http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acLW1vFO-2Q
Death of the America Dream -USA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0y-SWdbGRk&feature=related
http://www.newbeginningscounselingcenter.org/press/NB%20Homeless%20Article%20with%20pictures.pdf
Homeless in vehicles find semi-safe havens - New Beginnings' Safe Parking
Program gives people a place to park for the night
SONIA FERNANDEZ, NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT
New Beginnings' Roslyn
Scheuerman, left, joins Jess
Jessop and his son Thomas, 14,
outside of the bus that serves as
their home in Santa Barbara.
COURTESY PHOTOS
May 16, 2010 6:48 AM
About two and a half years ago, Justin, Christine and their two sons Justin Jr.
and Taylor fell victim to the economy. Like many families in the country, they
were doing fine until the banks bottomed out, sending ripples across the country
that caused people to lose their livelihoods. Justin was the first to lose his job
working in the construction industry as a journeyman electrician.
"The landlord said we no longer met the income requirements, and so we were
evicted," said Christine.
It was a blow that caused the young family to lose their home.
They lived in a hotel room for a while on Christine's wages as a hotel worker at
Fess Parker's Doubletree Resort, but even the luxury hotel had begun to falter
economically, and being one of the newest staff members, she was let go as
well. Meanwhile, Justin worked at whatever he could get.
Without a home, the couple put some of their last remaining dollars into a
camper, a 1970s-era Champion motorhome that serves as both house and car.
It works, and is working for them still, but, as anyone who's tried to park longterm
in Santa Barbara knows, finding a spot can be tricky without incurring fines.
Add to that the difficulty of finding a suitable space to park, where noise or the general condition of the
neighborhood wouldn't affect the kids, and the situation becomes all the more trying.
And, as if trying to find jobs while raising two small children in a camper was not difficult enough, there were the
police to contend with, cops whose job it is to keep transients from taking over public spaces. According to Justin,
the family has had its share of the midnight knocks and bright flashlights that accompany the visits from the police.
Fortunately, Christine had heard of New Beginnings' Safe Parking Program just a couple of weeks after they landed
Jess Jessop talks about his
situation inside the bus that
serves as a home for him and his
two teenage boys in one of the
available lots of the New
Beginnings Safe Parking Program
in Santa Barbara.
in their camper. Already, they are in a better situation, in a quiet parking lot they can use overnight, away from
noise and unsavory elements. Through outreach workers Nancy Kapp and Roslyn Scheuerman, they're getting a
foothold on their situation, navigating the often byzantine world of social services.
Justin and Christine are just one of about a hundred such families living in their vehicles on the streets, and
participating in New Beginnings' parking lot program. Many are single men and women, who for some reason or
another have lost their jobs and homes, while others are families who have fallen on hard times as well.
"A lot of people who live in vehicles are constantly being harassed by people who prey on the homeless and also by
the police. Sometimes, people try to park in neighborhoods and this gets the attention of people who live in these
neighborhoods," said the program's coordinator, Dr. Gary Linker.
Representatives for the police department could not be reached for comment.
New Beginnings took the program over from Catholic Charities about six years ago. The program, which has 22
participating lots scattered throughout the city and South County, creates partnerships with local churches and
nonprofit groups, as well as businesses, to open their lots up to those living in their vehicles.
Not just anyone living in their vehicles can join the parking program. Participants have to fulfill certain rules as part
of their agreements, rules like no alcohol or drugs, strict observation of the hours assigned, watching children at all
times and respecting the privacy of others in the surrounding neighborhood.
Current statistics for the program show there are 105 vehicles participating, although in recent years the count has
been as high as almost 400 vehicles. Some lots are limited to women, or women with children, as those populations
are seen as less disruptive to neighbors. It's also a safety measure for the women and children who are in a
vulnerable position. Senior citizens also make up about a fifth of the population being served.
"This is a very transient population," said Dr. Linker. "They're migratory for most part, so it's hard to gauge how
much of it is due to the recession and how much is just the people moving around."
Transient though the population may be, many of the program's participants are not the kind of people many
typically perceive the homeless to be. Take for example Jess Jessop, who for several years has been living in a large
blue converted bus with his two sons and three dogs. A former software engineer and CEO of a dot-com business,
his luck took a bad turn when the dot-com bubble burst in the 1990s and in a short span of time the entrepreneur
became both jobless and overqualified for the most basic jobs.
"They said, 'Well, you're probably going to hate this job and leave,' " Mr. Jessop told the News-Press. Added to that
a case of post traumatic stress disorder that sometimes keeps him down for a couple of days out of the week, and
his age, and it's easy to see how those like Mr. Jessop could fall through the cracks.
He's made the best of it however, in a self-contained bus he rigged with its own facilities, and even wireless
internet. Mr. Jessop is no stranger to the media; he and his family have been the subject of media interest recently,
and he's managed to homeschool his two sons to fulfill their education requirements. In fact, although he's
attempted to register his sons Thomas and David, 14 and 15, for Santa Barbara City College, the school requires
them to be 16 before they consider their application. In the meantime, the brothers have been keeping busy in
various community organizations, even doing homeless outreach, as they await their college careers.
"I want to go to the culinary school," said Thomas.
What the parking lot program has given the Jessops is the stability to live out normal lives in abnormal
circumstances, said Mr. Jessop. There is still the occasional incident, however, like when someone threw a rock
through the back window of the bus during the last presidential campaign because Mr. Jessop is an Obama
supporter. It's these incidents that the Jessops have learned to cope with.
"Yeah, who cares," sighed Mr. Jessop.
