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In the past, Americans realized the American dream through thrift and hard work, that is, successful career, famous reputation and rich family. However, 19 and the industrialization in the 20th century changed this concept and replaced it with the philosophy of "get rich quickly". Since then, many attractive but elusive strategies have been developed. At present, there are three main ways to get instant wealth: rich TV knowledge contest, national lottery first prize and compensation lawsuit. In this article, Matthew, a history professor at Connecticut State University? Matthew Warshauer analyzed in detail why so many Americans are willing to realize their American dream in this simple and easy way.

How do people realize the American dream? The answer undoubtedly depends on the definition of the American dream, and there are many such definitions. John? Winthrop conceived a religious paradise in a "mountain city". Martin? Lu Se? Kim dreams of racial equality. Both of them are eager to achieve perfection in their hearts. Scholars have realized the pursuit of the American dream, and their ideas are quite different. However, one part of the American dream seems to be quite consistent: the pursuit of money. No one will deny that Americans focus on "universal money". In a society centered on capitalism and believing in the motto "Whoever dies with the most toys wins", whether people can buy a luxury house or a luxury car can tell whether they are successful or not. However, the question remains: how can people achieve this success? How did this dream come true? For many Americans, the formula of success is an elusive but quick satisfaction. Too many Americans don't stick to the traditional work ethics, but place their hopes on the ideal "easy money". This paper focuses on three phenomena that successfully realize the American dream in contemporary American society. Clever marketers convince their viewers that the way to get rich is the new trend of TV knowledge contests, lucky lottery tickets and lawsuits that can win wealth. The traditional method of getting rich from scratch: getting rich quickly through thrift and diligence is not always the main content of the American dream. Americans used to be thrifty. Colonial times, Benjamin? Franklin advised people to "lead to road to riches". Poor Richard's Yearbook advises people that "early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise." The key to getting rich is hard work. "Diligence can pay off debts," poor Richard insisted. In the early days, Americans in the Republic of China extended Franklin's concept of hard work to labor thought. For many people, the goal is not too much wealth, but economic independence and opportunities to improve society by acquiring wealth. Abraham? Lincoln insisted that the greatness of the northern United States lies in allowing people to get rich through hard work. "A cautious and penniless novice, while working to earn wages, saves things beyond family needs to buy tools and land; Thinking that one day I could hire a novice to help him. This ... free labor-a fair and generous system that can make people rich, and this system is applicable to everyone. " After the American Civil War and the mid-industrialization period, many Americans experienced extremely difficult changes in their economic prospects. They are from Horatio? Alger's story is comforting, because the hero in his works overcame adversity through hard work, perseverance, self-reliance and self-restraint. The ubiquitous legend of "from poor to millionaire" has become the cornerstone of American society. As long as you work hard, everyone can succeed and get wealth. In addition, the "work ethics" of Protestants based on religion, the diligence shown by the protagonists in Alger's works, Lincoln's ideal of free labor and Franklin's practical motto have been further consolidated in the hearts of Americans. Many people believe that hard work can not only make people achieve economic success, but also reveal God's mercy through this success. Numerous scholars have noticed the change of American traditional work ethics, which is directly consistent with hard work. With the production line and machine-driven American industrial atmosphere engulfing skilled workers, the value of labor force has changed greatly. The consequences of World War II worsened the moral changes, because consumer culture has flourished and Americans' minds are full of material goods. As one critic pointed out, "Americans have obviously lost their individuality, frugality, diligence and skills, because they are eager for status, material and sense of identity, which used to be the symbol of this country."

The result of this change in professional ethics has actually stimulated, not reduced, people's desire for the American dream. However, the real difference is that the American dream is not so much a goal of work as a right. Many Americans no longer have any imagination about the future, including time, sweat and ultimate success. Instead, they want to get rich by cutting corners. Many workers regard it as a necessary evil until it suddenly makes people rich. Through large-scale market efforts, the concept of getting rich quickly and easily has been deeply rooted in people's hearts. Whether through the TV entertainment industry, national market-driven lottery tickets or legal advertisements, Americans have been repeatedly educated, and the road to wealth success of the American dream lies in luck rather than hard work.

