Thank you for stating that which I should have added to my comments way up above. Those of us who are seeking the “Hollywood Dream” are seeking something that may or may not be what fulfills us as human beings. I will admit there are so many other careers that we could persue. And they could just as likely fulfill us in the same way as the “HD”.

In a general, real world sense, I wish for everybody to find what they are good at doing, and make a happy life for themselves and their family sustained by the rewards that come through efforts that seem effortless. There are people who can find happiness in making toilet paper as long as they know that their family is being cared for in the best possible way. May all of us be so fortunate.

BTW, I stumbled upon a rather interesting article about “paying dues”:

http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/04/15/paying-dues-is-so-old-school/

@Crash – Nice book! Maybe you should add a chapter in which our hero tries out one, two or fifteen other careers before finding something else that he loves and is successful at.

I just listened to an interview with the late John Updike tonight. He remarked that in the 1950’s, one’s job was just a means to an end, a paycheck. There wasn’t the maniacal devotion to one’s career (80-hour work-weeks and all) that there is today. Nothing wrong with being maniacally devoted to something you love, but I think it’s safe to say that a lot of chronic workaholism has nothing to do with love of any kind.

This is a debatable point, to be sure. But I give you the example of the Soviet Union. Why did the communists fail in Russia? For lack of Ballerinas? Gymnasts? Physicists? Or was it lack of toilet paper?

The Soviets were great at producing the olympic athletes and the Bolshoi was always operating with a full complement of world class ballet dancers. All the jobs that were “passions” had plenty of folks lining up for them.

The problem is, someone has to make the toilet paper. A lackluster job, but a necessary one. If it isn’t done, then a lot of us are going to be noticing it (much to our collective embarassment.) There are a lot of jobs that are not going to get into the newspaper, or make you famous, or make you fabulously wealthy, but are extremely important. Our culture demeans those jobs and the people who do them.

Consider Nursing. These people are the eyes of a hospital. If they are not on their game, people get sicker and some die. This is a tough, often thankless job. Without nursing, no doctor in America could be famous.

We all glorify the surgeon that “pulls off the miracle”, all the while forgetting the nurses, techs, and other physicians that all work hard to keep the patient alive for the “miracle save”.

The issue is not whether someone should stay in a job that they see as a “dead end.” Rather it is our media and culture’s view of labor. We used to see an honest day at work as honorable and something worth celebrating. Now we see that as something for the chumps.

In a culture that gives two shakes about Paris Hilton, its hard to look at life as a CPA and think that this is how I should spend it.

In the culture that we used to have, life as a CPA would be celebrated. A young man took on a difficult course of study, got his degree, passed a difficult licensing exam, got a good job and is taking good care of his family. He was a man to be admired. Children were taught to look up to guys like that. To study hard and get ahead so they could have a good life like that.

We lost something.

Dreams are the bedrock of civilization. We dream to get out of the cave and into the trees. We dream to be able to send our kids to college. We dream to be a star. Whatever dream you have, I say go for it. But you have to accept that, for whatever reason, you may not reach that dream. And if that happens, what is your next choice? Lay down and die, or figure out what your next choice is?

A couple of platitiudes here:

a) If it was easy, everybody would be doing it.
b) It’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey.
c) You don’t always get what you want, but you get what you need.

Add your own to support the idea. But you understand, don’t you, that life is what you make it, and if you want to go for something, just take responsibility for your actions.

There’s a lot of people in this world that are able to settle in and do the work-a-day job and come home and enjoy the family and neighbors and the weekends. More power to them. Very admirable. But when I was back east working summer jobs in the factories from 10th grade to the time I left college, I learned that I didn’t want to live that life. Now, several decades later, I’m still trying to find my way to some version of the Hollywood dream I had. And I’ve gone down more than one path to get here.

I don’t think I’ll be bagging groceries at 60, but it may be another type of job that some of you, along with my “successful” middle management brother at a very large software company, would look down upon. If that’s the case, I think I’ll still be trying to reach my dream. I may die never achieving it, but at least I tried. And believe me, I’m not upset with never having a wife and kids and a mortgage to pay. It might have been nice, but that hasn’t work out with the choices I made.

Where I think the movie will succeed for me is making clear the argument that you have to be true to what you want out of life. Don’t delude yourself thinking you want one thing then bitchin’ when all your efforts go into something else.

most don’t get the ending. they think the character has given up.never figured a way to write that clearer.

i see a lot of people who destroy themselves trying to make it out here. they leave town crushed, and never try to do anything creative again. being rejected by hollywood in no way means someone lacks talent. and there is no reason they can’t go back to middle-of-nowhere nebraska and make a movie there.

I agree that both sides in this debate have a point and it boils down to a question of definition of success and happiness.

The two most content people I’ve ever know where my father’s parents – born sharecroppers who worked factory jobs and lived off meager social security – who spent their days on the front porch – like John Lennon – which the wheels go round and round – or took comforting pleasure in tending a summer garden.

Hollywood doesn’t make films about them. And I can understand why. It would be hard to make a movie about such people entertaining. (But, it also sounds like an artistic challenge…no?)

But, Hollywood does tend to make movies telling audiences that suburbia is the ninth ring in Dante’s hell. That getting up everyday to do a boring job —– and raising a family and enjoying a community and taking pleasure in simply things —– is a waste of life.

When in reality, many more people than the limited community of artists do in fact find something worthwhile in weekend softball tournaments, bowling, NASCAR, spending time with family, or even taking tender care of their lawns.

…I personally can’t understand the attraction of NASCAR and haven’t gone bowling in years and don’t care how green the grass in my own little pasture looks —- but I don’t begrudge the contentment of those who do……and I’m certainly not going to go out and try to convince them they are wasting their lives….