Bulovard Of Broken Dream

Bulovard Of Broken Dream

Bulovard Of Broken Dream

Blow is a film about the American dream and the way it was lived out by George Jung – one of the organized criminals who established the American cocaine market in the 1970s and early 80s. Although the film seems to observe the success and fall of one man without giving any moralistic judgments, the presentation of the characters and their voices the film does convey a clear message: the American dream with its ethos of success and riches might be the wrong one, since "money isn`t real."

The American dream is based on the ideology of individualism that stresses material success and individual achievement as the standards by which people are judged (Perry 1992: 39). Those who believe in the American dream see the USA as a land of opportunity, where all one has to do is to plant the seed and enjoy the fruits of success (Lupsha 1992: 297). They believe that if they fail they have only themselves to blame, therefore they do everything they can in order not to fail. Thus, it could be stated that the American dream is a dream for those who for some reason do not seize the opportunity that America provides and it is a reality for those brave enough to take the risk of failure in order to achieve success.

It could be claimed that the American dream operates just the same way for organized criminals as it does for law-abiding citizens and immigrants. Lupsha (1992: 295) nicely sums up the logic of the American "criminal" dream: