“May I never wake up from the American Dream.” These wise words were spoken by an online poet named Carrie Latet. But just what is the American Dream? A home, family, and security? Or wealth, power, and possessions? Lucky for us, we don’t have to choose.

America is a land of promises; Promise of equality, promise of freedom, and,above all, promise of opportunity. As Americans, we have the opportunity to do just about anything and really make it big, and achieve our own version of the American Dream.
HBO TV series’ like “How to Make It in America” and “Entourage” are perfect examples of both the negatives, and the positives of opportunity in America.

“Entourage” looks into the life of an actor. It shows you can make it big doing anything. The characters in the show all work in Hollywood as talent agents, actors, and the little “B-listers” who work for them. The main character-Vince- comes from nothing and becomes one of the most renowned actors in Hollywood. Other characters in the show are also people who have worked their whole lives at what they do and it paid off.
“Entourage” teaches that hard work, regardless of your start point, pays off in the end, and that you can come from nothing and make yourself something.

The show also features guest celebrities that promote charities the characters in the show make donations to. This, as it does in Stossel’s videos, shows Americans are charitable with their money and place high priority on giving back.

Unfortunately, this show also portrays the negative side to opportunity, in that “Entourage” shows how it is limited. Like the show “How to Make It in America” it portrays that success is all about who you know.
In “Entourage,” Vince brings his best friends along for the ride, and they become rich off of his success. Ben, the main character in “How to Make It in America,” is a social climber trying to make a name for himself. He works to make connections with the right people so he can become a big name in fashion, reinforcing the idea that it’s all about who you know.

Another negative we find in America that both shows reveal is how Americans can be lazy and they expunge the minimum amount of work necessary to make money then, just coast on that, sometimes even blowing the money in useless ways, like buying ridiculous cars or airplanes.

Although this is just TV, and is not a perfect example, it is a good representation of what we, as Americans believe and that making it big is important to us because they are popular shows. From this, we can draw that America is a land of opportunity and has a lot to offer a person. Hard work pays off and we can change the hand we are dealt. However, we can also conclude that depending on whose hands the success falls into, it can either be a positive or negative thing.