The (Anti)American Dream
To understand this list you have, first, to understand what the American Dream is and what ideas support it. I think a visit to the Wikipedia will refresh your memory: [link]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Dream[/link]
The (Anti) American Dream is just the opposite. The Non-American-Dream. The ugly face of the American Dream. The flawed American Dream. The American Dream lies to you, if you prefer.
This list intend to include movies that can be used to demonstrate that the ideas behind the AD are flawed, are unrealistic, and can actually take you to hell. The movies I have included in this list tell stories of people who fail in life no matter they do what the American Dream says you have to do to succeed. Movies that show that America's way of life and the ideal of the American Dream are just an impossible fantasy and show the flaws of the AD ideal. Movies that show that getting the American Dream does not equal becoming happy inside. Movies about people who tried to pursue the American Dream and failed. In short, movies that show a more real America than the over-sweetened version that Hollywood portrays.
If you want to make a suggestion, please remember that, for any movie to fit in this list has to have a negative or uncertain ending, but be a story that shows that the whole system affects the individual in a bad way, that the individual's hopes and dreams that feed the American Dream are unrealistic (even if you are socially competent, a good person, hard-working, well educated, etc.), because fighting hard for what you want does not equal success, no matter your intelligence or human qualities. What is more, even if you achieve it, a dream of success, of economical and social success, does not equal happiness or inner fulfilment. On the contrary, stories of struggle and surmounting tragedies successfully are indeed part of the core of the American Dream, so not fit for this list.
If you like this list, you might be interested in my I have an ethical dilemma for you. Free entry :D
The (Anti) American Dream is just the opposite. The Non-American-Dream. The ugly face of the American Dream. The flawed American Dream. The American Dream lies to you, if you prefer.
This list intend to include movies that can be used to demonstrate that the ideas behind the AD are flawed, are unrealistic, and can actually take you to hell. The movies I have included in this list tell stories of people who fail in life no matter they do what the American Dream says you have to do to succeed. Movies that show that America's way of life and the ideal of the American Dream are just an impossible fantasy and show the flaws of the AD ideal. Movies that show that getting the American Dream does not equal becoming happy inside. Movies about people who tried to pursue the American Dream and failed. In short, movies that show a more real America than the over-sweetened version that Hollywood portrays.
If you want to make a suggestion, please remember that, for any movie to fit in this list has to have a negative or uncertain ending, but be a story that shows that the whole system affects the individual in a bad way, that the individual's hopes and dreams that feed the American Dream are unrealistic (even if you are socially competent, a good person, hard-working, well educated, etc.), because fighting hard for what you want does not equal success, no matter your intelligence or human qualities. What is more, even if you achieve it, a dream of success, of economical and social success, does not equal happiness or inner fulfilment. On the contrary, stories of struggle and surmounting tragedies successfully are indeed part of the core of the American Dream, so not fit for this list.
If you like this list, you might be interested in my I have an ethical dilemma for you. Free entry :D
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- DirectorCraig GillespieStarsMargot RobbieSebastian StanAllison JanneyCompetitive ice skater Tonya Harding rises amongst the ranks at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, but her future in the activity is thrown into doubt when her ex-husband intervenes.
- DirectorJoel SchumacherStarsMichael DouglasRobert DuvallBarbara HersheyAn ordinary man frustrated with the various flaws he sees in society begins to psychotically and violently lash out against them.
- DirectorBarry JenkinsStarsMahershala AliNaomie HarrisTrevante RhodesA young African-American man grapples with his identity and sexuality while experiencing the everyday struggles of childhood, adolescence, and burgeoning adulthood.
- DirectorRyan MurphyStarsJoseph CrossAnnette BeningBrian CoxA teenage boy comes of age in the 1970's, sent by his neurotic, pretentious mother to live with a jolly, vulgar psychiatrist and his eccentric extended family.
- DirectorMartin McDonaghStarsFrances McDormandWoody HarrelsonSam RockwellA mother personally challenges the local authorities to solve her daughter's murder when they fail to catch the culprit.
