OTW question help

[saheh]

Hey all

I have is question:
 In Kazan's film the American Dream is exposed as being an illusion and success as a transitory result of the exploitation of others. Do you agree?

What would the American Dream be that the question is referring to?? -fairness and equality?

Also what would some ideas be
I agree in so far as that the American dream does become an illusion, when the men aren't willing to fight for it, and also when exploited
However success is not the exploitation of others, Kazan presents success through Terry's moral redemption and his 'takedown' (for lack of a better word) of Johnny Friendly, to free the workers from their oppression..

Any input would be great thanks everyone!
And happy studying!

[saheh]

Buuuuuumpplease

[Felicity Wishes]

This is why I'm not doing OTW in the exam (So freaking difficult imo) Just going to throw some ideas.

I think you could address how the American dream (all of that fairness stuff) is a lie in OTW as the system is corrupt with who gets work, who gets paid and the whole silence thing BUT don't impossible to achieve.

You could talk about 'success' through Friendly's greed and ruling and even imply that it doesn't last, as he is defeated. You could talk about success in other characters, such as Terry and FB, who ends up being successful in his strive for change.

I also think you could talk about how Terry strives for this to end and how the possibility of fairness and change is presented at the end when they all walk about behind Terry.

[saheh]

Yeah i love the film but its so dense, however i cant remember christmas carol from the start of the year, which i also love ><

Great thanks

So you reckon the American dream is the want for fairness?? Coz that's the tricky party I had defining

And yeah so a false, shallow success is through Friendly's exploitation

[Yendall]

In Kazan's film the American Dream is exposed as being an illusion and success as a transitory result of the exploitation of others. Do you agree?

'the American Dream':
The right to freedom, money and independence basically. So, what Kazan is outlining in the film is that Friendly is shaping his own American Dream through the exploitation of the longshoremen, the exploitation of finance and the exploitation of moral rights and diminishing everyone elses.

'being an illusion'
The American Dream isn't something the longshoremen can reach. It's imaginary, impossible, fabricated. Johnny Friendly has completely denied anyone the chance to achieve the American dream through his enforced corruption.

'success as a transitory result of the exploitation of others'
Johnny Friendly utilises intimidation and fear to get what he wants. He uses murder as a justification for 'stooling', he pays the workers below minimum wage to prosper financially, he cheats the system by manipulating the inflow and outflow of cargo. Johnny Friendly is the perfect example of someone who exploits others for personal and financial gain.

So what you can do now is break these into paragraphs.
Explain what the American Dream is and why it is unreachable. Explain the cause of this restriction. Explain why the longshoremen don't have the guts to fight for independence. Explain why the American dream is so important and how the longshoremen eventually achieve it through Terry.

[yearningforsimplicity]

Yeah i love the film but its so dense, however i cant remember christmas carol from the start of the year, which i also love ><


So you reckon the American dream is the want for fairness?? Coz that's the tricky party I had defining

Yupp I think the "American Dream" is all about man's entitlement to live freely in democratic way and be totally independent and in control of their own decisions in life without being oppressed by higher authority figures and the like

I did an essay on this last year My contention was basically that YES initially the American Dream is illusionary (e.g. when Edie runs away from Terry as he confesses his involvement in Joey's murder, you see the Empire State Building and American skyline very far and distant from Terry in the background, showing his detachment from the usual American Dream which encompasses freedom, democracy and liberty) and YES success is a transitory result of the exploitation of others (i.e. longshoremen and Friendly) HOWEVER this is only the case if men fail to act - and that eventually if men use their own willpower to fight against Friendly (e.g. Terry's throwing of the "hook" at Friendly's cabin door showing that he's detaching himself from them OR Edie's dad throwing Friendly into the river at the end LOL), the American dream can be achieved and success can be sought in a justified and meaningful way