Santiago Munez American Dream

The definition of the American Dream varies between cultures in today’s society. The main theme of having the opportunity of success and prosperity in the United States of America is the same, but how each citizen thinks of what achieving success is, is different. Some even question if the American Dream exists. In a time where immigration of minorities is a controversial topic in the US, the theme of minorities and how they achieve their dreams in film sometimes lags behind the Hollywood stories of athletic achievement. With a special emphasis on the portrayal of Mexican immigrants, this essay will analyze and interpret the American Dream that Santiago Munez (from Goal! The Dream Begins) and his family are determined to reach. The film Goal!

The Dream Begins shows that through hard work, relentless determination, the help of others, and sometimes risk taking, the American Dream is an opportunity that anyone can follow and achieve, regardless of one’s beginnings. Along with utilization of scholarly sources, this essay intends to interpret postcolonialism, answer that the American Dream still exists, as well as to providing a comparison to other scholarly work.
To summarize his journey toward the American Dream, Santiago came to America from Mexico with his family when he was just beginning adolescence. His father, Herman, had intended to make a better living in the US than he would have in Mexico. When Santiago grows into a young man in Los Angeles,California, he begins helping support the family with Herman. They both work low paying jobs such as yard work or bussing tables at a Chinese restaurant. After getting scouted at a recreational soccer game, Santiago receives an opportunity to travel to England and tryout for a professional team. Santiago decides to save money for a trip to England, but Herman disagrees with this idea. Herman then discreetly uses all of Santiago’s soccer savings to start a landscaping business of their own to make more money.
Santiago gets into arguments with Herman about what Herman had done, but he wants Santiago to realize that the way to be successful is to work hard, not take risks, and take the assured way out. Herman feels that the American Dream is impossible. Herman represents a certain “Mexican Machismo” compared to Santiago, as each of them grew up in different cultures (Kwauk 79). Santiago does keep strong ties to his Mexican heritage and Christian faith throughout the film, but identifies with the Los Angeles community. As minorities in the US, the Munez family is barely surviving and the idea is that the new business would bring in more money. However, Santiago’s grandmother secretly sells her valuables to get Santiago a plane ticket to England. Besides the theme of the father-son relationship, another theme of the film—Santiago’s dependence on others—is ongoing. Against his father’s wishes, Santiago proceeds to follow his “American Dream.”

I argue that although he is going to England to follow his dream, it is considered the American Dream because the opportunities he found in America are the reason he can follow his dream of playing soccer professionally in the first place.

Work opportunities in America for his father and himself allowed him to support the Munez family, development and maturity in the United States made him believe in the American Dream, Santiago’s Grandmother was given the opportunity to sell her valuables in America (To make money for Santiago), Santiago was given the opportunity to be recognized by an English soccer scout in America, and finally, the freedom and flexibility to create new businesses in America allowed Herman to make more money to support Santiago’s family while Santiago was

overseas.
Why do Santiago and Herman disagree on the American Dream? Was Herman’s dream really just to make good enough money so his family could live? I do not think so. Herman probably had his own childhood dreams, but realized later in life that his sole purpose was to support his family at all costs. “The immigrant’s American dream is a life of betterment, a life that is better than the one that the immigrant escaped from and the one that s/he faces now” (Kwauk 85). No, Herman does not achieve the American Dream as probably hoped (spoiler alert—he dies later in the film). But what held back Herman from allowing his oldest child to do so? Herman was very hard working, disproving the opinion of “If you were poor, you obviously just didn’t try hard enough” to achieve the American Dream (Sternheimer 8). Determined, Santiago had dreamt bigger and believed in himself more than his father. Santiago wanted to utilize his soccer skills and talent. Santiago did not achieve his dream on his own. As mentioned earlier, Santiago used the help of others to achieve his dream
Santiago goes from poverty in Mexico to a somewhat better lifestyle in Los Angeles. It is clear that he has not reached the American Dream and has not left the lower economic class. This is due to the run-down community portrayal that Director Danny Cannon includes. Even though his living conditions and success in America would still be considered lower class, what explains the differences the motivation to leave Mexico for the United States? The answer is simple: opportunity.
The general opinion is that United States has more opportunity for economic and social class mobility. However, Sternheimer seems to think that the idea of social class mobility in American Dream is a façade, “Hollywood has historically produced the dreams that fuel the belief that America is a place where true social mobility exists…” (Sternheimer 10). Is there truly better social class mobility in the United States? Santiago’s story makes a good case that there is. Ross Collin interprets that the motivation for immigrants to come to America includes, “work yielded job security, a degree of material comfort, and opportunities for one’s children” (Collin 162). Why didn’t Herman let Santiago take the opportunity to follow his dream? Having Santiago be a manual laborer his entire life is prohibiting him from achieving his dream.
Our country has a never give up attitude.

It may be that Mexican culture’s idea of lifestyle success is different from America’s. Based upon Herman, he is very hard working and will never give up to support his family. Herman and Santiago grew up in different settings. The common path and goal for American people is to get educated, attend college, and get a job with a well paying salary. Even President Obama has stated, “The American Dream is construed as a force driving actors to succeed in school and, ultimately, in the larger world of work” (Collin 165). College was not an option for Santiago. Between 5 and 10 percent of illegal immigrant 65,000 high school graduates attend college per year (Gonzales). In Herman’s mind, paying for a trip to England wasn’t in the cards either. It may have been in Herman’s blood to think that Santiago should continue to have Santiago be involved in manual labor, because it paid the

bills.
Danny Cannon’s portrayal of Santiago’s perseverance to always find a way to reach his goal is what makes his story great. Santiago battles the adversity of being a minority with no money, a single parent, in a different country that speaks a different language, that is somewhat new for him and his family. This is an important point in Post-Colonial Criticism of this film. Does Santiago actually have the same odds and equal opportunity of achieving the American Dream as white people? Is he at a disadvantage because of his race, his beginnings, and his dependencies? Is it worth it to pursue the American Dream? Herman says in the film that there are two types of people in the world, “People in big houses, and people who cut their lawns and wash their cars” (Kwauk 86). Herman’s idea of the American Dream correlates with Sternheimer’s as she states, “Thus, we are complicit in our desire to believe that the idea of the American Dream is real, and celebrity stories help us enjoy the dream vicariously.” Why does Santiago’s father categorize his son as one who will cuts lawns and wash cars for living at such a young age? “Santiago wants something better in life than what his father has set for him” (Kwauk 85). Santiago realizes that the life of manual labor is not for him, but his father tells him to not believe in his dream. Santiago refuses to listen to his father’s realities.
Santiago is initially forced into a job category of doings things that others would not do. This ideology leads me to believe that Santiago could have faced racial stereotypes and judgments from onlookers while working. Santiago refuses to let this bother his work ethic. Santiago asked even asks for a promotion from busboy to waiter, but the manager at the Chinese restaurant told him no, because he was not Asian. Obviously this was unfair to Santiago, but despite his setbacks, Santiago would not let anything hinder his hard work and dreams. I think that Santiago was an excellent role model for his younger brother too, which played a role in his mature behavior.