Who wants to be a millionaire?

Nothing can better illustrate the change of pursuing the American dream than the crazy and popular TV knowledge contest. Regis. Philbin hosted the TV quiz show "Who Want to Be a Millionaire", with an average of 240,000 listeners calling the hotline every time. The program "The Last Day" also wants to compete with it. The number of people watching the program at one time is 290 million. It is safe to say that Americans have been captured by the concept of rapid economic success recognized by most people. The fact that the TV quiz "Millionaire" originally originated in Britain only emphasizes that the pursuit of money transcends national boundaries. Of course, it is not surprising that this project has achieved the greatest success in the United States. The program that uses the American dream is called: a lot of cash. The question is "Who wants to be a millionaire?" This program is very simple. American desire to get rich is the core of American capitalist economy. The producer of the program just introduced a kind of value that has long been popular in today's society. Therefore, the plan is both a reflection of greed and materialism and a catalyst.

Who wants to be a millionaire? The difference between this program and previous TV quiz shows lies in the amount of pure money that a winner can get and sometimes the easy things. In 2000, five project participants won10 million dollars, and so far, two others won the first prize of 200 1. Many people won more than half a million dollars. In addition to the grand prize, one of the programs "Who wants to be a millionaire" is also very successful, because ordinary viewers see themselves as potential winners. We don't need to be a "dangerous" brainiac to answer which word in the mirror of the movie "sharping" is spelled backwards. That is the word "murder". Or the simpler question is, what do tree rings mean?

Lottery prizes and the relative affluence of "Who wants to be a millionaire" belong to the American dream. In the past, TV quiz shows usually offered new electrical equipment, tours or thousands of cash winners. This lucrative new TV quiz show is a wonder of the American dream, because it not only takes advantage of the psychological and visual experience of becoming a millionaire, but also takes advantage of the idea that anyone can achieve this success. The latter coincides with the tradition that people who are willing to work hard can get economic returns. The irony of the name "millionaire" is that the huge prize money won by the TV knowledge contest is not enough to obtain the complete economic independence of the American dream. Although there will be a lot of money left after tax, we must spend and invest reasonably to ensure that a person can use it until retirement. Being a millionaire today reminds people of the movie Spy Ace. In this movie, the villain Dr. Evil takes hostages and demands a ransom of1000000 dollars, only to be told that this is a negligible sum in today's economy. He immediately changed the amount to "10 billion dollars". If the money won by Who Want to Be a Millionaire can't really satisfy the American dream, then other ways to make money are even more questionable. People may ask, where is the work ethics and industry of the internal and traditional American dream? Some people may say that winning the TV knowledge contest requires considerable intelligence and knowledge. Only in this way can some jobs that help to acquire knowledge exist. But this view itself is untenable, because there are security measures in the knowledge contest, and there are still many stalemate situations in the process of entering the final round. During the competition, each contestant has three "life-saving ropes", which are designed as an aid when the contestants choose the accurate answers to multiple-choice questions. Participants can choose to "remove two wrong answers", so that the computer will remove two wrong answers, leaving only two possible answers; "Ask the audience" allows contestants to test the audience in the studio to get the most correct answer; "Call friends", let competitors call five pre-arranged relatives and friends to help him determine the correct answer. These designs make the knowledge level of the contestants tend to be equal, so it is really luck to win the competition. Of course, this does not require that in order to compete, knowledge must be accumulated to the same extent as programs like Danger. In that program, there are no multiple-choice questions, and the contestants must complete the task by themselves. And there are many opportunities to enter the final round. The success of Who Want to Be a Millionaire is directly related to the idea that people with little knowledge but good luck can also become millionaires. This kind of information can especially reflect the voice of the general public, because it seems very easy to realize the American dream. In this process, diligence, the most basic and traditional way to realize the American dream, was completely eliminated. In this model, poor Richard's "diligent" advice is unnecessary. Franklin never said, "Go to bed early and get up early, and hope for good luck. You may win a prize."