- DirectorPaul HaggisStarsDon CheadleSandra BullockThandiwe NewtonLos Angeles citizens with vastly separate lives collide in interweaving stories of race, loss and redemption.
- DirectorDerek CianfranceStarsRyan GoslingMichelle WilliamsJohn DomanThe relationship of a contemporary married couple, charting their evolution over a span of years by cross-cutting between time periods.
- DirectorDarren AronofskyStarsEllen BurstynJared LetoJennifer ConnellyThe drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island people are shattered when their addictions run deep..
- DirectorChristine JeffsStarsAmy AdamsEmily BluntAlan ArkinIn order to raise the tuition to send her young son to private school, a mom starts an unusual business -- a biohazard removal/crime scene clean-up service -- with her unreliable sister.
- DirectorJonathan DaytonValerie FarisStarsSteve CarellToni ColletteGreg KinnearA family determined to get their young daughter into the finals of a beauty pageant take a cross-country trip in their VW bus.
- DirectorLee DanielsStarsGabourey SidibeMo'NiquePaula PattonIn New York City's Harlem circa 1987, an overweight, abused, illiterate teen who is pregnant with her second child is invited to enroll in an alternative school in hopes that she can re-route her life in a better direction.
- DirectorTodd SolondzStarsJennifer Jason LeighEllen BarkinStephen Adly GuirgisAviva is thirteen, awkward and sensitive. Her mother Joyce is warm and loving, as is her father, Steve, a regular guy who does have a fierce temper from time to time. The film revolves around her family, friends and neighbors.
- DirectorKar-Wai WongStarsNorah JonesJude LawNatalie PortmanA young lonely woman takes a soul-searching journey across America to resolve her questions about love while encountering a series of off-beat characters along the way.
- DirectorLasse HallströmStarsJohnny DeppLeonardo DiCaprioJuliette LewisA young man in a small Midwestern town struggles to care for his mentally-disabled younger brother and morbidly obese mother while attempting to pursue his own happiness.
- DirectorAlan ParkerStarsGene HackmanWillem DafoeFrances McDormandTwo F.B.I. Agents with wildly different styles arrive in Mississippi to investigate the disappearance of some civil rights activists.
- DirectorJoel SchumacherStarsMatthew McConaugheySandra BullockSamuel L. JacksonIn Canton, Mississippi, a fearless young lawyer and his assistant defend a black man accused of murdering two white men who raped his ten-year-old daughter, inciting violent retribution and revenge from the Ku Klux Klan.
- DirectorDaniel PetrieStarsSidney PoitierClaudia McNeilRuby DeeA substantial insurance payment could mean either financial salvation or personal ruin for a poor black family.
- DirectorSam MendesStarsKevin SpaceyAnnette BeningThora BirchA sexually frustrated suburban father has a mid-life crisis after becoming infatuated with his daughter's best friend.
- DirectorCurtis HansonStarsEminemBrittany MurphyKim BasingerFollows a young rapper in the Detroit area, struggling with every aspect of his life; he wants to make it big but his friends and foes make this odyssey of rap harder than it may seem.
- DirectorBlake EdwardsStarsJack LemmonLee RemickCharles BickfordAn alcoholic marries a young woman and systematically addicts her to booze so that they can share his "passion" together.
- DirectorJoel CoenEthan CoenStarsJeff BridgesJohn GoodmanJulianne MooreJeff "The Dude" Lebowski, mistaken for a millionaire of the same name, seeks restitution for his ruined rug and enlists his bowling buddies to help get it.
- DirectorTodd SolondzStarsJane AdamsJon LovitzPhilip Seymour HoffmanThe lives of several individuals intertwine as they go about their lives in their own unique ways, engaging in acts which society as a whole might find disturbing in a desperate search for human connection.
