The Multi-Faceted Dream of the Coast
by Vicky L. Oldham, August 1, 2022
The "American Dream," a phrase coined by James Truslow Adams (1931), expressed the belief that America was a land of opportunity, and any American could be successful regardless of their origins. "The Dream" meant that with effort, people's lives could improve in measurable ways, and upward mobility was possible in a country without artificially imposed limits. Adams wrote about the "...dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement" (Cullen, 2003, as cited in Adams, 1931, p. 7). A century before Adams' characterization, Alexis de Tocqueville referred to the Dream as "the charm of anticipated success" (Cullen, 2003, p. 5). in his classic work, Democracy in America, Tocqueville (1835) summarized the idea that equal opportunity lay at the heart of democracy. Over time, this concept evolved, bringing new challenges in the quest for success. Despite the shifting influences of history over two centuries, Americans held fast to the Dream, particularly "The Dream of the Coast" (Cullen, 2003, p. 159). This Dream began with a place but ended as a state of mind and utopian ideal.
After the phrase “American Dream" caught on, it persisted as a fluid expression with various meanings. Cullen (2003) says, “The omnipresence of “the American Dream” stems from a widespread—though not universal—belief that the concept describes something very contemporary” (p. 5). The dream of success inferred that one could get ahead with hard work and tenacity. The “Dream of the Coast” was different from the generic “American Dream” because it meant one could become an overnight success, “…achieved without obvious effort” (p. 9). Described as the dream of fame and fortune, the Dream of the Coast is among the most intriguing because it contends that success is possible through sheer luck, akin to winning the lottery. California became the focus of this aspiration for a variety of reasons.
The Dream of the Coast represents the embrace of a utopian ideal associated with the
A Fresh Start
Many people who settled in California sought a fresh start in life, believing the western coast to be a land of opportunity that offered refuge from past hardships and social injustice. The story of the first official citizens of California is a prime example of this quest. In 1818, Thomas Doak, a Bostonian, and his friend, known only as Bob, a Black man, traveled by ship to the California coast. Together they jumped ship, changed their identities to become Spanish citizens, and became the "first recorded permanent American residents of California" (Cullen, 2003, p. 168). Doak adopted the name Felipe Santiago, and Bob became Juan Cristobal; both converted to Catholicism and married local women. Cullen writes: "In coming from the East, discarding their identities, and leading a less onerous existence, they resembled many of those who followed—or, at least, the fondest hopes of many who followed" (p. 168). The fact that Bob and Doak took incredible risks to forge a new path underscored their (and others) desperation for a better life. To many who settled in California, giving up whatever they had before was well worth the cost.
In Search of Gold and Fortune
The Dream of the Coast assumed its distinctive contours with the dawn of the California gold rush. The discovery of a single gold nugget started a phenomenon of migration that continued for decades, drawing fortune seekers and then large mining companies that eventually gobbled up the land and its assets. “The notion that transformative riches were literally at your feet, there for the taking, cast a deep and lasting spell on the American imagination” (Cullen, 2003, p. 159). Searching for gold, the population of California exploded, from 12,000 emigres in 1848 to hundreds of thousands in less than a decade. Regardless of the desperate yearnings of so many to find gold (and by its discovery, strike it rich), many people lost everything in its relentless pursuit.
| Figure 1. Sailing Card for the Clipper ship California. |
Note: Sailing card for the clipper ship California, with California gold rush scenes. By G.F. Nesbitt & Co., printer, circa 1850. (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:California_Clipper_500.jpg). Wikimedia. In the public domain.
Dreams of California
The Gold Rush has long faded into a distant memory, but the Dream of the Coast still evokes irrepressible confidence in American ideals. Thinking of Southern California, one easily pictures suntanned, physically fit people relaxing on the beach, sailing, jogging, or biking along the ocean. By sundown, attractive couples and friends gather in the cafés of upscale seaside shopping villages for organic wines and bruschetta while logging into work remotely from their laptop computers. The scene is reminiscent of the cliché cartoon illustrating the spoils of financial success, living on a Caribbean island, gently rocking in hammocks under palm trees and sipping martinis. Leisure time in a perpetually idyllic setting is something the average working person longs for but doubts possible or available to them. The state of mind is best reflected in the song by The Mamas and the Papas, California Dreamin’, its lyrics describing the stark contrast between sunny California and the seemingly endless drab and cold of winter everywhere else:
All the leaves are brown (all the leaves are brown),
And the sky is gray (and the sky is gray),
I've been for a walk (I've been for a walk),
On a winter's day (on a winter's day),
I'd be safe and warm (I'd be safe and warm),
If I was in LA (if I was in LA),
California Dreamin’ on such a winter’s day. (Philips & Philips, 1965, v. 1)
With its favorable weather and beautiful beaches, California became a magnet for those who wished for a lifestyle far removed from America’s industrial centers. It was “…less about accumulating riches than about living off their fruits, and its symbolic location is not the bank but the beach" (p. 160). The Citrus Growers of Southern California understood this attraction and amplified the Dream with advertising posters of families playing together on a sunny beach (Cullen, 2003, p. 171). The Dream's focus narrowed to southern California by the early 20th century, as all roads led to Hollywood.