"Who wants to be a millionaire" used the success of the American dream to promote a large number of cottage competition programs. Programs like Greed, 2 1 point and the most interesting "Who wants to be a millionaire" take advantage of the basic and capitalist desire of Americans to make a lot of money. The last event was particularly jaw-dropping. February 2000 15, independent real estate agent Rick? Rockway selected from fifty female competitors, and if selected, these fifty women agreed to marry a "multi-millionaire". The executive director of Fox TV's Epiphany is Mike? He said: "Money is the incentive for posturing. I think most of them are looking for relationships. " David? Darva Conger, an emergency room nurse, became the "winner" of the program, claiming that neither was her purpose. She just wants to go to Las Vegas for a holiday, because this program is reported in Las Vegas, in that case, "my family and friends can see me on TV and radio." "It's Lark," Cohen insisted. When I won, I was "completely shocked". When the host of "Today Show" Matt. When matt lauer interviewed her and insisted that money was the main reason for her participation in this project, Cohen claimed otherwise, although she easily got a news honeymoon trip to the Caribbean, a ring worth $35,000 and an Isuzu car. The total prize money is about one hundred thousand dollars. Even though Cohen Jie strongly denied that the key motivation for participating in the program was money and broke off her engagement with Rockway, she got more than 400,000 dollars reported by the media because Playboy magazine chose her photo. No matter what Cohen Jie's motivation is, many women readily accept the opportunity to realize the American dream through speed-dating marriage on national TV programs. After the first successful broadcast of "Who wants to be a multi-millionaire" TV program, Fox website collapsed because women flocked to apply for the next program. Nevertheless, the ratings of this program have successfully reached 23 million viewers, and critics scornfully accused, "Fox's proposition is that people will do anything for money, that is, money is everything ..." Some people suggested that this program should be renamed "People will do anything for money" or "The most interesting prostitute in America", and many viewers tuned the channel to "Who wants to be a multimillionaire" just because of its novelty. However, the fact remains that the executives of Fox TV clearly made conscious use of people's pursuit of the American dream. They adopted the same strategy as Who Want to Be a Millionaire, that is, offering a large amount of cash as a bonus to attract the audience psychologically and visually. Competitors also played a role in the pursuit of the American dream. The amount of bonus is certain, but the chance of winning a huge bonus is one in fifty. Participants only need beautiful faces and sexy bodies. Like in Regis? In the program hosted by philbin, the traditional method of getting rich through hard work was abandoned. The national lottery "Who wants to be a millionaire" and other similar TV quiz shows are the latest crazy moves to take advantage of the American dream. More well-known and often profitable is the national lottery. New york Lottery Center boasted, "People only need' one dollar for one dream'." Just like the TV knowledge contest, the lottery is also aimed at hoping that people can make money easily with the least effort. It doesn't take one person to choose a series of numbers. In gambling, people can only get rich if they win a lot of lotto or Powerball. Illinois advertisements in the slums of Chicago encourage people to say, "The lottery ticket may be your ticket to leave the slums." However, the income of high-stakes lottery tickets is much higher than that of the TV knowledge contest program Millionaire. In May 2000, the prize money of a Powerball game was as high as $3.5 billion. However, the chances of winning are not as great as those of TV quiz shows. On average, the probability of winning the prize is11 in 2 million or14 million, and the probability of winning the grand prize is 1 in 80 million. The luck needed can be said to be astronomical and incalculable. However, Americans are still eager for it, even if the possibility of winning the grand prize is slim. From 65438 to 0998, the prize money of $3 billion made new york people flock to Connecticut. In Greenwich, Connecticut, 500 people lined up for more than six hours to buy lottery tickets. In order to cope with the completely stagnant traffic and chaotic order, the town had to spend $80,000 to hire police and take other emergency measures. In the process of approaching the same powerball, the director of the New Hampshire Lottery Center had to hold a press conference, asking people not to bet beyond their financial ability. Despite being warned, he admitted that he spent 3000 dollars on lottery tickets. It's easy to explain people's enthusiasm for Powerball and lottery: it's possible that every American believes in the American dream. Although most people admit that the chances of winning the lottery are slim, they fantasize about the chances of success. Having hope is part of the American dream, and the National Lottery Center can use this fantasy to make the lottery business so successful. In the lottery business in 37 states and the District of Columbia, 1996 sold a total of $4.29 billion, of which 38% was pure profit, making lottery the most profitable gambling so far. Most gambling profits have to be turned over to 90% of income, while lottery tickets only pay about 50%. However, to be exact, lottery tickets are only a few hundred years old. America was founded with the help of lottery. 