The American Dream : Walking in the Shoes of Carnies, Arms Dealers, Immigrant Dreamers, Pot Farmers, and Christian Believers

Description

For some, the American Dream is a pre-fab house in the suburbs with 2.5 kids and a two-week vacation at the end of the year. To others, it is working a push fruit cart in Oakland in order to put food on the family’s table in Oaxaca. In The American Dream Harmon Leon draws upon his experiences of adopting personas and disguises to infiltrate the various institutions of everyday life, living among a diverse range of subcultures and learning first hand how they see their vision and utopia. His incursions include working as a marijuana farmer in a hippie commune in Northern California; becoming a carnie in rural Indiana; visiting a tourist attraction in Mexico (that allows people to simulate illegally crossing the border); venturing to Hollywood while trying to climb the ranks in the star-making machine; and working in the strawberries fields of California with newly arrived immigrants. The American Dream is a funny, satirical, and ultimately poignant take on what it means to be an American today. Cover About the Author Title Epigraph Contents Introduction I. Immigrant American Dream Illegal Alien Tourist Attraction The Journey Begins Time to Sneak Let the Games Begin Onward to the Border! The Journey Continues Down by the River There’s a Tunnel Ahead The Promised Land Now I Get a Green Card Black Market Clash I Land an Illegal Job! Illegal Reality II. Carny American Dream I, CARNY The Last Night at the Fair III. Cult of Celebrity American Dream An Imposter Impersonator Let’s Backtrack to Before My American Dream Went Horribly Wrong Celebrity Impersonators Convention: Day Two The Arrival of Fox News The Big Talent Showcase The Celebrity-Impersonator Wedding of the Century IV. Military American Dream Power to the People’s Army! AUSA—Supporting America’s Best— It’s All About the Soldier The Enemy Is Chaos For the Full Spectrum of Warfare When the Shot Counts Happy Hour! V. Bible-Thumping American Dream God Hates the World! Oh, Jesus! Go to Hell, Funnyman My Dinner at the Phelps Onward Christian-Soldier Picketers High Five! Back in the Van Afternoon Delight Ford in Hell! Who’s Jesus’ Daddy? The Park Where It Started Heeeeeere’s Gramps! VI. Swinger American Dream Behind Suburban Doors Let’s Talk! Meet the Swingers A Swinger Tradition The Spread Last Call for Play VII. Hollywood American Dream Generating Hollywood Heat— German-Style! Stop Number One—Very Large Hollywood Agency Stop Number Two—Medium-Size Hollywood Agency with Great View of Century City Stop Number Three—Big but Slightly Cheesy Hollywood Agency Epilogue The Pitchmaster Pitch Number One—Large Children’s Cable Network Pitch Number Two—Cable Network with Great Office View Pitch Number Three—A Network on a Large Studio Lot Epilogue VIII. Reality Television Show American Dream Stairway to Game Show Heaven! Hit Me with Your Whammy Stick! Game Day Did You Know? Round One Blind Date, Lederhosen, and Me My Blind Date Filming Day Is Set Two p.m.: My Date Begins Here’s a Task Our First Zany Blind Date Activity More Zany Activities Dress to Impress! The Cowboy Crowd Sadly, Our Date Is Over by Ten pm IX. Marijuana American Dream Permanent 4:20 The Search Begins Into the Land of the Green Let’s Work! A Growers School The Day Burns On Fields of Dreams Dinner Late Night More Trim Acknowledgments