Pursuit : "Founding brothers: Kane, Corleone, and the American Dream"

As I was reading through Steve Erickson's article, I kept imagining several different actors who have played similar roles to those of Kane and Corleone, and even Welles and Coppola. I have not seen the Godfather movies in their entirety, but I know just enough about them to comprehend what Erickson's article is saying. The theme of this article, the pursuit of the American Dream ending in tragedy reminds me two films in particular. The first is a 1990 film called American Dream starring Jesse Jackson as himself and Ray Rogers as himself. Although the film was only 98 minutes long, the impact that it has on its viewers, particularly those who were alive during the Strike, was phenomenal. The Strike had a huge effect on the population, especially those that worked in the farming industry, and the outcome of the suffering that people went through was unimaginable. The film was able to put aside all "Hollywoodish" fluff and really, accurately portray the struggles that people endured- man vs. man, man vs. nature, and man vs society- in what was almost like live footage of the time of strife, itself.

In another film, the 2002 production of American Dreams is a more modern, "Hollywoodish" version directed by Daniel Attias and Bill D'Elia. The subject of the film is a family who deals with the American Dream during a time when this Dream was at its peak. The Pryor's deal with the push towards a cultural upheaval, and the film outlines their joys and pains in American throughout the 1960's and 1970's. Each family member is fighting their own battle: the parents, played by Gail O'Grady and Tom Verica, are learning to improve their relationship and jobs as parents, the two youngest children are dealing with normal more simple things that children pursue, the oldest brother JJ, played by Will Estes, is learning how to be different from his father, and the "middle child", Meg Pryor, played by actress Brittany Snow, dreams of being a dancer on "American Bandstand." The film suddenly becomes about her, amongst all of the other family members' problems. She deals with a boyfriend, a friend of a different race, and personal issues internally. The Pryor family copes with racism, feminism, adolescence, rock and roll, amongst their general family issues in an time when the Vietnam War is erupting.

Erickson's article made me think of each of these films and how a movie can personify social change, nostalgia, generation gaps, racial discriminations, physical struggle, strength of a family, and even peace. I had to watch American Dream in a class a few years ago, and although I have only seen parts of American Dreams, I know enough about it to recognize Meg Pryor as being a character like Al Pacino's was. I have always appreciated movies and short films for what they are and not what they are presented to be. I know that the talent of the actors should go without being overlooked, but the real reason that I watch most of the films that I do is not because of who is in them, necessarily, but rather to learn about what the film is based on. Sure, Al Pacino is a fascinating, highly renowned actor, but the Godfather movies are highly recognized for the content and basis of the films, not just the man who got the lead part. It is through short films and movies like the ones mentioned above that the general public, that did not live during the Strike, the Great Depression, or any other war era, learns what it was really like for the people who endured some of the greatest struggles in America's history. I think putting such great value on these movies places an even greater value on America's history, as a whole. Sure, books are available for people to read and learn about history mile markers throughout American history, but the fact of the matter is that some people aren't going to take the time to read these books, so why not put the words of the book into motion pictures. In doing so, these motion pictures can reflect the most positive and negative aspects of a particular culture through picture, sound, action, and drama.