- DirectorBarbet SchroederStarsMickey RourkeFaye DunawayAlice KrigeBased on the life of successful poet Charles Bukowski and his exploits in Hollywood during the 60s, 70s, and 80s.
- DirectorRobert RedfordStarsDonald SutherlandMary Tyler MooreJudd HirschThe accidental death of the older son of an affluent family deeply strains the relationships among the bitter mother, the good-natured father and the guilt-ridden younger son.
- DirectorAsia ArgentoStarsAsia ArgentoDylan SprouseCole SprouseSeven-year-old Jeremiah is pulled from his foster home and thrown into a troubled life on the road with his teenage mother, Sarah.
- DirectorTodd SolondzStarsHeather MatarazzoChristina BrucatoVictoria DavisAn awkward seventh-grader struggles to cope with inattentive parents, snobbish class-mates, a smart older brother, an attractive younger sister and her own insecurities in suburban New Jersey.
- DirectorRodrigo CortésStarsRyan ReynoldsJosé Luis García-PérezRobert PatersonPaul is a U.S. truck driver working in Iraq. After an attack by a group of Iraqis he wakes to find he is buried alive inside a coffin. With only a lighter and a cell phone it's a race against time to escape this claustrophobic death trap.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsHilary SwankClint EastwoodMorgan FreemanFrankie, an ill-tempered old coach, reluctantly agrees to train aspiring boxer Maggie. Impressed with her determination and talent, he helps her become the best and the two soon form a close bond.
- DirectorMarc RoccoStarsDermot MulroneyRobert KnepperLaura San GiacomoKing is a young man, but he's already a veteran of life on the streets of Los Angeles. The leader of a group of runaways, King acts as a mentor to troubled kids such as gay hustler Little J and junkie Greg.
- DirectorJoe WrightStarsJamie FoxxRobert Downey Jr.Catherine KeenerA newspaper journalist discovers a homeless musical genius and tries to improve his situation.
- DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsNaomi WattsViggo MortensenArmin Mueller-StahlA teenager who dies during childbirth leaves clues in her journal that could tie her child to a rape involving a violent Russian mob family.
- DirectorRichard LinklaterStarsGreg KinnearBruce WillisCatalina Sandino MorenoAn examination of the health risks involved in the fast food industry as well as its environmental and social consequences.
- DirectorAndrew LancasterStarsGeena DavisHarrison GilbertsonHarry CookBilly, his parents, siblings and neighbors have their fair share of accidents in 1974 and 1982. Boys will be boys.
- DirectorNash BhattStarsTony BlackNash BhattOmar AlcarazViolence consumed their destiny.
- DirectorLars von TrierStarsBjörkCatherine DeneuveDavid MorseAn Eastern European US immigrant with a love for musicals has to cope with the gradual loss of her vision.
- DirectorBilly Bob ThorntonStarsBilly Bob ThorntonDwight YoakamJ.T. WalshKarl Childers, a simple man hospitalized since his childhood murder of his mother and her lover, is released to start a new life in a small town.
- DirectorMichael CiminoStarsRobert De NiroChristopher WalkenJohn CazaleAn in-depth examination of the ways in which the Vietnam War impacts and disrupts the lives of several friends in a small steel mill town in Pennsylvania.
- DirectorNick CassavetesStarsDenzel WashingtonRobert DuvallGabriela OlteanJohn Quincy Archibald takes a hospital emergency room hostage when his insurance won't cover his son's heart transplant.
- DirectorRobert AldrichStarsBette DavisJoan CrawfordVictor BuonoA former child star torments her paraplegic sister in their decaying Hollywood mansion.
- DirectorElia KazanStarsMarlon BrandoKarl MaldenLee J. CobbAn ex-prize fighter turned New Jersey longshoreman struggles to stand up to his corrupt union bosses, including his older brother, as he starts to connect with the grieving sister of one of the syndicate's victims.
- DirectorRamin BahraniStarsAhmad RazviLeticia DoleraCharles Daniel SandovalA night in the life of a former Pakistani rock star who now sells coffee from his push cart on the streets of Manhattan.