It's easy to see the concern outreach workers have for the participants. Occasionally, Ms. Scheuerman or Ms. Kapp
will bring over a box of food items collected from various contributors, like the Food Bank or Our Daily Bread. They
continuously work through the frustration of joblessness with the program's members. And sometimes it's these
small acts that make the difference for the parking lot program participants.
In the meantime, the homeless in the 22 parking lots of the Safe Parking Program will continue to weather their
economic storm, whether it's from the recession or other reasons. Justin and Christine, for their part, are keeping
on top of their applications for social services, hoping soon to land jobs and a more permanent home, though they
do count themselves lucky that they've landed a spot that gives them both privacy and safety. So far, at least, the
situation seems not to have gotten to their boys, who run and play in their parking lot like the typical rambunctious
kids that they are.
"We treat it to them like it's a great adventure ... like it's a trip that we're going on, so they don't know anything's
wrong," said Christine.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Dream
EXCERPT:
Russia
In 2008, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev bemoaned the fact that 77% of Russia's 142 million people live "cooped up" in massive apartment buildings. In 2010, his government announced a plan for widespread home ownership. "Call it the Russian dream," said Alexander A. Braverman, who directs the Federal Fund for the Promotion of Housing Construction Development. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, worried about his nation's very low birth rate, said he hoped homeownership will inspire Russians, "to have more babies."[29]
http://www.123helpme.com/view.asp?id=25609
Length: 363 words (1 double-spaced pages)
Rating: Red (FREE)
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The Farce of the American Dream in Hawkes’ Original Film, Scarface
In film, many times the auteur often uses the medium to convey a moral or make a social commentary. In the case of Howard Hawkes’s original version of Scarface, there is more being portrayed through the characters then merely the story. Hawkes makes a statement about the façade of organized crime, and the farce of the American Dream.
Organized crime has developed a stigma regarding its power and influence, especially during its hay day in the 1930’s. The mob has always been viewed as a powerful “family-like” organization. In Scarface, Hawkes brings the mafia into a seemingly more realistic light. By overturning Lovo’s position of power, Tony represents the idea of “every man for himself,” within a supposed organized group. The viewer steps into a cut-throat world of power hungry men, all trying to get rich quick. In this world, Hawkes asks, how can you organize men towards any goal if they all seek personal gain?
One might say that they are attempting to cheat the American Dream.
“The World is Yours,” symbolizes the true nature of the American Dream. The idea that you could come to a free world with nothing, and build yourself up, is the essence of what Tony and his gang are driving towards. However, at the climax of the film, the spectator perceives Tony to have everything he claimed he wanted throughout the film. He obtains power, wealth and privilege, yet he is invariably alone. Perhaps, Hawkes in commenting on the disappointment that this country was for many immigrants who heard tales of a place with endless possibilities for their family. However, when they arrived, found the endless hours of labor only took them further away from what was most important: the family. Tony realizes this a little too late. He pushes Cesca away by not listening to her, because he is too caught up in his own personal gain. The film does an excellent job of showing an opposing viewpoint to myths about organized crime and the American Dream, and leaves the audience considering that maybe things in their own lives aren’t always as they seem.
In film, many times the auteur often uses the medium to convey a moral or make a social commentary. In the case of Howard Hawkes’s original version of Scarface, there is more being portrayed through the characters then merely the story. Hawkes makes a statement about the façade of organized crime, and the farce of the American Dream.
Organized crime has developed a stigma regarding its power and influence, especially during its hay day in the 1930’s. The mob has always been viewed as a powerful “family-like” organization. In Scarface, Hawkes brings the mafia into a seemingly more realistic light. By overturning Lovo’s position of power, Tony represents the idea of “every man for himself,” within a supposed organized group. The viewer steps into a cut-throat world of power hungry men, all trying to get rich quick. In this world, Hawkes asks, how can you organize men towards any goal if they all seek personal gain?
One might say that they are attempting to cheat the American Dream.
“The World is Yours,” symbolizes the true nature of the American Dream. The idea that you could come to a free world with nothing, and build yourself up, is the essence of what Tony and his gang are driving towards. However, at the climax of the film, the spectator perceives Tony to have everything he claimed he wanted throughout the film. He obtains power, wealth and privilege, yet he is invariably alone. Perhaps, Hawkes in commenting on the disappointment that this country was for many immigrants who heard tales of a place with endless possibilities for their family. However, when they arrived, found the endless hours of labor only took them further away from what was most important: the family. Tony realizes this a little too late. He pushes Cesca away by not listening to her, because he is too caught up in his own personal gain. The film does an excellent job of showing an opposing viewpoint to myths about organized crime and the American Dream, and leaves the audience considering that maybe things in their own lives aren’t always as they seem.
How to Cite this Page
MLA Citation:
"The Farce of the American Dream in Hawkes’ Original Film, Scarface." 123HelpMe.com. 15 Jan 2011
http://www.123HelpMe.com/view.asp?id=25609.
"The Farce of the American Dream in Hawkes’ Original Film, Scarface." 123HelpMe.com. 15 Jan 2011
http://www.123HelpMe.com/view.asp?id=25609.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Dream
EXCERPT:
| "The old American Dream . . . was the dream of the Puritans, of Benjamin Franklin's "Poor Richard" . . . of men and women content to accumulate their modest fortunes a little at a time, year by year by year. The new dream was the dream of instant wealth, won in a twinkling by audacity and good luck. [This] golden dream . . . became a prominent part of the American psyche only after Sutter's Mill."[3] | ” |
Overnight California gained the international reputation as the "golden state"--with gold and lawlessness the main themes.[4]
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