American Dream

An American Dream

In America, every individual has the opportunity to pursue his or her dream no matter how big or small it may be. The American Dream to many is life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The film, 'In America" is an exceptional example of how ordinary people live out their American dream. Mateo, a middle aged black man has a dream. Mateo's dream is to pursue his artwork, but Mateo's dream is involuntarily put on hold when is a diagnosed with aids which leaves him motivating other people to pursue their dreams, in this case Ariel and Christy, and making an impact on people's lives even if it's just one family. Mateo makes a dramatic impact when he is named after a very special person.

To begin with, Mateo moves to America from Africa to hopefully make a career out of his artwork, his dream. Mateo soon realizes he has to put his health first when he is diagnosed with aids from an infected needle during a blood transaction. The disease leaves Mateo with medical bills, hopelessness, and an incurable disease that he has no choice but to live with. Mateo's artwork then becomes much more difficult to pursue as the disease continues to take a toll on his well-being and most importantly his life. Mateo does not lose faith in his artwork completely and continues creating art inside his apartment as much he can.

Second, even though Mateo does not get to fulfill his dream as he might have imagined, he still manages to make a dramatic difference in Christy and Ariel's lives, daughters of a couple living in his apartment complex. Christy and Ariel's dreams are nothing less then important to Mateo who is determined to make sure they pursue them, whatever they may be. Christy and Ariel, as well as their parents, come to America from Ireland with a burden on their shoulders, the death of Frankie; son, brother, and friend. The family has an extremely difficult time letting go of Frankie even with the birth of the newest member of the family, Sarah Mateo. Mateo does his best to help the family realize that this is not their fight anymore and that they deserve to be happy. They deserve to live out the American Dream. Letting go of Frankie does not mean forgetting about him but simply keeping him in their hearts and moving on.

As a result, Mateo's fight to survive was simply not enough. Mateo passes away and Sarah Mateo is born. The family gives