Ruminate: H.O.H.B. Truck And The American Dream
With regard to the H.O.H.B. Truck documentary, react to the commentary that it makes about the American Dream, mentality, and lifestyle. In your response, please wonder, relate, question, think, etc...
posted by Greg T at Wednesday, May 14, 2008
24 Comments:
The American Dream is different for everyone depending on their standing in life. A rich man’s version of the American Dream could be to become a master of business; a poor man’s version could be putting food on the table that night. The Dream shifts depending on the circumstances as well – as the opportunity comes along, a new goal is presented – like the truck.
The American Dream is different in everyone’s eyes. Some people will do anything to accomplish the American Dream in their eyes. Everyone has their goals, and will try their best to reach it. In this case the goal was receiving the truck. Those people that participated had their version of the dream that included the truck and they were willing to try their best. Never give up, always dream.
At first when you see the American dream you do not thing of how it can be related to this documentary at all. But as I watched them get deeper into standing and just simply placing their hand on a truck, it gives a good understanding of how far a person will go for a truck. I just wonder what a person would do for something more than a truck?
In this video you see how working can bring good things in ones life, this being part of the American Dream in todays world.
In this movie, Hands On a Hard Body (lol), I believe that it shows that as Americans we all have diferent views of the American Dream. For these Texans, a truck means success and prosperity. Because where they live, they need trucks for herding the cattle and doing things around the farm that couldn't be done in a car. This movie also shows how far we will go to achieve our goals, and the person who wins will go the farthest and struggle the most.
The mentality of all the contestants in the movie Hands on a Hard Body Turck, is about winning and getting what they want. They had the mentality that they were going to get that truck, and they would do whatever else they had to do to get that truck. That is what the american dream is kind of like. You see what you want and you will do anything to get that object.
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When you ask people what they see when they hear "American Dream" you get alot of different answers. The American Dream is different to everyone. Like Sara said a rich man's dream could be to become the CEO of a company or something. While a poor man's dream could be to just get enough food and shelter to survive. Watching this movie showed me that people will do anything to get what they want, even if they have to stand outside for 80 hours while keeping their hand on a truck!
I think the American Dream is to attain happiness. To live a long and successful life. Working hard to attain something that makes a divot in our lives. In the truck documentary they showed this by each individual’s determination to achieve something all the contestants wanted. Showing how if you really want something and devote every part of you soul to it, it will be attained. A matter of pure devotion to reach a goal.
I think that it is a dream for texas. Many of the contestants wanted the truck because it can make them money. i thought it was intresting how competive some of the contestanst got. I think this is an equal competition where any one can win, i think this is why it is such a big deal.
This documentary, Hands on a Hard Body, proves everyone has a somewhat different version of the American Dream. While watching, most of us laughed at how crazy and ridiculous some of the contestants were, but to them winning that truck was the American dream. Having a truck in their area meant success and wealth, while to us, owning a truck means none of those things.
i think that the American Dream is something different for every person. It can depend on the dreams of what a person wants, where they come from, or what they believe. Like in H.O.H.B Truck, the contestants felt that the truck would open up so many doors, and that winning it would make their lives so much better. It's just a truck, but to them, living in Texas, it was the answer to everything good. In The Great Gatsby, Daisy was the object that was what Gatsby's American Dream was chasing. I think the American Dream is a let down, because either you never achieve it, or because it becomes yours, and can't deliver all of the great things you associated with it before it was yours.
According to the American Heritage Dictionary Dream:is to have a deep aspiration. I believe that after watching the movie "Hands on a Hard Body Truck" it is vital to dream. A fun comparison to our modern day is the baseball team this weekend. We are currently dreaming of playing in a State Title. We dream big as those in the H.O.H.B who say that winning the truck will change their life. Many things come prior to the acheivement of a dream. Their are many problems and situations that require attention in order to get to the dream. Many of the books in American Literature have related to how people in the early stages of our countries history dreamed of success. For example: The most obvious is "The Great Gatsby," the dream is getting the girl. However, the path to the girl, or dream, is long and difficult.
