Never been to California, but I always get a sense from others that it’s deepest problems come from the fact that it was a land where restless runners got stuck in; Once you can no longer go any further west, sooner or later, whatever was chasing you catches up.
And whatever existed before can’t stand your curse quietly neither.
Growing up in Adelaide South Australia in the late 50's my family used to watch Disneyland every Sundy night - "when you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are" was the opening refrain.
I was also a Musketeer or a member of the Mickey Mouse Club which at the time featured Annette Funicello as the principal female star.
My favorite Disney characters were Uncle Scrooge and Gyro Gearloose.
On the other hand please check out the book by Ariel Dorfman titled How To Read Donald Duck Imperialist Ideology in Disney Comic
As Jack Kerouac wrote long ago about LA: New York gets God awful cold in winter, but there’s a wacky camaraderie going on in some streets, LA is a jungle. Not sure about NY anymore I haven’t been there since 1978 and it was scary then. I grew up next to Oakland California and most of us regarded So Cal as beyond the pale of civilization. I’m 57 so I remember a clean and functional San Francisco. I have family in the area, I hate going back I wish they would all move so I could in good conscience wish it would slip into the sea as the Steely Dan song says. Thanks for your insightful work and may the living God bless you and yours!
It's been 25 years since I last went to Disney, my fourth trip. My first was at five, when my family moved from San Francisco to Arizona. Seeing the Matterhorn rise out of the California fog is surreal and wonderful, something eternal.
I'm shocked that one of your rides broke down. Using the Pleasure Island motif to anchor your essay was lovely. Another angle, though, is the failure of an immaculate park. Everything in California is decrepit, even the house of dreams. It's become such a sad place, overbuilt and economically stratified.
My sympathies on the loss of your father. My own dad died this past year, although he was 90 and very ready to go home to Jesus. A different situation from your own. Disney will forever be linked to him in my mind. The picture of me in mouse ears and overlarge glasses with him, clip-on sunglasses and a crew cut, holding my hand is indelible. Those of us who grew up at Disney are a special breed. We have memories of an imaginary land settled in the middle of an urban maze. God bless Walt.
Great Article! Definitely nails the impermanence feeling of SoCal. Also if you want Bioshock vibes you gotta check out the Catalina Island casino, it's a movie theatre not an actual casino. The whole place is decorated in beautiful art-deco under the sea themed murals where you can watch silent movies while jazz music plays in the background.
Funny you should mention David Lynch. He had a similar quote about the spirit of Hollywood still haunting the place, through the light and the smells at night. That's why he still loved it even as it decayed. A supreme irony that it's probably the fires that eventually killed him. He became trapped in the simulacrum as it burned around him.
The tragedy of California is that the West Coast is amazing by any definition: mild climate, shoreline, woods, farmland, varied biomes, and more. It has all the potential, yet it's being mismanaged by lunatics and retards into a downward spiral.
A land of dreams, which turned into illusions, and eventually nightmares.
Certainly, we need rooted places that tie our kith & kin to something deeper than topsoil. However, I'm afraid that we'll have to burn down more than parts of LA to make that a reality. I'd like to be wrong, but it's difficult to share your optimism under the circumstances.
I imagine that Disneyland as a decaying ruin would be a truly eerie place.
Why is this "father thing" so deep man? I feel an immortal love for my father even tho he is objectively an ass. I can't begin to imagine ever losing him, which made me cry twice reading your piece. Condolenses for your loss, but something tells me you will be alright, in a way i never would.
I love to dunk on Americans but i think of no other people so strange as to be able to think beyond the "limits of the ape". They can make humans apear to be more than animals. Maybe it's a deception, but a beautiful one.
Never been to California, but I always get a sense from others that it’s deepest problems come from the fact that it was a land where restless runners got stuck in; Once you can no longer go any further west, sooner or later, whatever was chasing you catches up.
And whatever existed before can’t stand your curse quietly neither.
