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Dr. Evil One Million Dollars
Dr. Evil One Million Dollars

Who wouldn't want to be a millionaire? Entertainment Weekly's Christopher Rosen argues that even though $1 million doesn't get you as far today as it did a few years ago, it is still the benchmark that people reach for when it comes to saving, winning, marrying into or even ransoming money. Hollywood and pop culture use a million bucks as shorthand for the American Dream, Rosen says. Making $1 million means you've made it to the top.

Rosen points to movies from the 1930s to present day that focus on $1 million, all the way from 1932's If I Had a Million to the Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire, Hollywood feeds our fascination with a million dollars.