In Search of Fame and Fortune
Tales of chance encounters leading to an aspiring actor’s rise to stardom are legendary. Among the most famous accounts is that of a young, beautiful teenager who sat at the soda fountain at Schwab’s Drug Store on the Sunset Strip (a known hangout for film executives back in the day). In walked a mysterious stranger, later revealed to be a respected movie mogul with a major film studio. Enchanted with the girl, he asked her to do a screen test. The rest is history: she got the part and became a household name.
The story is partly true and describes how movie actress Lana Turner began her film career. The 16-year-old skipped a typing class to get a Coke at the Top Hat Café, one block away from her high school on Sunset Boulevard. The publisher of The Hollywood Reporter, Billy Wilkerson, spotted her there and asked the manager if he could meet “Judy” (her real name). He then introduced Judy, accompanied by her mother, to film agent Zeppo Marx, brother of Groucho and the other Marx brothers. Marx signed her to his agency, and Judy changed her name to Lana. Says Wilkerson’s son, “…no other Hollywood discovery has captured the collective imagination as much as Lana's. It has fed and perpetuated the rich fantasy that Hollywood is, after all, Dreamland” (Wilkerson, 1995, para. 30). Despite its rarity, stories like Lana's are notable for their transformative power and not just about the luck of a famous movie star; they motivate countless others who long for a better life.
Living Vicariously
The characters and situations portrayed in the virtual space of Hollywood allow us to imagine ourselves in another’s place. The movie experience is comparable to an amusement park ride with twists and turns, thrills and terrors, with the audience safely “strapped in” a comfortable theater seat or living room chair. Human nature compels our yearning for better worlds, expressing the need for utopias (or dystopias) created by the Hollywood entertainment complex, with the convenience of preexisting frameworks that encourage people to immerse themselves in otherwise unattainable realms. As a “law of utopian conservation,” Hollywood serves both creators—society’s writers, artists, musicians, and other creatives—and the audience receptive to its creations, those wishing to escape through the products of their expression. New ideas materialize at breakneck speed, faster than most people conjure their own, allowing society to participate in virtual scenarios contrived by others.
The Dream of a Classless Society
In addition to providing the framework for new and shared experiences, Hollywood films further perpetuate the myth of the American Dream through narratives that reinforce the idea that anyone can achieve success regardless of social status. In his book, The American Dream and Contemporary American Cinema, Winn (2007) shows how films continually promote the false belief that social class is not a barrier to success or that class distinction only exists as a superficial distraction from one’s goals. He points out that in Hollywood films, “…the American Dream and its related materialism are neither openly criticized nor doubted" (p. 130). Additionally, class identity is “…experienced in terms of individual success and failure; and class passage is offered as the reward for individual success” (p. 131). Winn compares dozens of popular films, from Working Girl (Nichols, 1988) to Good Will Hunting (Van Sant, 1997), to support his thesis. He provides statistics demonstrating the rise of significant class disparity since record-keeping began in 1949. Despite contradictory data, Hollywood continues to push the myth that class doesn’t matter, but if classes exist, upward mobility is still possible. If one fails to achieve success, it is their own fault.
The Dream—and Nightmare—of Celebrity
The first Hollywood film studios were established after 1900, including a group of studios that would later become Paramount Pictures (Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia, 2021). It didn’t take long for the cultural influences of "Tinsel Town," as it was known to catch on like wildfire and blaze beyond California's borders, affecting everyday Americans' lives in tangible ways. The idealization of Hollywood celebrities and the stories they brought to the big screen quickly morphed into larger-than-life, mythological status. Audiences didn’t just idolize the stars; they wanted to “BE” them, to emulate their looks, mannerisms, and popularity. During the same period, corporate America had also gained a degree of social control (Cullen, 2003). The forces of business and entertainment recognized their advantage to each other. With the rise of Hollywood’s influence on millions, it didn’t take long for companies to discover how effectively they could use celebrities to promote their products.
