Over the past few years, the motion picture industry has gone through a dynamic shift in how they portray characters on the big screen. Part of this transformation embraces the current narrative of how our society has evolved. During the Golden Age of cinema, movies portrayed common people in a completely different light. Movies were – for lack of a better term – glamorous. The people portrayed were who we wanted to be, rather than who we could identify with. The roles idealized the dreams that society held. Especially during bleak times like the Great Depression and WWII, society turned to cinema to find who or what they aspired to become. And the places that these characters called home were a direct reflection of both where people wanted to live and where the American dream would evolve.
Up until the 1990s, the characters we watched in the movies were predominantly homeowners. Stylized period pieces such as Gone With the Wind and Casablanca portrayed a past where it seemed everyone lived in incredibly stylish (and large) homes. Even westerns and early fantasy pieces reflected a time of white picket fences and prosperity as set pieces of American culture.
But, as the American dreamed evolved, so did its portrayal in cinema. Apartment life became a greater focus as a habitat for both character backgrounds and plot points of movies. In The Apartment (1960) and West Side Story (1961), common people living the apartment life took center stage, and both movies won the Oscar for best picture in their respective years. Throughout the 1970s, characters from today and yesterday were brought to life and movies featured a glimpse into their lives as apartment renters. Best Picture Oscars were awarded to Rocky (1976), Annie Hall (1977) and Kramer vs. Kramer (1979).
In today’s motion picture landscape, action fantasy – especially those featuring superheroes – get the majority of the buzz. However, more and more of the impactful and endearing movies of today’s generation are backdropped within apartments. This year’s most nominated film, La La Land, focuses on the lives of two Los Angeles apartment dwellers. Plus, many other films featuring apartment life have received much notoriety in recent years.
The American dream is reflected in movies. It is not only a reflection of where we are today, but where we are heading tomorrow. Apartment living is taking a greater and greater presence — both on the screen and in real life. Maybe the dream is no longer of white picket fences and a two car garage. Maybe the dream is one of flexibility in living, where experiences and what you do outside the walls you call home take priority over the accumulation of possessions, which require larger and larger spaces for their storage and display. The future belongs to apartments and those who call them home.
If you dream of finding the perfect apartment where you can kick up your feet and binge-watch Netflix, then you should start your search on www.apartmentsearch.com. There you will find the only free-to-use national apartment locating service that actually pays you for using it. Just make sure to tell your leasing agent that you found your new apartment on ApartmentSearch, and you can earn up to $200 in rewards. All that is left is to set up your sofa, TV, and pop some popcorn.
