Is the true hero of this movie the indian guy??
well OK, the boys have more fun, but they have little future...
i mean...ok i would also prefer a live of alcohol drugs and girls, than a live full of work...
this movie opened my eyes, in that direction, that...: you just have to have enóugh money to buy your booze and your home!
I don't think there are any "true heroes" in this movie.
The Indian guy was certainly a sympathetic character. For one thing, he had to put up with a lot of harassment during the course of the movie. He was the only person in the movie who was truly working his ass off trying to climb the ladder of the American dream. He actually had goals and ideals. And, perhaps, he was right about the kids in Suburbia. However, one gets the sense that he was only this way because he originally came from a completely different environment. Unlike the kids in Suburbia, he wants to become a part of the suburban lifestyle. The American dream is still valuable and important to him. And, of course, it is only important because he has never had it. I wouldn't say that he is a hero, though.
What will happen to our favorite convenience store clerk after he achieves his dream? He will become a part of the suburban world. The kids in Suburbia show that the world he wants to enter is not as idealistic and perfect as he makes it out to be... Of course, one can live a better life style and live a life that is certainly more rewarding than working at a convenience store, but that is besides the point. The point is that his blind devotion to the American dream keeps him from understanding exactly "why" these kids throw it all away. He has a reason to achieve the dream, but did he ever think that these kids have no reason... that they already have the dream and that is the reason why they don't hold it up as the highest of values? The difference between the kids in Suburbia and the Indian is that they interpret the world differently. The kids in Suburbia already have everything... and it is a well known fact that once you have something it is no longer as appealing as it used to be.
The point is that his particular viewpoint is very one sided. He is the outsider in the movie who is not only looking upon directionless kids, but he is also looking upon the results of a person who is born and raised in the world of the suburbs. The irony of his character is that his hopes for the future are to raise his kids in this very same environment.
Well, he was Pakistani, actually.
Anyway, I would say he is the only character who is not shown to be completly pathetic. I don't know if "heroic" is the correct label, but he's certainly the voice of reason.
Illum, you raised a good point, but I think you're missing something. What I get to be the overall point of this movie is what the clerk says at the very end, the very last line.
"You people are so stupid. What's wrong with you? You throw it all away!"
It's true that his goal is to become a successful suburban engineer and raise middle-class kids, but it won't be hollow to them. Coming from where he comes from, he'll appreciate it.
To me, the fact of how spoiled they all are is kind of the point of the movie.
"Illum, you raised a good point, but I think you're missing something. What I get to be the overall point of this movie is what the clerk says at the very end, the very last line.
It's true that his goal is to become a successful suburban engineer and raise middle-class kids, but it won't be hollow to them. Coming from where he comes from, he'll appreciate it.
To me, the fact of how spoiled they all are is kind of the point of the movie."
That is a pretty good point.
However, I think the original poster meant that these kids were born into this world... they have already experienced it and lived it. I agree with you about the convenience store clerk. The dream is certainly not hollow to him, but that is just another case of the "grass is greener" on the other side syndrome. You could say the same thing about Pony, who's success everyone envies. He has obtained another kind of "American dream" and everyone believes that, once again, the grass is greener on the other side. However, Pony makes it quite clear that his life is no cakewalk and that there is a lot of work involved. He also makes it clear that his personal freedom has been very limited because of his rising fame. The convenience store clerk believes that his life will be infinitely better and more meaningful if he joins that world. And, yes, I am sure that he will appreciate it because he has had to work his way up from scratch in order to obtain it. However, he doesn't realize that the reason why those kids are so disenchanted with life is because they were born and raised in that same shallow, artificial, and empty fast food culture world that he yearns to join. He doesn't realize that the reason why those kids have no values is because the world that they were raised in has no value in it. This movie is more than just being about a bunch of "losers," it is a condemnation and attack on the empty and valueless consumer driven world of the suburbs.
You both raise good points but I agree with I11um's point a bit more. The Suburbs have more to offer in the way of a quality of life and potential for a better future and the Pakistani store clerk knows this. The youths just don't see the forest but the trees because everything has been handed to them. They lack the courage and ambition to leave the world they condemn to follow their dreams, the Pakistanis are well on their way in this pursuit.
shareThe suburbs do not offer a quality life you are cut off and isolated and dependent on cars and cheap gas. A mass exodus of young people are moving back to the city, riding the bus and bicycles, moving into walkable "new urbanism" communities, etc. the suburbs are a bankrupt dead idea propped up by the military industry and massive government subsidies. They are pathetic.
shareSeems younger people in general love excitement and the big city, etc. as I did when I was a teen and in my early 20's.
As I get older however I'm becoming increasingly jaded, and I now have decided I mostly hate people, hate crowds, and hate the bustle of the city. Now I just wish I had a nice sized home somewhere quiet where I don't have to interact with anyone if I don't want to.
Perhaps it has to do with me being naturally introverted, or just feeling drained when interacting with too many people on a regular basis, but to me the suburbs sound like heaven.
You're spot on about Pony's personal freedom, or lack thereof. Once you become a "star" (be it in sports, music, or movies/TV), you become someone else's property. And they don't want to let go of their investment.
Farts! Double farts! Turds! Double Turds!
--Caddyshack, 1980