Diego Martinez

ENG 465

Final Project

“Money is your Character.”

Money judges the way you are as a character. You may see yourself or even others act

differently than you whether they are from a low to mid-income family or a high-income family.

There is a noticeable difference, you may see how they dress, how they are at home and treated,

or even by seeing how their personality is. All of this can be shown by how you live your life or

how much money you have. We see all types of families that all show different types of incomes,

but do we know how films bring in their ways? Film and media are a perfect example of how

they represent the rich and poor. What is it like to have financial stability? We see films as if

they represent us or we see films where we want to be that character as they are living a better

life, all in which money comes into place.

Most of us have seen films in which the main character is struggling with money, or we

have seen a movie where the main character has money and has no worries at all. The economic

struggle is a crisis that even in the modern world struggles to fight, some say that money is never

the answer but your economic stability is the way you survive with food on the table, a roof over

your head, and a reason you are here today. You can look around at the things you have, and

everything is worth a price; whether it’s your phone, computer, TV, books, and your home. All

of it is worth a certain amount of money. Companies are built on our economic stability. In our

heads, we see a world where we want everything to be perfect but unfortunately, reality does hit

and cause some to struggle, but there is a film where they enter a reality where everything they
have ever wanted becomes reality. Ready Player One is one of those movies, in the modern

world “Wade” the main character does not have much money, he struggles to live a life he

enjoys but once he enters his reality, he makes his vision where everything is the way he wants.

Money is a factor as they enter a competition that will add financial stability to their everyday

life. They experience a problem where a huge corporation enters as well and wants to end the

reality for others. Power is what that corporation had, they were feared, and they were reckless

for the money. In the end, Wade won that competition and did not let the money affect him, he

shared it with his peers and with reality for others to enjoy, he fixed areas around his

neighborhood so that everyone was able to have a roof over their head.

Let’s think of your opposite, if you were to be classified as a low-income family, how

would your life change if you were in a high-income family? Would your life be completely

different, or would it be the same? A low-income family in Phoenix, Arizona are those who are

below the federal poverty line, making roughly less than $37,000 a year for only one person in

the household. The numbers change drastically where for a family household of two is

approximately $42,000 which is a $7,000 difference. That number may seem low to some but for

those in a low-income household, $7,000 is a massive difference (Oh, Soo). Having the money to

buy the things you want is the American dream, but there are those restrictions in the

government that stop you in your tracks, like citizenship, the federal minimum wage, and

inexperience. All of which contribute to how much you make. A film called The Banker (2020)

shows an African American man living the American dream after the constitution made

“everyone equal”, he shows that he put dedication into being in the spot he was from poor to a

very successful businessman and by defying the purpose that he was a colored person. He did not

use the money that he earned for his personal preferences but to help other colored Americans
live the American dream and make sure they are heard while living their best life. One quote he

states in the film is “You can’t build wealth when you are excluded from the American dream.

Why is it so important for you to exclude an entire race of people from the American dream.”

Throughout the movie, he was targeted for wearing the clothes he was wearing, for being a

colored man in a business suit, being called names, and more but it all came down to him being a

colored man with money.

Reality hits when we don’t want it to, whether you have the money or not. Being judged

because of who you are, the way you dress, and what you believe in plays a saddening fact in our

world. We often want to see a perfect reality but it will never happen. Money is a crucial part of

today’s world and often describes the way you live your life. Having money or barely affording

items are two separate lives in our world, whether you are homeless or living in a mansion,

everyone should be treated the same and should not be disrespected based on how much money

they have. Films and media all have their point of view on how to treat the aspect of money, all

of which can be true or can be a false reality, but it all ends with those people realizing what the

benefit of money is and its consequences as well.

References:

Oh, Soo. “Here's What You Have to Earn to Be Considered Low-Income in the US.” Vox, Vox,
20 Apr. 2017, https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/4/20/15343720/housing-
income-limits.