Growing up in Adelaide South Australia in the late 50's my family used to watch Disneyland every Sundy night - "when you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are" was the opening refrain.
I was also a Musketeer or a member of the Mickey Mouse Club which at the time featured Annette Funicello as the principal female star.
My favorite Disney characters were Uncle Scrooge and Gyro Gearloose.
On the other hand please check out the book by Ariel Dorfman titled How To Read Donald Duck Imperialist Ideology in Disney Comic
As Jack Kerouac wrote long ago about LA: New York gets God awful cold in winter, but there’s a wacky camaraderie going on in some streets, LA is a jungle. Not sure about NY anymore I haven’t been there since 1978 and it was scary then. I grew up next to Oakland California and most of us regarded So Cal as beyond the pale of civilization. I’m 57 so I remember a clean and functional San Francisco. I have family in the area, I hate going back I wish they would all move so I could in good conscience wish it would slip into the sea as the Steely Dan song says. Thanks for your insightful work and may the living God bless you and yours!
It's been 25 years since I last went to Disney, my fourth trip. My first was at five, when my family moved from San Francisco to Arizona. Seeing the Matterhorn rise out of the California fog is surreal and wonderful, something eternal.
I'm shocked that one of your rides broke down. Using the Pleasure Island motif to anchor your essay was lovely. Another angle, though, is the failure of an immaculate park. Everything in California is decrepit, even the house of dreams. It's become such a sad place, overbuilt and economically stratified.
My sympathies on the loss of your father. My own dad died this past year, although he was 90 and very ready to go home to Jesus. A different situation from your own. Disney will forever be linked to him in my mind. The picture of me in mouse ears and overlarge glasses with him, clip-on sunglasses and a crew cut, holding my hand is indelible. Those of us who grew up at Disney are a special breed. We have memories of an imaginary land settled in the middle of an urban maze. God bless Walt.
Great Article! Definitely nails the impermanence feeling of SoCal. Also if you want Bioshock vibes you gotta check out the Catalina Island casino, it's a movie theatre not an actual casino. The whole place is decorated in beautiful art-deco under the sea themed murals where you can watch silent movies while jazz music plays in the background.
Funny you should mention David Lynch. He had a similar quote about the spirit of Hollywood still haunting the place, through the light and the smells at night. That's why he still loved it even as it decayed. A supreme irony that it's probably the fires that eventually killed him. He became trapped in the simulacrum as it burned around him.
The tragedy of California is that the West Coast is amazing by any definition: mild climate, shoreline, woods, farmland, varied biomes, and more. It has all the potential, yet it's being mismanaged by lunatics and retards into a downward spiral.
A land of dreams, which turned into illusions, and eventually nightmares.
Certainly, we need rooted places that tie our kith & kin to something deeper than topsoil. However, I'm afraid that we'll have to burn down more than parts of LA to make that a reality. I'd like to be wrong, but it's difficult to share your optimism under the circumstances.
I imagine that Disneyland as a decaying ruin would be a truly eerie place.
Why is this "father thing" so deep man? I feel an immortal love for my father even tho he is objectively an ass. I can't begin to imagine ever losing him, which made me cry twice reading your piece. Condolenses for your loss, but something tells me you will be alright, in a way i never would.
I love to dunk on Americans but i think of no other people so strange as to be able to think beyond the "limits of the ape". They can make humans apear to be more than animals. Maybe it's a deception, but a beautiful one.
If anywhere on Earth could be Eden, it's California. That's why the devil has been attacking it so hard.
Great writing, thank you. I’m going to stay for multiple reasons but I’m well aware of the decline of California.
Speaking of Ghosts in the dark Shadows created by the white "settlers" in California please check out this reference
http://nahcca.gov/native-americans/california-indian-history
Or search the topic the history of native American's in California.
http://nahc.ca.gov/native-americans/california-a-history
Wrong again
http://nahc.ca.gov/native-americans/california-indian-history