- DirectorRamin BahraniStarsAlejandro PolancoIsamar GonzalesRob SowulskiAlejandro, a resourceful street orphan on the verge of adolescence, lives and works in an auto-body repair shop in a sprawling junkyard on the outskirts of Queens, New York. In this chaotic world of adults, Alejandro struggles to make a better life for himself and his sixteen-year-old sister.
- DirectorNorman JewisonStarsSidney PoitierRod SteigerWarren OatesA black Philadelphia police detective is mistakenly suspected of a local murder while passing through a racially hostile Mississippi town, and after being cleared is reluctantly asked by the police chief to investigate the case.
- DirectorMarc ForsterStarsBilly Bob ThorntonHalle BerryTaylor SimpsonAfter a family tragedy, a racist prison guard re-examines his attitudes while falling in love with the African-American wife of the last prisoner he executed.
- DirectorTony KayeStarsEdward NortonEdward FurlongBeverly D'AngeloLiving a life marked by violence, neo-Nazi Derek finally goes to prison after killing two black youths. Upon his release, Derek vows to change; he hopes to prevent his brother, Danny, who idolizes Derek, from following in his footsteps.
- DirectorRyan FleckStarsRyan GoslingAnthony MackieShareeka EppsAn inner-city junior high school teacher with a drug habit forms an unlikely friendship with one of his students after she discovers his secret.
- DirectorSam MendesStarsLeonardo DiCaprioKate WinsletChristopher FitzgeraldA young couple living in a Connecticut suburb during the mid-1950s struggle to come to terms with their personal problems while trying to raise their two children.As much as RR is a depiction of the constrictions of high expectations in marriage, and the pressure of society and the establishment on the individuals, RR gives an example of why getting the American dream does not equal happiness, or a dreamy life, or that the American Dream will fulfil you.
- DirectorJim SheridanStarsJake GyllenhaalNatalie PortmanTobey MaguireWhile on tour in Afghanistan, Sam's helicopter is shot down and he is presumed dead. Back home, it is his screw-up brother who looks after the family. Sam does return, but with a lot of excess baggage.
- DirectorDebra GranikStarsJennifer LawrenceJohn HawkesGarret DillahuntAn unflinching Ozark Mountain girl hacks through dangerous social terrain as she hunts down her drug-dealing father while trying to keep her family intact.
- DirectorTodd FieldStarsKate WinsletJennifer ConnellyPatrick WilsonThe lives of two lovelorn spouses from separate marriages, a registered sex offender, and a disgraced ex-police officer intersect as they struggle to resist their vulnerabilities and temptations in suburban Massachusetts.
- DirectorGus Van SantStarsElias McConnellAlex FrostEric DeulenSeveral ordinary high school students go through their daily routine as two others prepare for something more malevolent.
- DirectorMarc SingerStarsMarc SingerA cinematic portrait of the homeless population who live permanently in the underground tunnels of New York City.
- DirectorDerrick BorteStarsDemi MooreDavid DuchovnyAmber HeardA seemingly perfect family moves into a suburban neighborhood, but when it comes to the truth as to why they're living there, they don't exactly come clean with their neighbors.
- DirectorWerner HerzogStarsBruno S.Eva MattesClemens ScheitzIn Berlin, an alcoholic man, recently released from prison, joins his elderly friend and a prostitute in a determined dream to leave Germany and seek a better life in Wisconsin.
- DirectorGary SiniseStarsJohn MalkovichGary SiniseRay WalstonA nomadic farm worker looks after his dimwitted, gentle-giant friend during the Great Depression.
- DirectorDarren AronofskyStarsMickey RourkeMarisa TomeiEvan Rachel WoodA faded professional wrestler must retire, but finds his quest for a new life outside the ring a dispiriting struggle.
- DirectorHarmony KorineStarsNick SuttonJacob SewellLara ToshLonely residents of a tornado-stricken Ohio town wander the deserted landscape trying to fulfill their boring, nihilistic lives.
