Good Work If You Can Get It
Last week, one of the giants of the theater passed away at a time when his work has never seemed more relevant. Willy Loman, Miller's most famous protagonist, was a true believer in the American Dream, so succintly described by President Clinton on the campaign trail in 1996:
"If you work hard, and play by the rules, you can succeed in America".
Americans wanted to believe in "The Man From a Town Called Hope", and they wanted to believe in Willy's American Dream...Suckers.
Now that the current president is a legacy Yale graduate who doles out no-bid contracts to the wealthy and well-connected, the contrast between the meritocracy we envision and the reality we face is profound.
The Zack Braff movie Garden State
offers an alternative vision of the American Dream...The slackjawed ne'er-do-well best friend of the protagonist invents a product called 'silent velcro' and becomes independently, and indolently wealthy as a result.
Perhaps that's the new American dream. If the whole hard work angle doesn't pan out for you, there's always a chance you could invent the next napster, silent velcro, or big mouth billy bass. It's good work if you can get it.
As for me, I'm working on a curved razor used for shaving the fuzz off Kiwis (the fruit, not the nationality). After I invent the gadget the world can't live without, I'll finally be able to afford more and more stuff I've been convinced I can't live without either. The important thing is to keep consuming. Who knows? I might be just one gadget short of personal fullfillment.
Today, Mobile PC Magazine published a list of the greatest gadgets of all time; it's the perfect fodder for self-indulgent nostalgia and delusions of grandeur.
Read It:
By the way...How would you describe the Canadian Dream?
"If you work hard, and play by the rules, you can succeed in America".
Americans wanted to believe in "The Man From a Town Called Hope", and they wanted to believe in Willy's American Dream...Suckers.
Now that the current president is a legacy Yale graduate who doles out no-bid contracts to the wealthy and well-connected, the contrast between the meritocracy we envision and the reality we face is profound.
The Zack Braff movie Garden State
offers an alternative vision of the American Dream...The slackjawed ne'er-do-well best friend of the protagonist invents a product called 'silent velcro' and becomes independently, and indolently wealthy as a result.
Perhaps that's the new American dream. If the whole hard work angle doesn't pan out for you, there's always a chance you could invent the next napster, silent velcro, or big mouth billy bass. It's good work if you can get it.
As for me, I'm working on a curved razor used for shaving the fuzz off Kiwis (the fruit, not the nationality). After I invent the gadget the world can't live without, I'll finally be able to afford more and more stuff I've been convinced I can't live without either. The important thing is to keep consuming. Who knows? I might be just one gadget short of personal fullfillment.
Today, Mobile PC Magazine published a list of the greatest gadgets of all time; it's the perfect fodder for self-indulgent nostalgia and delusions of grandeur.
Read It:
By the way...How would you describe the Canadian Dream?
