«IF WARHOL IS NOT THE AMERICAN DREAM THERE IS NO AMERICAN DREAM» -JOHN WATERS

Commenting on the state of the economy shortly after taking office, President Barack Obama equated the economic downturn with nothing less than "the American Dream in reverse."But what exactly is this elusive American Dream that seems to be slipping away? Vanity Fair writer David Kamp notes that the American Dream is not a static concept. The evolution of this idea is reflected in popular television. In the 1950s, Ralph and Alice Kramden lived in a grubby New York tenement on "The Honeymooners." Just a few years later the American viewing audience could set its sights higher by watching the Cleavers in their modest suburban home on "Leave it to Beaver." By the 1970s, "The Brady Bunch" lived in an even bigger home and could afford a Hawaiian vacation. The families of "Dynasty" and "Dallas" played out their decadent dramas in mansions during the 1980s. All of which led inexorably to the spoiled brats of "Gossip Girl" and "The Hills."

Huffington Post
June 16 2009