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California as Paradise in Film
Term Paper ID:27161
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Essay Subject:
Examines the image of California as portrayed in films such as GRAPES OF WRATH, LA STORY, & BOYZ N THE HOOD, which seem to present California as either a paradise or a dystopic nightmare.... More...
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3 Pages / 675 Words
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Paper Abstract:
Examines the image of California as portrayed in films such as GRAPES OF WRATH, LA STORY, & BOYZ N THE HOOD, which seem to present California as either a paradise or a dystopic nightmare.
Paper Introduction:
The image of California as a paradise is rightly questioned by Julian Marais. California seems to many outsiders to be a paradise in terms of personal freedom, labor opportunities, and climate. This is an image of California often found in films which present a constantly warm and sunny climate, and beaches populated by healthy, carefree young people. However, there are movies which present a darker and more realistic side of California, which portray problems from crime and social unrest to natural disasters.
Those who believe in the paradise-like image of California flock to the state seeking the "absence of limitation" they see on behavior and opportunity, and the supposed "lack of difficulty" inherent in California living. Yet clearly Californians face many of the same problems found in other parts of th
Text of the Paper:
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We have only to consider more recent instances of exploitation ofMexican farmworkers and braceros to see that this sort of treatment hasrecurred again and again in California history. Those who do not find work inagriculture may often be seen looking for odd jobs by waiting in front ofpaint stores, hardware stores, or lawn and garden shops. Steinbeck was not exaggerating the nature of labor relations in the193 s and the degree to which those who had land and power used both topreserve their position and to prevent others from gaining power andposition. The Chinese had beenbrought in as low-wage workers and had then been discriminated against bythose fearing the existence of such a workforce. A look at the California of the past fiveyears, though, shows a state beset by floods, earthquakes, and fires, and aclose look shows that people encounter as many limitations in California aselsewhere, though perhaps in different ways. The mythic image of Californians having a climate that lets them lazeabout all summer and to avoid the kinds of weather gridlock experienced inthe east is simply unrealistic. However,there are movies which present a darker and more realistic side ofCalifornia, which portray problems from crime and social unrest to naturaldisasters. While still other films,like L.A. The image of California as a paradise is rightly questioned by JulianMarais. California is neitherheaven nor hell, just someplace in between. California seems to many outsiders to be a paradise in terms ofpersonal freedom, labor opportunities, and climate. Yet clearly Californians face many of the same problems found inother parts of the country, and problems unique to the state. Story, ignore such problems and show a lighter friendlier (thoughquite superficial) side to the city. This is an image ofCalifornia often found in films which present a constantly warm and sunnyclimate, and beaches populated by healthy, carefree young people. Labor problems had always been at their worst in agriculture.Steinbeck's story might easily be applied to an immigrant family fromMexico today. Films treat California in a very ambivalent way. Steinbeck knows California well and conveys amessage about how wrong-headed the actions of the state were in the 193 sas people tried to find a better life for themselves and instead discoveredthat the business and political interests of the state were arrayed againstthem. Look back a few decades and California was then also seen as aparadise, and yet even then there was a sense of something more sinisterbeneath the surface. Poverty there may make California seem like a paradisewaiting with good good jobs, liberal social services, and equitabletreatment, yet such people are more often treated poorly by employers andas unwelcome outsiders by others. There seems to bevery little middle ground, California is either represented as a trueparadise or a fool's paradise. Yet in addition to labor strife, there is also crime and social unrestthat is depicted in films, like Boyz in the Hood, an urban coming of agedrama about inner-city Los Angeles black youth. The ultimate message is that the people should join together tofight such injustice, and this is a message that seems proper in theCalifornia of the that era. California had experienced considerable tension as the labormovement had started organizing in the state, and the plight of the so-called Oakies revived the same tensions and the same concerns on bothsides. This can be seen John Steinbeck's The Grapes ofWrath, a story about the people from the Dust Bowl in the Depression whotried to find a new life in California and encountered discrimination andexploitation there instead. Some movies feed into the constantfear of natural disaster for the area, while others present only the bestthat the state has to offer. The state had indeed shown earlier than that a willingness to exploitothers and then to blame them for being exploited. There isunrest and crime in the cities, overpriced real estate, and a generallyhigh cost of living. Any of these portrayals of California may in fact be accurate, butgenerally they do not supply the larger context. Families like the Joadscame to California in the Depression and were treated in much the samemanner. It is either the landof free thinking or closed minds, of health and wealth or poverty andcrime. It is either a climactic haven or the landof floods, earthquakes, and other natural disasters. We might note the labor violence of the depression era in thestate, and Steinbeck portrays the dynamics of this violence and of thetensions that produced it. Those who believe in the paradise-like image of California flock tothe state seeking the "absence of limitation" they see on behavior andopportunity, and the supposed "lack of difficulty" inherent in Californialiving.
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