The California Dream

The California dream represents the potential for an entirely new life, one filled with beautiful weather, impressive people, and tremendous opportunities. When my parents came to California from Bangladesh in their early twenties, they found in California the same things I see in her today-- lots of green (trees and money), lots of fascinating people, and most importantly, the ability to become one of these people. On the surface, California's environment promotes a move forward. She's the final frontier in American expansion, which may explain her image of innovation and novelty amongst people around the United States and the world. The Silicon Valley in Northern California, the birthplace of computers and other great technical inventions, is itself a symbol of moving forward. And, the people who work there, i.e. Californians, represent a people moving the entire world forward. Apart from the Silicon Valley, Hollywood, the movie capital of the world, represents a different kind of moving forward--one of moving images and stories, catapulting new ideas and theories into the general public. Of course, with places like Silicon Valley and Hollywood, people see the state as a place to redefine themselves and strive to be like the ones they hear about or see on TV-- the scientist who has just discovered a new computing algorithm or the movie star who just won two Oscars. This desire to be famous and in the spotlight (perhaps the desire to be desired), lures people to the golden state.

This differs from the American dream in various ways. The American dream is one of opportunity, yes, but more importantly of freedom and rights that are often not available in other countries. Thinking back on my parents, they've told me various times that living in America affords them so many freedoms that, while they may exist back in Bangladesh, are not actually enforced (such as freedom of speech-- in America one can burn an American flag, whereas someone burning a Bangladeshi flag in Bangladesh would have the military on their tail in no time). Furthermore, the American dream composes of having a nuclear family and living in a nice suburb, etc, and I don't believe these are tenets of the Californian dream. The Californian dream is one of independence and redefining oneself.