Reëxamining the American Dream in “The Last Carnival”

Away from the rides and games of a busy fairground is another world. A group of men, immigrants who work at the carnival, live together in trailers. The short documentary by Tucker Morrison, Samuel Ott, and Anthony Wilson shows a day in the life of these laborers—brushing their teeth with bottled water as they get ready in the morning, unwinding together with beers and songs in the evening. In between, they keep the carnival operating, working twelve hours a day for three dollars an hour. Against a backdrop of families enjoying a day out together at the fairgrounds, one man reflects on being far from his own family, missing his loved ones, and the dream that brought him to America. His time on the job has changed his definition of the American Dream—he’s not sure it’s really about happiness at all, just the never-ending requirement to keep working.