Liberty, Justice and the American Dream for All
Investigative Documentary
Question: Americans all strive to achieve the highest attainable goal in society, the American Dream. To begin with nothing and to rise to the top of the economic/social ladder has a certain quality of respect that demands deference. Yet for most, the American Dream’s principles of egalitarianism and material prosperity will always remain a dream. Everyone can strive for it, but most will never reach its lofty rewards since wealth can only be judged by the poverty of others. That poverty is integral in a capitalistic system because the masses must be exploited for the benefit of the wealthy. But if there are no masses and everyone was the wealthy, it would tip the entire system on its head. What would change if every American lived the American Dream?
Treatment:
Constitution
The opening scene will begin by analyzing the US constitution from the beginning. It will show the newest addition to the age old document. The 28th amendment will state: All working Americans will be granted an annual federal salary of $1,000,000. America will try to change the American Dream’s fundamental meaning. Instead of giving Americans the opportunity to achieve economic success, they will mandate economic success, effectively granting every American the American Dream.
Presidential Briefing
Scene: Situation room with Joint Chiefs/ mood of excitement and willingness to act
The Joint Chiefs of Staff will be sitting in the situation room discussing the state of the American economy following the passage of the 28th amendment. America now has shouldered a significant burden. To give all 300 million Americans their federal salary, the government would have to shoulder a cost to the tune of 100 trillion US dollars. But the Secretary of Treasury is confident that it can be done. He explains that for Americans to all live the life of luxury and finally achieve the goals their forefathers strived so hard for, America would need to print more money… A lot more money. But printing more money would bring about hyperinflation, thus the US must takes steps to counteract these dire effects. To make sure America’s dollar stays the same value, the US would have to increase its gold stores to back up the currency. The current amount of $14 billion worth of gold will not be enough for this printing increase. The best way to acquire this gold, the Chief of Staff for the Military recommends that America start neocolonization practices in the western regions of Africa to commandeer the gold supply.
Nigeria - Gold mining town
Scene: Run down Nigerian mining town, hundreds of poor workers on screen toiling/ mood of utter depression and resignation to a sad fate. Convey feeling of hopelessness.
The movie will now show thousands of destitute and impoverished Nigerian citizens toiling in gold mines. They are overseen by uniformed US soldiers, in charge of ensuring unionization or collective strikes to not occur. All workers are forced to sign contracts agreeing that actions such as these are accepted as reasons for physical harm by the US Soldiers against the signee. Nigerians are trucked in from around the country to work in these contracted mines to ensure a steady supply of gold for the US. Paid meager salaries and forced off their traditional farms, they are dependent on US subsidized food for survival. American farmers ship excess food so the Nigerian people can continue to work as marginalized citizens in their own country to provide people the world over the ability to live in excess and comfort. The gold is drained from the country, “leaving a desert of exploited resources and citizens.”
Presidential Briefing
Scene: In the situation room with all the Joint Chiefs/ mood of uneasiness and loss of direction.
The Secretary of Treasury now realizes that there is not enough gold left in mines to meet the quota the US needs. Too much gold has been exploited for the past 3,000 years of history to leave enough in the ground to meet the United State’s ludacris demand. The Joint Chiefs begin discussing other methods of satisfying their golden wish. While the US has $14 billion worth of gold in their coffers, the United Kingdom’s Bank of London currently holds $260 billion worth of gold in their underground vaults. The Joint Chiefs try to justify the seizure of the UK’s gold. They reason that the UK ruled most of the world during the 1800s and thus exploited the planet unfairly. They hoarded the gold for themselves rather than returning the treasures. The US would be relieving the greedy central bank of London and give that gold to increase the living standard of each and every American, a much nobler cause. They finally decide what must be done.
Newscast
Scene: Breaking news broadcast story on TV
A newscast will be reporting the political strife of the past few months. The United States, determined to secure the gold for themselves has started strong-arming the UK on the international stage. First, they force the removal of the UK from the security council in the United Nations. Russia and China are happy to see a western democracy leave the ranks of security council, but due to the US’s threats of economic sanctions and the withdrawal from NATO, France and Germany also support the move, giving the US the unanimous vote it needs to evict the UK. Without the UK to block UN resolutions, the United States pushes forward in placing global sanctions on the UK for “human rights violations” and other falsified claims to cripple their economy. The UK is now forced to unload their gold supply to support its floundering economy, but doing so destabilizes the entire European Union by undercutting the price of gold that backs the Euro currency. With loud condemnation from the EU, the United Kingdom is forced out of the European Union. Without the EU’s mutual defense treaty, the US is now free to invade the UK. The newscast will end with the report that American troops have landed on the shores of the United Kingdom and forced rebellious residents into internment and re-education camps.
