The American Dream Myth Anastasia And Anastasia

Social class creates a stratification in society that divides and unequally distributes power and privilege based on money, inheritance, wealth, and assets. The power associated with social class affects how one operates in life when it comes to making decisions and motives for committing actions. A childhood motion picture that depicts this idea is Anastasia. Anastasia is an American produced, fictional musical loosely based off of the Russian Empire Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova. Anastasia follows the orphaned Grand Duchess Anya, who suffers from retrograde amnesia, on her quest to find her family. She is joined by two swindlers who seek to con the Dowager Empress Marie Ferdorovna into believing that Anya is the long lost†¦show more content†¦Petersburg, who are noticeably lower class, begin to plot and scheme in â€Å"A Rumor in St. Petersburg† by selling, what they claim are, â€Å"authentic† items belonging to the fallen Romanov family, incl uding Anastasia. They are motivated to deceive others in order to receive monetary rewards. More specifically, Dimitri and Vlad, whose jobs are never disclosed but they are dressed in dull and mundane clothing (so it can be assumed that they are of lower class), brag about how they plan on committing the â€Å"biggest con in history† by finding a girl who can play the role of princess Anastasia. It is important to question why they would be willing to go through such drastic measures. The reoccurring theme in Anastasia is those in the lower class are motivated by money. With them belonging to the lower class, where money is not readily available item, they must accomplish their goal of attaining money by any means necessary. Hence, the working class actions are driven by the thought of obtaining money. Moreover, Anastasia illustrates how those in the upper class can use their class as a means to meet their immaterial needs. The Grand Royal Duchess is motivated to find her long lost granddaughter because she seeks the thing that money cannot buy: love. Marx argues that money is the â€Å"external, universal means and power to change representation into reality† (Marx 272). Empress Dowager is able to use ten million rubles to represent the return of her granddaughter. By making theShow MoreRelatedNevada Gambling Essay2412 Words   |  10 PagesIt legitimized a small but lucrative industry. That same year construction started on the Hoover Dam Project which, at its peak, employed 5,128 people. The young town of Las Vegas virtually was insulated from economic hardships that wracked most Americans in the 1930s. Jobs and money were prevalent because of Final Project 3 Union Pacific Railroad development, legal gambling and construction of Hoover Dam 34 miles away in Black Canyon on the Colorado River. World War II stalled major resort growth