A Collective Dream

by Ian Opaczewski

In today's society many see the American Dream in a different way than the typical white picket fence. It has evolved, much like the culture of America itself over the decades since its inception. In It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (Kramer, 1963) a group a strangers happen upon a crash where they are informed of a great treasure buried under a “W”. The group of strangers end up racing, all trying to be first in finding the great prize. It is through the characters' journey to the $350,000 that we see the real meaning of today's American Dream.

The American Dream today focuses itself on a goal or specific status one wants to reach within their lifetime. Many see the white picket fence and family as a fragment of what the real dream could represent. The root of the American Dream is its promise of freedom to achieve these goals by our own means. We are able to choose which path we want to take in order to gain our goals. The group embodies this freedom when they abandon their original tasks in order to chase this (possibly mythical) treasure.

With each choice in gaining a step towards our dream we also gain new experiences. At the beginning of the film we see the group acting more selfishly and with this selfishness came comical mishaps. Their greed leads each to experience a different form of misfortune that causes a stall in their progress. Its not until they all meet up again and agree to work together when they are finally able to find the treasure. Life is a collection of experiences we share. We most often see the ones shared with others as greater ones because it was shared. The group gained an immense happiness when they found the money because they all knew they would be getting a piece of it. The aspect of it being smaller didn’t matter anymore because by gaining a share of the reward they are still able to fulfill their goal.

In the end however no one is able to claim the treasure because another chase for the treasure ensues after its unearthing. This chase leads to the money being thrown from the top of a building and spreading out to all the onlookers below. The group also ends up getting into an accident because the building the men went into was condemned causing them all to end up in the hospital. If we look at the money as symbolic to the America Dream, then its dispersion to the people is a way of showing how it is free for everyone to grasp at. As the money floated down so too did the hands of the onlookers raise up in hope to grab at least one bill. It is this action that fully shows us what the American Dream gives to us, the ability to dream of a goal, and the many different ways in which we can achieve those goals.