The reality about the American life

[Northwind]

Many of us are big fans in America movies. In many of these movies the American life is shown as the life that we yearn to have. They show the American families live in huge houses, the parents got jobs with big salaries, and they get a fancy healthcare when they need it.

I am like many other people in the world have this idea before I came to USA. But this idea disappeared when I met the first American family, which I will live with them during my intensive English program. This family consist of father, mother, two girls, and one boy.

The father works as a salesman for electronic company. The mother is a cocker in a hospital. Both of them start working at 9:00 am and comeback at 5:00 pm. When they come from their job, I can see the sign of fatigue in their faces. One of their girl is an elementary student but the others are high school students. In holidays and summer vacation usually the high school boy and girl are spending their time working in a fast food restaurant to have some cash.

Living is USA teach me a lot about how the American families fight to have a decent life. You will not succeed if you do not work hard, this is the true about life in the United State of America. The American movies are fun but not always show the reality.


Note: Please let me know about the grammar mistakes that I did and your comments about the topic.

[Josef]

The mother is a cocker in a hospital.

Do you mean "cook"?

Great topic and post. Well done!

[Duccini]

Hi Northwind, good point.

I think it clearly depends on the movie itself but certainly there's a tread of choosing pretty actors/actress who show a behavior not so common to the average real life person.

Indie movies have a tendency of showing more regular people than the ones who appear on blockbusters or romances. I don't know if the "american way of life" is still as forced into movies as it was decades ago, but there's still a clear shock of reality between the real world and that Hollywood thing.

I personally see the movies as pure entertainment so I enjoy exaggerated characters like the ones shown on Tarantino movies. Sometimes there's a reason for these not-so-real guys. Sometimes there's not (and unfortunately I think that's the majority of cases, like you observed). And sometimes when there's a good director involved there's place for quite usual people, what is evoked on this scene on Spike Jonze's Adaptation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHVqxD8PNq8

Anyway documentaries usually show a much more real America than Hollywood does.

[Northwind]

The mother is a cocker in a hospital.

Do you mean "cook"?

Great topic and post. Well done!

Yes what I meant is she works as a cook. Thank you so much Josef
for the correction!

[Northwind]

Hi Northwind, good point.

I think it clearly depends on the movie itself but certainly there's a tread of choosing pretty actors/actress who show a behavior not so common to the average real life person.

Indie movies have a tendency of showing more regular people than the ones who appear on blockbusters or romances. I don't know if the "american way of life" is still as forced into movies as it was decades ago, but there's still a clear shock of reality between the real world and that Hollywood thing.

I personally see the movies as pure entertainment so I enjoy exaggerated characters like the ones shown on Tarantino movies. Sometimes there's a reason for these not-so-real guys. Sometimes there's not (and unfortunately I think that's the majority of cases, like you observed). And sometimes when there's a good director involved there's place for quite usual people, what is evoked on this scene on Spike Jonze's Adaptation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHVqxD8PNq8

Anyway documentaries usually show a much more real America than Hollywood does.

Thank you Duccini, your comments add a lot to my topic.

[Tofayelbd]

Yes, most of people are think that America is a dream world, but reality is totally different.