Status Report from the US Joint Kingdom Task Force
Scene: Commander sitting in operations tent alone, writing letter to the President.
The head of the US occupational forces writes a letter back to the President detailing the state of the war here in the UK. He explains that all gold has been secured and military bases neutralized. The only problem has been in suppressing the rebel groups. After the death of most revolutionary groups such as the IRA in the UK, most separatist and rebel activity had stopped in the 90s. But with the US occupation, it has served as a rallying cry to bring back the lifeless rebel groups. He explains that US troop casualties have been high, but high profile enemy leaders are being caught and executed almost daily. Civilian casualties have also been very high since most of the fighting has been occurring in urban settings such as London. Thus, citizens have been placed under martial law and many rebellious tendencies such as the right to protest and criticize the US have been revoked in order to maintain stability. He finally thanks the President for his time and reaffirms his commitment to ensuring the success of the American Dream and to provide the American people with the best life possible.
China - Communist Party Economic Briefing
Scene: Chinese political briefing/ progressive mood, willingness to change the country for the better.
While the US has seen an exponential increase in spending power for their citizens, China has witnessed massive growth in their manufacturing industry. This has allowed their own citizens spending power to skyrocket as well. Traditional chinese villages are now abuzz with the sound of cell phone rings and television sitcoms. Workers drive cars to their jobs and use the bicycle solely for recreation. The Communist Party decides that for China to be an able country that can support itself and not be tied to the demands of developed nations, it must move away from manufacturing and towards service sector jobs. They begin drafting resolutions to close down factories and expand funding for government run service jobs that rival the United States. Environmental regulation legislation is quickly passed as they attempt to alleviate the most pressing under developed problems that haunt the country. They decide these steps will be the best to advance China as a country.
Newscast
The newscast will explain the shocking surprise invasion of China by the United States. After months of new chinese economic policy and the shutting down of factories, supply of cheap manufactured goods in America began to dwindle. This caused widespread hysteria and lead to exponential increases in basic manufactured goods that Americans rely on. This undercut all the goals the US had been striving for because the price of goods was raising proportional to the higher salaries of the people, meaning people were no longer wealthy since they had to pay $40,000 for a washing machine. The US, now panicked that it would once again slide into the backwards era of wealth inequity, preemptively attacked China to topple the Communist regime and reestablish the manufacturing powerhouse.
US Occupational Forces - Edict 3990
To ensure that China never again risked upsetting the balance of manufacturing to service sector jobs, the US will pass Edict 3990. The proclamation will make key regulations that must be met. By reopening the factories and appropriating funding for the expansion of the manufacturing sector, America reaffirms its commitment to making China the workshop of the world. To ensure the same forces don’t push workers out of the factories, the US institutes a salary cap on all Chinese workers. This will guarantee that no Chinese citizen makes enough money to buy the technological advances and material possessions that may lure him or her away from the factory. To ensure that these temptations did not exist, all technology requiring an electric motherboard were banned in China unless related to farming technology. China will now, and forever onward, be named the Chinese Republic of United Workers.
FInal Scene - Narrator Explanation
For every American to live the American Dream, nothing would change. The microcosm of America- of upper, middle, and lower class- would simply be expanded on a global scale. The US, UK, and China would simply become extrapolations of already existing social and economic stratas. For Americans to afford the life of luxury and leisure, it must be stolen from people across the globe. For capitalism to work, the bourgeoisie must exploit the masses, and in this case, America as a whole becomes the bourgeoisie. The negative connotation to the word shines through in this case, as American’s choose to blind themselves to the toils and strife of their fellow human beings in order to lead a “civilized” life. One can argue that the apathy the American society breeds towards the woes of its own race across the globe is the biggest manifestation of barbarism on the planet. These acts are already occurring, regardless of if every American is taking home a paycheck of $1 million, so when asked the question, “What would change for every American to live the American Dream?”
Absolutely Nothing.
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