Though it is never specified in the film, Vanilla Sky takes place sometime at the turn of the century, either 1999 or 2000. It turns out that David is actually having a nightmare. “ What the hell is going on?” he and the audience must be asking. He continues on, eventually stopping his car in the middle of an empty Times Square. He drives to work, and on the way there, he, and we, begin to realize that the streets aren’t quiet. Tom Cruise plays David Aames, billionaire and owner of a successful publishing company, who wakes up one morning to a quiet New York City. Vanilla Sky is about America losing its grip on reality in favor of a comforting falsehood. At least, that’s how I’ve managed to see it, as I’ve often revisited it over the past 20 years. In late 2001, a film was released that somehow managed to warn us about our current social climate.

In my lifetime, two events occurred that helped shape the America in which I now live: 9/11 and the advent of social media. When did this change happen, and where did it come from? Success, usually financial, is still a part of it, but so is this idea of “us versus them.” In time, I believe that Dream has evolved to encapsulate what it means to be a true American. The American Dream was about being a success, usually self-made. Growing up, I heard about the American Dream a lot, not so much from my parents but from media like movies and television.

Vanilla sky