“Alex Rivera speaking at Platform Summit 2014.” Youtube, uploaded by Platform, 19 Nov 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHPsmfLdiUs
In this YouTube video, Alex Rivera gives a talk where he explains the background for what, as a director and screenplay writer, he was trying to demonstrate within this movie. Alex Rivera grew up in New York in a neighborhood of undocumented immigrants that felt like they were living in two worlds, that of the physical worker in the United States, but spiritually wanting to be in their own country. They feel this way as even though they came to America to achieve the “American Dream”, they do not face equality as many white Americans do not want immigrants coming to the United States and “taking up space.” Rivera says he had Peruvian family members coming to the United States and “[were] called illegal aliens being described as criminals” (2:41-2:44). I can use this source as a way to support my argument about how the American Dream is faulty based on how white Americans view immigrants who are just trying to make a better life for themselves.
Churchwell, Sarah Bartlett. Behold, America: A History of “America First” and “the American Dream”. First edition. New York, Basic Books, 2018.
I will use Churchwell’s Behold, America as a Lens Text in my paper. I will use her definition of the American Dream which is “the ideal that every citizen of the United States should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative” (Churchwell 3,4). I chose this definition because I feel that it excludes immigrants from the American Dream as it uses “every citizen.” Therefore, being incorrect about the idea that the United States welcomes all immigrants to the country to allow them to achieve their dreams. This idea fits my argument.
HAMNER, EVERETT. “Virtual Immigrants: Transfigured Bodies and Transnational Spaces in Science Fiction Cinema.” Simultaneous Worlds: Global Science Fiction Cinema, edited by JENNIFER L. FEELEY and SARAH ANN WELLS, University of Minnesota Press, 2015, pp. 154–70. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5749/j.ctt175x36n.13. Accessed 21 Apr. 2024.
In this article, Everett Hamner makes an analysis of what the director of Sleep Dealer, Alex Rivera, says about one of his inspirations for the movie. One of Alex Rivera’s inspirations for the film was Star Wars as we see a young boy growing up in the desert whose home is destroyed. We then watch Luke “head towards the realm of his oppressors” (154). The author of the article then relates this to the film’s main character, Memo. “We want him to break the law, we want him to get through, to get to the other side. And yet in our society and in our political culture, there is a massive movement and cultural energy toward sealing borders, toward stopping people’s movement” (1). This quote allows me to support my argument by bringing in real life issues and not just discuss the movie. Many white Americans want borders to be shut down in order to prevent immigrants from coming to the country. This is different then what the American Dream states, demonstrating its faults when it comes to immigrants.
MASSEY, DOUGLAS S. “The Mexico-U.S. Border in the American Imagination.” Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, vol. 160, no. 2, 2016, pp. 160–77. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/26159208. Accessed 21 Apr. 2024.
In this journal article, Douglas Massey provides the history of how the Mexico-U.S. border came to be what it is today. A part that stands out in the article is when he discusses the advent of the Great Depression. He states that “suddenly people who had formerly been recruited as willing (if docile) workers came to be seen as competitors unfairly taking jobs from more deserving Anglo-Americans” (164).This quote represents the idea that even though the United States claims to be welcome to all who would like to come, in reality many white Americans are angered by it and want borders to be closed. Therefore, this quote supports my argument that the American Dream is misleading when it comes to immigrants and how white Americans feel about them.
Pitts, Michael. “”Check Your Connection”: Cyberpunk Visions of Disembodied Labor in Sleep Dealer.” European journal of American studies 18. 18-2 (2023).
In this article, Micheal Pitts explains how Sleep Dealer demonstrates the dream of white Americans to have the cheap labor of Mexican immigrants without giving the workers any benefits. In the movie, “the cybernetic network extinguishes the need for Mexican bodies to cross into the United States, thereby ensuring that wages are kept low and these workers are denied access to the benefits of the locations in which they work from a distance” (5). Some of these benefits including education and healthcare. I can use this article to support my argument that the American Dream is false when it comes to the idea of welcoming immigrants. Instead, the American Dream is of white businesses to have cheap labor in order to make money. Overall, demonstrating the exploitation that follows immigrant workers trying to achieve an American Dream.
Prasch, Thomas. “The Dystopian Borderlands of Alex Rivera’s Sleep Dealer (2008).” Border Visions: Identity and Diaspora in Film (2013): 43.
