that were digested. It focused on Nina Davenport’s journey back home after 9/11, and follows suit with America’s patriotic ideals. September 11th was an act of terrorism, and the film follows Davenport as she comes across others who are struggling with their American dream, or feel that they have achieved it. This film was very different from the others that were viewed because it was a different approach and different cinematic styles, but it was still threaded in with the others. It was unique to see how something that affected the whole nation affected different individual people that most wouldn’t ever care to think about. It takes a little more outside the box thinking, but this documentary still falls into place with the others.

American films focus around the American dream and patriotism, and will continue to do so as long as filmmakers see this as an effective tactic in American pop-culture. It is a simple theme to follow, where as in countries such as France, they have a deeper theme that surrounds their films. The French developed new wave-style cinema in the 1960’s which left behind simple narrative techniques to pursue a more meaningful use of symbolism. The themes that surround their films are themes of social alienation, psychopathology, and sexual love (www.thefreedictionary.com). Fortunately the film list that is presented in this cinema class focuses on the basic American theme, but they all have an underlying deeper meaning.

It’s hard for American’s to sit down and watch a difficult movie such as Parallel Lines, Requiem for a Dream, or American Beauty. The American dream as being a theme for American cinema will remain true as long as writers and directors see the emotional impact films like these have on the American people because of the idea of patriotism, whereas in other countries there are deeper themes in their films.

A great director has the ability to manipulate the audience and control their emotions, whether it’s by using the story line or the score. The major thread of American cinema will continue to be chasing the American dream until we have a “new wave” of our own. Whether the story line focuses on a group or a family, the end result is always the individual journey of getting there. Two films can be on two different spectrums of the cinematic map, but they will all be threaded together by the one common thread of chasing the American dream. One can only hope that they will be around when the American version of Francois Roland Truffaut appears.