When people came to America they dreamed of a land of prosperity, fortune and of a new life. Many of these dreams have and currently are being fulfilled. After finishing the movie I can concur that this movie was vital to me and to the class. Remember like the song says: "Don't stop, thinkin' about tomorrow."
Everyone has a different perspective on the American Dream, each person sets a goal in what they want to do in life and do what you can to reach that goal. In the film, it proved that each person who partcipated wnated a brand new truck and to them that was one of there dreams and goals to win it.
The H.O.H.B. Truck documentary showed certain peoples American Dream. The American Dream in this documentary is to win the truck. One reason why they want to win the truck so bad is so that it can change their life completely. The way that it would change some of their lives is so that they have a way to go places, do farm work, and sell it for money because they are poor. I did not take this documentary very seriously because it just seemed like a big joke, but they did not think so.
the people in the film talked about how they wanted the truck because that is how texas is and everyone has a truck. they also said that they just wanted to win for pride.
I think that when people start out in life all they can think about is having the biggest and the best of everything. Most of us start out thinking that but some don't make it to their goal and very few can. This is true with the hard body truck competition. They all started out wanting to win the truck which was a huge goal and only one person made it in the end. I think this is like going to college. The people who last the longest and work the most are the ones who make it to their profession of choice. the weak people can't even make it through high school let alone getting into college. Basically the people who work the hardest will have the most in the long run, theres no easy way through it.
I think this event was a great example of the American Dream. Whats more American than standing outside for hours at a time trying to win something for free? This just goes to show that having a talent for something as stupid as standing up for almost a week can get you free stuff. Who wouldn't want free stuff?
The American Dream revolves arround individual wants and desires. The American Dream can mean something different to everyone being in that it focuses on a specific goal one has. hands on a Hard Body depicts this goal perfectly, showing how each person individually has their own purpose and use for why they want to win the truck. For some the accomplishment goes deeper than winning the truck. Benny leaves the truck after the drug test because he feels as though he has accoplished his task, he doesn't really need the second truck. Ultimately, everyone will ask them was their sacrifice worth their dream?
I personally find the documentary to be very very little about the american dream. it is simply a lot of people that are not that well off financially and have a skewed want or necessity of having this truck when in reality it would just be a nice gift. the american dream is different for everyone so it is possible that one might draw the conclusion that that is what it is about. on a final note i might add that the dream changes especially through levels of wealth and these people, not being very well off so the truck may be symbolic of a dream for them that could relate to the american dream.
I think that the American dream is different for everybody and can be many different objects and ideas. In HOHB the contestants dream was to win a new pick up truck. The pickup truck had a unique significance for each constestant whether that was it's ability to do work or a it's expensive value. Essentially the American dream is any object or idea held in high personal value that will satisfy an individual or "complete" them.
In the video, I think that this truck means a lot to the people competing, but also the heat of the competition keeps you them in and wanting to win. I think that this truck means different things to different people, just like the American dream: All sorts of people set different goals for themselves, but what is important is that you do what is best for you and reach the goals you set for yourself.
The american dream is differant for others, as i have seen by reading other posts, a pickup is not as important in thier parents lives as it would be for a family in texas, because in texas the jobs are mostly manual labor, and being a former ranch hand i know the significance of a pickup when hauling feed, bails of hay, and trailers, those people would probably take a bullet for their pickup trucks. You could compare this to the great gatsby and the fact that lots of people want to win this pickup but only one will drive off the lot in it. In The Great Gatsby, Gatsby wants to win Daisy over, so he does all this after comming back from a war, in spite of doing all of that he still fails, the people in the documentary also failed and as Gatsby saw Tom drive away with Daisy, the other contestants saw the winner drive away with the truck.
I think the American Dream is something that can't really be given a finite definition due to the vast variations in peoples experience and life as a whole. The American Dream depends on a person status in life and the goals of the person. However, for the majority of people their Dream is something better than what they already have, to what extent varies from person to person but ultimately a person's Dream is dependant upon their own goals of what they what from life whether its fortune, fame, glory, or just to be able to live a comfortable life.
The American Dream is something that us as citizens, sometimes regret. We have so many things open to us that we dont take advantage of. I believe that school is such a big part of being sucessful; sometimes they dont do their work or choose not to go at all. Has our standards as American citizens changed?
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