The California Dream is the dream of improvement, perfection and an escape from the difficulties of life. It is an extension of the American Dream. In the 1800s and early 1900s, immigrants from Europe flocked to America in search of a better life and improvement. In Europe, life was extremely structured, social classes were firm which prevented people from rising into the upper class. Europeans saw America as a place for improvement but as Europeans flocked to America, new social structures began as the East Coast had a traditional way of life.
California however was the Final Frontier because it was unexplored, undiscovered and lacked social classes. This caused California to become the next migration point after the East Coast and Midwest became stagnant in their social classes and land. For people in Oklahoma during the 1930s lamenting over the dust bowl crop failures and the harsh weather of the prairies, California shined as a state with no dust bowl weather and plentiful farming jobs. Even after California became further settled in the early 20th Century, the concept of a land without snow, without structure and without problems symbolized a frontier because it was a new concept for people.
This California Dream concept skyrocketed during the 1950s and 1960s, drawing African Americans fleeing the South with its abusive social constructs and white people fleeing the constriction and grit of the East Coast cities. Also, Hollywood played a large role too in attracting people. Hollywood suggested that people can become famous, even if they had no background or experience, further indicating that California is a place without social constructs and a frontier of unexplored possibilities. Hollywood is located in California due to the California Dream in fact because the filmmakers in the early 20th Century escaped Astoria, NY due to harsh weather which prevented filming in the winter. They wanted a new opportunity in a land with nearly no rain. This was a dominant theme in the song "It never rains in Southern California," by Albert Hammond who sang about how "I've often heard that [it never rains in Southern California] talk before. They don't warn that it never rains, it pours."
The California Dream could not be fulfilled by all of California's migrants. Not everyone became famous and people soon discovered that urban problems followed them to California even though the weather was fine. Also, these dreams conflicted with each other which caused more tension. Overall, the California Dream is the dream of improvement and a life of perfection but as California's history shows, perfection in California is a myth.
