California Dream Research Paper

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“California Dream” is an expression in which a person is able to gain wealth fast in this new land. It was seen as a land of opportunity, where people who work hard are rewarded with wealth in this powerful belief. In the late nineteenth century, it was not the case. Many people were divided by the way they live and what they are. This idea was established by the white middle class population to move out of the city and into the suburbs. Although the “California Dream” was considered to be an unreachable dream for most Californians especially for those who are not White nor have middle class income, it was viewed as to different perspectives and a goal for most families in the late nineteenth century. The dream had different views for many…show more content…
This was then the next step of the “California Dream”. White middle class Americans were able to pursue the suburban life, while the rest of the people were not able to reach that goal. Instead many people decided to try new lifestyles other than the “White culture”. Some parts of California decided to remain in the city while others lived in places that were not populated by the White Americans, which these group of people developed a counter culture of the suburban life. It mostly consisted of young out casted Americans who did not care about the authority. The California youth was something new to America. They were discovering different types of music, entertainment, and activities that older White Americans would disagree with. Popular culture was created to appeal to a mass population that offers its insight on different views and beliefs of the mass audience. During the nineteenth century, popular culture was appealing to the young Americans who are unsure about the future and are focusing on the present time. “Dreamers, however, have been continually torn between positive visions of the future and cautionary tales. These ideas persisted into the 1950s and 1960s, and can be seen in youth culture and media representations of the California teen” (May). This quote shows that young American teens were torn between what others tell them to believe and what they believe is true. Because of this, a different culture was emerging in California of what they believe is the California Dream. For the California teens, they viewed the idea of the California Dream to be the total opposite of what their parents would think. They would risk their lives to go on crazy adventures, listen to music that had hidden sexual messages, and escape from the traditional American life style that old Americans still believed

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