16 12, the British royal family authorized London Virginia Company to hold lottery tickets to help establish Jamestown colony. During and after the colonial period, Americans held lottery tickets to raise money for domestic improvement and national defense. In this way, what is the difference between today's lottery and the past, and what impact does it have on the traditional meaning of the American dream? The short answer is advertising. The national lottery learned the importance of effective and comprehensive marketing. Until 1975, the federal government banned all states from advertising, but after the ban was lifted, the lottery industry developed purposefully. During the period of 1997, US$ 4 billion was invested in various lottery and instant game lottery tickets, which was twice as much as that invested by most large companies in advertising. However, this is not only a simple category of advertising, but also its efficiency. Many critics say that lottery tickets are aimed at the poor because they are the least financially able to meet their daily expenses. In this way, the country can use those who may need to realize the American dream most. For example, Ohio SuperLotto Lottery suggested in its advertising plan that the purpose of "promotion promotion" should be realized as soon as possible this month. Government subsidies, total wages and social insurance fees are paid on the first Tuesday of each month. In fact, this has created millions of extra non-tax revenues for the local economy, and most of these revenues are disposable. The Illinois Lottery Center participated in an equal calculation strategy, which induced the economic depression in the neighborhood of West Chicago. The state government rented 40 outdoor billboards and promised: "How to get from Washington Avenue to ② (Anyi Street)?" The message of "from poor to millionaire" implied in the advertisement takes advantage of the core aspect of the American dream. Many studies show that this kind of promotion is effective. Compared with more influential people, the poor spend a much larger proportion of their income on lottery tickets. Equally important, the lottery intentionally misleads people who participate in the lottery to get rich through gambling. A study found that 70% of TV advertisements describe people winning lottery tickets. In addition, the study pointed out that States intentionally pretend to give lottery players odds first. In fact, this gives people the impression that the chances of winning the prize are very high. Even some government officials are very concerned about this strategy. 1997, new York governor George? Pataki asked lottery officials to "downplay" their "Hey, you never know" promotional activities. He said that lottery marketing should avoid "raising unrealistic expectations". Some people may ask, isn't there any law to stop this deceptive commercial advertisement? Of course, the FTC issued the "Advertising Truth" Act (standard). However, because lottery is a national entity, it is not restricted by the requirements that private enterprises should abide by. In this way, lottery tickets are usually free to spend millions of dollars on cunning advertisements aimed at exploiting people's pursuit of the American dream. As one author pointed out, "It is said that lottery makes full use of people's desire for a better life and provides them with a sucker bet packaged in promotional advertisements." Another writer criticized: "Our government shamelessly caters to people's American dream. They suggest that people, many of whom are poor, lottery is a good way to make money ... If there is a trick to get rich quickly, it is the lottery manipulated by the government. " Similar to the "Millionaire" TV quiz show, one of the key elements to realize the American dream is luck. Americans once again give a message: success is not achieved by hard work, but by luck. No critic has ignored this phenomenon. Michelle? Michael Sandel insists that the lottery sends "a message that violates work ethics and sacrifices spiritual and moral responsibilities ..." Instead, people are told that "with a little luck, they can escape from the work world entrusted to them by misfortune." Another commentator agreed, saying, "In a word, lottery tickets may weaken work ethics and sense of accomplishment and replace them with luck ethics." However, in fact, the role of lottery does not stop there. They