Here’s Dennis Hopper fronting for Ameriprise Financial, with another take on the American Dream:
“Your generation is definitely not headed for bingo night. In fact, you could write a book on how you’re going to turn retirement upside down.” — Dennis Hopper, 2008
I “interviewed” for a position at Ameriprise a couple of years ago. I put that in quotes because the interview consisted of a short test, to see if I could add; a brief question and answer session to determine if I was interested in the position; and a quick phone test. The phone test involved trying to convince the person on the other end to buy something. You earned more points if you could keep them on the phone longer. I must have passed, because I was offered a “job”; I did not take it, because I couldn’t see myself forcing retirement plans on people. It wasn’t my idea of the American Dream.
Hopper’s got quite a long career talking about how great retirement’s going to be. Here’s something from forty years ago:
“We did it, man. We did it, we did it. We’re rich, man. We’re retirin’ in Florida now, mister.”
That’s Hopper as Billy in Easy Rider, made in 1968 and released in 1969. Hopper was also the director. The movie’s about a couple of guys who smuggle drugs into America. Then they go “looking for America and couldn’t find it anywhere…” Peter Fonda plays a guy named Wyatt, who answers Hopper’s claim of victory with, “You know, Billy, we blew it.”
Here’s how the movie ends. Warning: if you haven’t seen it before and would like to, or if you’re an Ameriprise client, you may not want to watch this.
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