- DirectorVadim PerelmanStarsJennifer ConnellyBen KingsleyRon EldardAn abandoned wife is evicted from her house and starts a tragic conflict with her house's new owners.
- DirectorMark A. RussellStarsMiguel CastroRichard AzurdiaChristine CarloTwo Mexican brothers get smuggled over the border to try and find their "America Dream".
- DirectorMichael HanekeStarsNaomi WattsTim RothMichael PittTwo psychopathic young men take a family hostage in their cabin.Although initially the movie looks awkward in this list, my discussion with Jean-Lafose in the comments below has make me include it.
I think these kids, having everything shouldn't be doing this sort of thing or American Society, creating these monsters. The question I would ask is American Society and the American Dream the ones to blame? Are the American Dream and the high rate of serial killers/psychopaths directly connected?
JLafose points out that two young men decide to take a sh*t on their [the family's] aspiring little piece of "American Dream" lifestyle and makes a good example, since it can illustrate that the "American Dream" is just that, a dream and not a possible reality. - DirectorJohn WellsStarsBen AffleckChris CooperTommy Lee JonesThe story centers on a year in the life of three men trying to survive a round of corporate downsizing at a major company - and how that affects them, their families, and their communities.
- DirectorWim WendersStarsHarry Dean StantonNastassja KinskiDean StockwellTravis Henderson, an aimless drifter who has been missing for four years, wanders out of the desert and must reconnect with society, himself, his life, and his family.
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsAl PacinoJohn RandolphJack KehoeAn honest New York cop named Frank Serpico blows the whistle on rampant corruption in the force only to have his comrades turn against him.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsGriffin DunneRosanna ArquetteVerna BloomAn ordinary word processor has the worst night of his life after he agrees to visit a girl in Soho he met that evening at a coffee shop.
- DirectorBen AffleckStarsMorgan FreemanEd HarrisCasey AffleckTwo Boston area detectives investigate a little girl's kidnapping, which ultimately turns into a crisis both professionally and personally.
- DirectorDavis GuggenheimStarsCharles AdamsJonathan AlterRobert BalfanzAn examination of the current state of education in America today.
- DirectorJohn SchlesingerStarsDustin HoffmanJon VoightSylvia MilesA naive hustler travels from Texas to New York City to seek personal fortune, finding a new friend in the process.
- DirectorAng LeeStarsJoe AlwynGarrett HedlundArturo Castro19-year-old Billy Lynn is brought home for a victory tour after a harrowing Iraq battle. Through flashbacks, the film shows what really happened to his squad - contrasting the realities of war with America's perceptions.
- DirectorJames GrayStarsMarion CotillardJoaquin PhoenixJeremy RennerIn 1921, an innocent immigrant woman is tricked into a life of burlesque and vaudeville until a dazzling magician tries to save her and reunite her with her sister who is being held in the confines of Ellis Island.
- DirectorMichael MooreStarsMichael MooreJohnny FancelliChristina FancelliTo learn what the USA can learn from other nations, Michael Moore playfully "invades" them to see what they have to offer.
- DirectorSeth HancockStarsSeth HancockShane BernardoBeverly BerryPhotographer Seth Hancock was ASKED to make a documentary on a subject matter that meant nothing to him - Senior Citizens and Hunger. So he traveled across America to discover why senior citizens are the fastest growing group of people going hungry in America, why we treat senior citizens as second-class citizens, why he never cared about this issue and what can be done to make a difference in the lives of senior citizens in America.
- DirectorTodd HaynesStarsMark RuffaloAnne HathawayTim RobbinsA corporate defense attorney takes on an environmental lawsuit against a chemical company that exposes a lengthy history of pollution.
- DirectorSébastien GillesHow is it to be homeless in one of the World's Richest Country, where to sleep and what to eat? Poverty is almost the same tragic situation in rich California and the poorest Appalachian region.