Max Payne and the Curse of the American Dream
This fourth of July, as a born and raised American, I don’t think there’s any reason to be excited about celebrating America right about now. We’re currently watching the result of decades of ideology, oppression, and corruption unfold at once after accumulating into an administration that is equally incompetent at their job as they are destructive for the world. If you know what America’s history looks like, it doesn’t seem far-fetched that the country would eventually give in to fascism. These changes always seem to start out small; history has shown that one person’s dreams and actions might just be all that’s needed to start some real change. It’s clear now that America’s dreams aren’t ours, not the millions who live in the country, but rather of the few who want to take control of it all. So, are we just forced to live at the whim of these desperate grasps at a dream before something new blossoms or can we still control the direction of this country’s future? To ease my own sick mind, I took a look at Max Payne and Max Payne 2 for some answers and felt like the man with nothing left to lose had everything I wanted to hear.
Max Payne is the most memorable part of his games. It’s not the “bullet time” or the gritty noir cinematic style mixed with experimental graphic novel storytelling–albeit, these are part of why the game is fantastic–but it’s the struggles, motivations, and monologues of Max Payne himself. Max’s voice actor, James McCaffrey, passed away in 2023 and while I was listening to the sick as hell Max Payne Main Theme on youtube I came across a litany of comments of people quoting Max. It was sweet, of course, and I spent a while just scrolling and admiring how many people also found this game to be special. However, one quote stuck out to me and has continued to stick with me when writing this: “The American Dream come true. But dreams have a nasty habit of going bad when you're not looking.” It was funny, thinking about the hundreds of bullets I fired as Max into hundreds of bodies, all in slow motion of course, and remembering why Max was doing this in the first place.
It’s easy to forgo thinking about the implications of Max’s cop profession or questioning the absurdity of its story, but for Max it’s simple as can be. Sheer coincidence was all that was needed to get him to raise hell against those who didn’t just rob him, but his family of the chance to live. The American Dream that Max refers to was idyllic in the truest sense of the word, but it’s clear that not everyone shares the same idea. The first two Max Payne games showcase Max as he unwinds a series of corrupt politicians and businessmen with no limits to their greed and disregard for the people and world around them for a chance for a little power and a little more money. It echoes the “American dream” we’re all a bit more familiar with at this point. Max’s dream is crushed and another’s gets closer to being true, but the only thing left to do is to fight for a better future, fighting against what turned the dream bad.
One thing is simple about Max and it’s that he’s a complicated guy. He’s living with a broken heart and a spirit that’s been broken and picked itself back up about a dozen times. The pain he carries is latent throughout his venge-filled rampages, dizzying nightmares of guilt and self-loathing, and how he thinks about the world around him. Of course though, behind the pain is love whether it be for his dead family or Mona Sax.
As a contract killer, Mona and Max end up crossing paths multiple times and get romantically involved with each other which gets expanded and focused on in Max Payne 2. Without getting too muddled in the details, Mona’s life is pretty damn gritty and depressing too and she and Max get along great when they aren’t working against each other. We are even given the chance to play as Mona in a moment where she’s desperately looking to save Max, shedding the tough exterior of the Max Payne franchise for a momentary display of human connection and love. However, good things don’t last and after Mona and Max finish battling through a mansion, she gets unceremoniously shot in the back. Without her, Max would have never gotten this far and only because of her, he is able to finally kill the man who was partially responsible for his wife’s death and whose men have been hunting both him and Mona down all game.
Love in Max Payne is never without pain that follows. The ending of Max Payne 2 is beautiful as it shows Max becoming spiritually reborn through the love and suffering he endured, allowing him to understand his own self in a new way only because of those like Mona. As an extension of Max’s dreams, his love is ultimately everlasting and endearing, acting as the shining light deep in Max’s core that refuses to be deterred by the trauma and aching he carries. Max’s final lines of the game ring out against a silent soundscape: “I had a dream of my wife. She was dead. But it was all right.” Having finally woken up from his American Dream, Max can come to terms with his past and present, living life at peace once again.
It’s safe to say the same American dream that has brought immigrants to this country looking for a fresh start or let entrepreneurs pave a path for themselves is also the same one that has led to this administration punishing us for their gain. The dream hasn’t died yet, not with these people still in power pushing for a future that bends to their incessant greed and need for control. It’s time for us to wake up from this dream. Wake up and realize that the love we have doesn’t need to be for nothing whether it's love for the opportunities here, love for the culture and art developing across the country, or love for the grassroots connections that seem to pop up everywhere.
It's the fourth of July, and it’s clear nowadays that there’s no reason to love America right now. Despite all of the pain that the people leading this country have decided to place upon its citizens, I still think there’s a chance for a future. Max Payne probably wouldn’t be able to deal with something on this scale, but he understands something crucial about people like this. Their dreams aren’t realistic and, sooner or later, when they get woken up, they’ll get what they deserve. We do not have to fight for our dreams because they have been crushed already, instead we can continue to fight for the people and things that matter in life. By fighting, we prove that we are victims and by proving we are victims, we ultimately end up fighting against evil.
Check out the Max Payne games. I haven’t played Max Payne 3 (and have no plans to), but I’m sure it’s probably fun! And, of course, happy Fourth of July.