use the standard of luck and try to deceive people into believing that there is something beyond luck-that is, skill is an important factor in winning the lottery. The National Gambling Impact Research Council notes that lottery advertisements specifically try to convince lottery players that they can "influence their odds through the numbers they choose." Moreover, there are many books that promise to teach lottery winners to become future lottery winners. Such books include "How to Win the Lottery Consciously", "The Foundation of Winning the Lottery" and "How to Win the Lottery: More Strategies for Winning the Lottery". The significance of this is that by diligently reading lottery books, people can improve their necessary skills to win lottery tickets and increase their chances of realizing the American dream. With this information, people may think that the American dream is alive and healthy, and its honesty has been maintained. Ben. The traditional factor advocated by Franklin, diligence, is realized through calculation and excellent planning. However, this is far from the original intention of truth. Lottery tickets are undoubtedly random. Therefore, like the "millionaire" TV knowledge contest, the national lottery uses and completely changes the traditional American dream concept through carefully planned advertisements. Compensation Litigation If TV quiz and lottery seem to open the way to realize the American dream, so does the proverb "million dollars hurt". Litigation is a characteristic of Americans, although it is not as sweet as apple pie. In fact, many people despise the legal profession, especially personal injury lawyers. They are everywhere. "Have you had an accident? The advertisement "You are entitled to compensation" encourages the public to believe that money is easy to make. This "ambulance chaser who specializes in traffic accident damage compensation" has spawned hundreds of lawyer jokes. " What is a million lawyers doing at the bottom of the sea? Good question. "Although we laughed at this joke, it also showed the public's view of the legal profession. Americans still have thousands of lawsuits every year, and many people hope to get cash compensation through personal injury cases or product liability cases. Some scholars compare this strategy to playing lottery: the operation of civil tort is similar to lottery. Most of the key criteria for payment are controlled by chance: (1) whether a person is lucky enough to be hurt by others, and that person's product or behavior is proved to be imperfect; (2) Whether the insurance limit or property of one party is sufficient to promise remuneration or treatment equivalent to the loss or expense; (3) being falsely accused of defective products, and being able to prove that their products are good; (4) Whether a person is lucky enough to keep an evidence variable, which will make full use of all the evidence in front of an impressionable jury, including being able to show that a person is hurt no matter what. At best, it may be particularly strange to equate this situation with the American dream. However, the similarities with TV quiz, lottery and civil tort litigation are not as far-fetched as people think. In all three cases, the ideal result is to go to the bank with a big check. This is the result of many court cases in recent years. If the plaintiff wins the case, it is likely to get more than just damages (reimbursement of medical expenses, lost wages, etc.). ), including punitive damages (punishment for the defendant's negligence or dangerous behavior). Moreover, in order to let the guilty party get a message, punitive damages are usually far more than damages. In this way, like TV knowledge contests and lottery, injury litigation and product liability litigation are also particularly profitable. In this process, the traditional way to realize the American dream has been bypassed. Ben. Franklin's hard work and Lincoln's labor ethics are not the elements for the plaintiff to get rich. The classic elements of American success, diligence, frugality and self-reliance, do not appear in lawyers' beliefs. Richard, a new poor American, has changed his mantra to "go to bed early and get up early, bring legal proceedings until" they cry. However, there is a strange factor on the way to realize the American dream through law. In TV quiz and gambling, people should not win by hurting their health. Injury is the only factor to realize the American dream through litigation. Therefore, a question is avoided: "A sober person, who will exchange health for a rolling source of money in the economy?" Of course, at least someone pretended to be injured. Discovery Channel recently produced an album to study the effectiveness of video surveillance in casinos. They sued those who pretended to be injured in the casino through video, and then accused them of fraud. However, it is almost unfair to use video to prevent such lawsuits. There is no doubt that in thousands of cases, plaintiffs fake injuries and symptoms to defraud financial compensation.