In this chapter of Thomas Prasch’s book, he argues that Alex Rivera’s movie is used to demonstrate contemporary border issues between Mexico and the United States such as immigrant labor, economic inequalities, control of water resources, and modern warfare. For example, in the movie “the futuristic conditions of labor underline and amplify the existing problem for the undocumented worker, exploited as laborer but unable to participate fully…in the American Dream because of constant threat of deportation” (48). I can use this quote to support my argument about the reality of the American Dream and how it is false when it comes to minority groups. Immigrants are not able to participate fully politically, socially, or economically. Therefore, the American Dream of welcoming all immigrants to improve their life is often false and even comes with the threat of being kicked out of the country.
Sullivan, Emily, and Craig Kafura. “American Views of Immigration and Diversity.” Chicago Council on Global Affairs, The Chicago Council on Global Affairs, 16 Nov. 2022, globalaffairs.org/research/public-opinion-survey/american-views-immigration-and-diversity?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw57exBhAsEiwAaIxaZkStrG2P9xGoO9jUOAWfe-Sr5ovg53Ro1KLhA1jzdOnVkQ-XpL-V7xoCXqQQAvD_BwE.
I will use this trusted website in my counterargument. I want to create the counter-argument that white Americans are welcoming to all immigrants and have no issues with them being in the United States. The website is full of statistics such as “a majority of Americans…say that increasing racial and ethnic diversity of the United States makes the country a better place to live.” In addition, 70 percent of Republicans “say [immigrants] make no difference… [or] say it makes the country better.” These quotes are against my argument and serve as a counter-argument. Using a counter-argument and refuting it can strengthen my argument. I can refute this argument by using my sources of the real life events that demonstrate how unwelcoming white Americans can be.
Ramirez, Javier. “Sci-Fi-Ing Immigration and the U.S.-Mexico Border: An Interview with Filmmaker Alex Rivera.” Chiricú, vol. 1, no. 1, 2016, pp. 95–105. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2979/chiricu.1.1.07. Accessed 21 Apr. 2024.
In this article, the author Javier Ramirez, interviewed the director of Sleep Dealer. Javier Ramirez asks Alex Rivera many question about where he grew up, where he went to school, how he starting filming movies, etc. He then continues to ask questions about the politics of the movie and how it feels to see real events reflect what is in his movie. Mainly due to the fact that the movie came out in 2008, but this interview took place in 2016 with the presidential election. One of the questions was about his design for the wall between the U.S. and Mexico. Rivera says they made a lot of designs for the wall “and now, six years later, it’s there. They have the double wall now, triple walls in certain parts. A lot of the work that we did as conceptual design in Sleep Dealer has been put into reality by the Department of Homeland Security” (102). I can use this quote to support my argument by providing real life examples of home white Americans are towards immigrants. Overall, showing how the American Dream is faulty when stating the country welcomes everyone.
Rivera, Alex, director. Sleep Dealer. Maya Entertainment, 2008.
This source is the movie on which I am basing my whole paper. The movie deals with a poor Mexican man named Memo, who is looking to make money after the death of his father. He wants to do this by getting a job in the United States. However, in this science fiction movie, there is a technology called nodes that allows him to do the work in the United States while physically being in Mexico. One line from the movie is “this is the American Dream. We give the United States what they’ve always wanted…all the work – without the workers.” The quotes demonstrates and supports my topic of the false idea of the American Dream when it comes to welcoming immigrants. Many white Americans feel that immigrants are ruining the country or taking away jobs from them. Therefore, the American Dream is not welcoming and giving equal opportunities to everyone and it is demonstrated in this movie.
WINDERS, JAMIE. “Immigration and the 2016 Election.” Southeastern Geographer, vol. 56, no. 3, 2016, pp. 291–96. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/26233803. Accessed 21 Apr. 2024.
In this journal article, Jamie Winders writes about the Mexico-U.S. border during the 2016 presidential election. He discusses that immigration was expected to be more of a secondary issue and that it was surprising to hear how the Republican candidate, Donald Trump, spoke about immigrants. For example, in Summer 2015 Donald Trump said “Mexico sen[ds] its worst elements, including rapists, drug-runners, and criminals to the U.S.” (291). Once again, this quotes allows me to bring real life events that immigrants have faced, and not simply talk about the movie. This quote supports my argument due to the language used. The American Dream claims to welcome all, but in reality they are often called terrible names and are unwanted by white Americans.