The ENSEIRB students associate the American dream with materialistic values more than the MIT students do. I that this is a result of the amount any type of media that the US exports. If you were to form an opinion on, “The American Dream” from popular media and new coverage of the past few decades, it would be full of themes related to the words/adjectives depicted by the ENSEIRB students. What kinds of sources do you guys use to learn about American culture?

I was surprised by the response of Miami by the ENSEIRB students. I didn’t know that Miami was that glorified and was seen as part of the American dream. I wasn’t surprised to see that money is the common theme around the American dream, looking at responses of most of the students from both schools. I also noticed that some students from ENSEIRB mentioned that the American dream is a “lie/myth” and some students from MIT also mentioned similar words. These responses are probably due to the fact that the American dream is getting old and migrating to the US finding the happy rich life is not the case anymore, and the American dream is getting old. I also found it funny that a student from ENSEIRB and a student from MIT both mentioned cars. I guess this is because cars are a lot cheaper in the U. S. and cars represent the materialistic values that the previous comment mentions. I’m curious would the ENSEIRB students would want to follow the American Dream?

I noticed that in both lists, the ENSEIRB students and the MIT students both mentioned words related to success, however also words related to lies and fallacies. This shows how within each group, there are completely different points of view of the American Dream. I think the students who mentioned a positive and optimistic view of the American Dream either know of more positive outcomes from immigrating to the US for a new life, either through family experience or that was the way they learned the history. On the other hand, those who mentioned a more pessimistic view of the American Dream might know of more stories and experiences where the US did not offer a better life to immigrants. I wonder, did the students who see the American Dream positively and those who see it negatively learn about it differently in a history class or were they enlightened about the American Dream through other sources?

I see that both lists mention the idealistic or false notion of America being a place of money, wealth, and success. But I notice that the responses of the ENSEIRB students are centered on the “flashy” aspects of America that are usually portrayed in the media, such as the cities (Miami, Hollywood, Las Vegas) and activities such as going to the casino.

Both the ENSEIRB and MIT students have words that mention the American dream positively, and negatively (as a lie or fraud). There are several commonalities - both sides mention money, power, and success. ENSEIRB students mention a lot of things from films, such as Miami Beach (which surprised me), or the specific term “self-made-Man.” I wonder how the ENSEIRB students learned about the concept of the American dream, and whether it was through entertainment/films or through another source?

As has been noted, we are all somewhat critical of the idea of the American Dream, as it can be selfish, unrealistic, and illusionary. However, it is still fairly representative of the dreams and goals of many Americans. Do the French have a similar common, perhaps idealistic, idea of a perfect lifestyle? Is there a shared conception of the French Dream?

I am also curious as to whether a French Dream exists, and if so, what it may be like. The American Dream, to many, entailed immigrants traveling to a new country and “pulling themselves up by the bootstraps.” Does a similar notion exist in France?

Il y a deux opinions. D’un côté, des élèves pensent qu’il s’agit d’un mensonge, des désillusions, que cela n’existe pas et que ce n’est pas réalisable. Pour eux le rêve américain est idéaliste et que c’est un mythe du passé. D’un autre côté, des élèves pensent que c’est la clé de la réussite, ils l’associent beaucoup avec l’argent. Ils voient le rêve américain plus atteignable, comme une source de bonheur. C’est un avis partagé qu’on retrouve même à l’extérieur d’un cadre scolaire.

Bonjour à tous,
A propos du “French Dream”, il y a peut-être quelque chose qui s’y approche en France mais cela date plutôt du 18, 19, 20eme siècle. A cette époque, Paris centralisait tous les pouvoirs de France et tous les grands évènements de France s’y déroulaient et lorsque l’on grimpait dans l’échelle sociale en obtenant des postes importants, on finissait toujours par arriver à Paris. Et donc vivre et travailler à Paris était un symbole de réussite, de pouvoir et d’argent. D’ailleurs plusieurs auteurs français du 19eme siècle ont écrit sur cette ascension de l’échelle sociale à Paris comme Honoré de Balzac. Cependant je pense que cela est dépassé aujourd’hui avec une politique de décentralisation du pouvoir pour pouvoir attirer dans toutes les autres villes de France. Voilà pour ma vision du “rêve français” qui serait dépassé mais tout de même Paris reste centrale en France avec de grandes écoles et université et des sièges sociaux de grandes entreprises.

I think this older notion of the “French Dream” is somewhat similar to the current “American Dream,” in that the idea of starting from nothing and working your way up the socioeconomic ladder is thought to happen in the major cities (New York, Los Angeles, etc.). Similarly, for a lot of immigrants, moving to one of these cities in and of itself is often viewed as a sign of success and prestige. I also think that in the U. S. in general, simply having a job in a major city is generally considered more successful, desired, and in many cases more prestigious, than a job in the suburbs or the country. Would you say that a similar phenonemon (that leaving a suburb/smaller town to work in a major city is often viewed with prestige) exists in France?