The Contemporary American Dream - Essay Example

The Contemporary American Dream Everyone’s idea of the American Dream is slightly different from others, however there are several general similarities in this idea that can be traced through the arts and literature even today. In its general conception, the American Dream consists of the ‘typical’ white middle class family as they move into a single-family home complete with manicured lawns and perfectly prescribed lifestyles. However, as this idea has developed, it is significant to note that it remains centered upon the ‘white’ character of its participants. Contemporary artists such as those who created the Great Wall of L.A. and Kerry James Marshall help to illustrate how this dream has been available to only one race. In an area known as the Tujunga Wash in the San Fernando Valley, a half mile section of the manmade watershed control channel is covered with a collective mural painting now known as The Great Wall of L.A. The painting is a series of murals that are specifically designed and executed by citizens of minority ethnicity as a means of preserving their part in the history of California’s development within their community. In addition to beautifying an otherwise necessary eyesore, the painting adds even more community benefit as small little parks have sprung up along the entire length of the mural, generally considered to be low-income housing, offering biking and walking trails. Since a lot of the images are complex, containing a lot of history in a short amount of space, driving by and taking a quick glimpse is not sufficient for full appreciation while the parks encourage long-term speculation. Thus, in its very function, the Great Wall of L.A. serves to provide some of the experience of the American Dream in its sense of community even as one panel of the wall, the development of suburbia, speaks directly of the pursuit of the American Dream within its complex imagery. The development of suburbia ‘starts’ with a farewell to Rosie Riveter as transition from World War II to the suburbs of the 1950s. The female factory worker needed to be sucked back into the home to make way in the factories for the returning soldiers. This is brilliantly portrayed through the innovation of the television set, which played a large role in reinforcing to women the concept that their proper roles were those of wife and mother. Rosie is sucked into the screen, losing her wrench while the well-manicured lawns and white orderly house fronts of the suburbs can be seen below her as she is overwhelmed by the messages of TV advertisements and popular shows such as Leave it to Beaver, Father Knows Best or the Donna Reed Show. To be sure this point isn’t lost by the mural viewer, the stereotypical white suburban family can be seen standing behind the television. Both mother and daughter are blonde, indicating the California ideal. The rows of suburban houses are divided in the middle by a column of moving trucks, presumably bringing more blonde, blue-eyed suburban perfect families away from the distant city to the white-washed neighborhoods. Finally, a deep ditch separates these perfect neighborhoods from the poor, rural black people that pass by heading in the opposite direction in broken down cars and on bare feet heading into the city. They are allowed to look, but not to stop or stay. While the American Dream is being defined for and realized by the white people, the only hope of achieving it for the black people is to head into the inner city slums in the hopes of finding work. This concept of the American Dream expressed in the mural, particularly in its exclusion of people of color from the general utopian suburbia displayed, is also evident in the artwork of Kerry James Marshall in his painting “Better Homes, Better Gardens.” The background here consists of a vividly blue sky, a rising sun, bluebirds, a flower-strewn courtyard, some trees and a housing area, all created in such a way as to indicate the ideals of the suburban lifestyle within the inner city projects. The view on the left side of the painting is obscured by the red brick wall that contains the project’s name “Wentworth Gardens” and a bunch of white flowers growing up in front of it like a suburban entryway. The circular flower garden area is surrounded by the obligatory green lawn. A blue splash toward the center of the painting can almost be considered the jet of a fountain. The full trees and brightly colored flowers dotting the lawn help to portray an innocent summer suburban morning. The lines on the sidewalk, drawn with a heavy white, almost chalklike stroke, invoke the spirit of the child with the idea of the chalk-drawn hopscotch board and a bright yellow toy ball is found on the bottom right hand corner of the painting. A coiled up hose lying on the grass brings in the suburban ideal of working in the yard on the weekend or of children playing in the sprinklers. Despite the bright hues and innocent nature of much of the scene, though, one begins to see negative aspects that indicate all is not as well as it appears. The entrance sign itself presents a rather ominous message by instructing its readers to “Drive Carefully” and to “Watch Your Children.” The uneven, wandering lines of the sidewalk indicate a breakdown in maintenance and craftsmanship. The white flowers dotting the lawn can be an indication of neglect whether they are weeds or trash while the idle hose lying in the grass emphasizes the idea of no effort being made toward improvement. Each of the doors of the apartment complex is painted with a series of horizontal bars, emphasizing the idea of a governmental institution. Even the institutional orange color of the complex can be interpreted to indicate governmental control. The presence of child’s toys with the absence of children suggests a landscape with hints of danger. The horizontal bars depicted in the girl’s shirt seem to indicate the additional restrictions that have been placed on her gender. Thus, while contemporary art has acknowledged a common conception of the American Dream, it seems also commonly recognized, at least among ethnic artists, that this dream is only truly available to the white population of the country. Both the mural and Marshall’s painting suggest that the American dream consists of an idealistic setting of broach lawns, flowers, large edifices and summertime bliss. In the case of the mural, this is further augmented with information about where this ideal came from, the television, as well as who receives its blessings, the white middle class family with two children, a housewife and a business-suited father. Marshall brings the concept of the barricaded ‘safe’ zone to greater emphasis with his red brick wall. At the same time, both paintings emphasize the ways in which people of color have been excluded from this dream. The mural does this by illustrating their migration to the inner cities while Marshall illustrates how they were trapped within the ‘projects’ specifically intended for this purpose. Works Cited “Great Wall of LA.” July 9, 2008 < http://www.bomoco.com/greatwall/pg2.htm> Marshall, Kerry James. “Better Homes, Better Gardens.” Denver Art Museum, 1994. Art21 July 9, 2008 Read More