The Hype: Television As the year 2000 approaches, many Americans are looking back at the goals set by their parents and grandparents generations ago. As they look back, they see a startling revelation. The goals of a prosperous life and a happy family are farther away from being attained than they were for their ancestors. Why? What has changed so much over the last fifty years that have driven families apart and crippled the American Dream? The answer is obvious. It is obvious at school, at work, and at home. Consumerism. In the last twenty years, there has been a rapidly increasing trend towards mass consumption.