Attempting to achieve the "American Dream" is the constant effort of typical people to acquire a better, richer, and happier life. It gives people and their families hope for a better standard of living and a positive goal to work towards every day. But achieving the American dream doesn't always lead to happiness and a comfortable income. For some people, obtaining an adequate living environment is not enough. Those who attempt to move beyond something they have already led are heading toward a life of greed, corruption, and guilt. Robert Redford portrays the latter in achieving the American dream through his 1994 film Quiz Show, based on the true story of the television quiz show scandals of the 1950s. Quiz Show is a film about an NBC television show "Twenty One" in which two contestants secretly cheat to win large sums of money simply because they have access to it. The show's producers provide the two candidates, Herbert Stempel and Charles Van Doren, with the answers to the twenty-one questions asked, choosing the fate of the winners. This leads to questioning the honesty of the TV show and lawyer Dick Goodwin is assigned to investigate "Twenty One" in order to vindicate his suspicions once and for all. Quiz Show demonstrates how the lives of two different classes of men can be turned upside down due to greed and obtaining instant riches, common themes when discussing the American Dream. Quiz Show begins with lawyer Dick Goodwin enjoying a brand new Chrysler and wondering if the pursuit of materialistic things and money is the true desire of all Americans in the 1950s. The scene then changes to a new episode of "Twenty One" where the reigning champion Herbert Stempel is put in the middle of paper...... more money than necessary, the concept of greed, which led to his downfall. Quiz Show is Robert Redford's film version of a 1950s game show scandal that marked the end of a period of innocence in American social history. After that, people were no longer able to believe everything they saw on television. Redford presents his vision of the American dream through Quiz Show and evaluates the downsides of achieving and overachieving it. Quiz Show is based on a true story about three men who were drawn into a series of twisted events that changed their lives forever. All three men could have achieved the American dream without the promise of endless riches and upward mobility that awaited them at the end. Greed took over when this promise was presented to them and a humble rejection would have brought them closer than ever to deserved success..