The appeal of the Hollywood version of the Dream of the Coast is reflected in the public's desperate need to believe its messages and experience the anticipation and excitement accompanying it. Unfortunately, despite plenty of examples, the Dream's dark side invokes denial of its potential dangers. Cullen (2003) warns of the insidious side of the Dream of the Coast. While the public is fixated on Hollywood's outward veneer marked by glamour and success, nightmarish accounts of celebrities once assumed insulated from life's harsh realities show the opposite is true. The untimely deaths of Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, and Michael Jackson are examples of megastars who died from drug overdoses at the pinnacle of their careers. Signs they needed help went unheeded, or their star status prevented anyone else from helping them. Their associates often preyed on their vulnerabilities. Many performers who seemed to "have it all" struggled to survive. Superstar comedian and acclaimed actor Robin Williams’ incomprehensible suicide is still fresh in fans' minds.
Some performers succeeded as children but could not cope with changes that come with age. For example, child actor turned wildly popular teen idol David Cassidy eventually slid into the abyss of alcohol and drugs (Appelo, 2018). At one time, his fan club was “bigger than the Beatles’ and Elvis’s put together” (para. 6). Sadly, he died of organ failure at the age of 67 in 2017.
Brian Wilson, the creative force behind the Beach Boys' songs (and the writer of lyrics that perfectly expressed the Dream of the Coast), was lured by Charles Manson and his “Family” into their social circle. Events stemming from Wilson’s encounter led to what could be described as the most horrifying celebrity tragedies of all time: the brutal murder of movie actress Sharon Tate and others by Manson’s deranged followers.
Figure 2. Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Conclusion
Within the constellation of American Dreams, The Dream of the Coast potentially offers the most utopian vision of all—yet is the most ephemeral and elusive. From the riveting tales of the Gold Rush to the stories about personalities willing to risk everything for new identities to the overwhelming mythological power of Hollywood, California marks the spot where buried treasure still lies, even if never to be found. Finding it, beware—one’s life may never be the same. The Dream of the Coast is like a multi-faceted gem, ever-alluring in its beauty while obscuring the insidious side about which Cullen (2003) cautions. It reveals itself in the real-life stories of stage and screen, in the lives of performers who shone brightly—but briefly. Some who dared to chase the Dream learned to navigate its treacherous undertow and rose to the top. Others joined the ranks of the lost, the forgotten, and even the deranged, clinging to delusions of relevance well past their prime, far from the lights and red carpet. Actress Gloria Swanson’s role as the aging, demented former film megastar Norma Desmond from the film noir classic Sunset Boulevard (Wilder, 1950) illustrates this tragic reality with almost sarcastic irony. Norma descends her grand staircase with dramatic flair as police officers gather below to arrest her for killing her house guest. Rather than realizing her predicament, she imagines herself as the star of a new film, voicing almost hypnotically, "All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up” (Movieclips, 2011, 00:01:55). One may feel pity for Norma as the victim of a career that discards those considered no longer useful if not for the fact she just committed cold-blooded murder.
Despite its stark realities, the Dream of the Coast is still alive and well today—and perhaps, rightly so. The Dream is no longer about a place; it has become an ideal that reaches far beyond its roots. People not just in America but the world over, many bursting with talent as performers, musicians, writers, and artists, use Hollywood's myth as a ship following the beam from a lighthouse. Their aspirations motivate them to hone their skills, attend theater schools, take music lessons, and partake in a culture uniquely defined by the entertainment industry.
The Dream of the Coast, finally, is a state of mind, a utopian vision where creative forces reign and offer hope and enthusiasm through a wealth of imaginings. Reflecting on the previous saga of Bob and Doak, historian Kevin Starr (1986) affirms, "In their near-anonymous struggle for a better life, sailors Bob and Doak were setting a pattern of California liberation" (p. 12). According to a record in The Negro Pioneers of California, the ship from which they jumped was named "The Albatross," an apt metaphor for the obstacles they faced (Beasley, 1919). Whether drawn to a better life or away from the trials of another, Bob and Doak adopted the Dream of the Coast as their own—and never looked back. Perhaps one day, Hollywood will make a film about them too.
References
Adams, J.T. (1931). The epic of America. Boston, Little Brown, and Company.
Appelo, T. (2018). David Cassidy died of alcoholism, not Alzheimer's. AARP. https://www.aarp.org/entertainment/television/info-2018/david-cassidy-documentary.html
Beasley, D. L. (1919). The Negro trail blazers of California: A compilation of records from the California archives in the Bancroft Library at the University of California in Berkeley and from the diaries, old papers and conversations of old pioneers in the State of California. Times Mirror Print and Binding House. https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Negro_Trail_Blazers_of_California/ESsWAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0
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Wilkerson, W.R. (1995, July 1). Writing the end to a true-to-life Cinderella story: Remembrance: The facts of Lana Turner’s discovery at a soda fountain have changed through the years, but the legend remains. LA Times. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-07-01-ca-19119-story.html
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