The Hollywood Fantasy

An inside look at why the lights and cameras of Hollywood are so alluring.

Hollywood has always been an alluring prospect for most young minds. Especially growing up in a world where televisions, phones, and the like are never more than an arm’s length away. It’s pretty obvious to see why. As you tune into any kind of programming, it sucks you in. It makes you feel and takes your mind off the stressors of your everyday life. Long-form TV shows make you care for characters as deeply as you would your own friends, and TV personalities are faces you look forward to seeing just as often. Well as incredible as all that is, I think there are even more reasons that you may realize.

Let’s talk about a prime reason a lot of people set their sights on Hollywood: Attention. Hollywood has classically been known to attract a lot of pretty people, and having lived in Los Angeles for over ten years, I think I have put a finger on why. People here are conscious about their looks and as a consequence, their health. They always try to be in tip-top shape, and with the help of makeup, lighting, post coloring, and even plastic surgeons, they sure appear to succeed. People see these as aspects of greatness that they, themselves, hope to achieve and emulate. I mean, who doesn’t want to be their best selves, but it does tend to attract men and women who already had a pretty positive opinion of the way they look. People who are used to getting attention for it and learned that it was a key part of what they wanted in life.

Now, it’s not all superficial vanity, some who come into the film industry do so to try their hands at making people laugh as a comedian or cry as a storyteller. I think these things come from the same place of enforced perspective that they were good at these things and want that to be the case on a grander scale. I was certainly all of these things, and I don’t regret my move to the west coast. I loved being on stage making people laugh or cry, telling new stories that distracted others from their pain or encouraged them to live as they pleased- The same stories which motivated me.

Another reason I think people flock to Hollywood is simply to have fun in an interesting field. It’s incredibly difficult to find a steady paycheck in the film business, but millions struggle with it every day for a shot at making it happen. Why? Because it is fun. As an actor you get to play make believe and have others work to help you make it look good. You fly to far off places and interact with all sorts of interesting people. The film industry may be difficult, but it has never been boring. The people who are attracted to a life of adventure find themselves torn away from the safety of their hometowns and on the road to the entertainment industry for all it can offer.

The last reason I’ll mention is simply that many get drawn in by the fakeness without any realization for the reality which exists on the other side. Life can become difficult and sometimes you want to make what seems to be the easy enjoyable choice, not knowing how wrong you might be. That is a sad reality to the film industry. Most people do not find their dreams at the end of this journey. They either aren’t talented enough, lucky enough, or patient enough to withstand the test of time and often find themselves packing up for home or redirected to somewhere new. Yes, this is a sad reality, but not everyone is cut out for the business they will find here, and life has a funny way of redirecting people to the places they were meant to go.

Hollywood

The lights have always called to me
From deep inside my soul
And step by step I walked to them
To grab my dreams by being bold

Hollywood’s a place of dreams
And there I searched for mine
And though I searched long and hard
My dreams I did not find

But fate it weaves a funny web
I found something worth more than gold
And though fame and fortune escaped me
This place and friends became my home