An Imagined Place Art And Life On The Coast Of Dream Analysis

In Kevin Starr’s article, “An Imagined Place: Art and Life on the Coast of Dream”, he lists the arts that contribute to the perception of California as a place of promise. He captures the promise of California by giving specific examples from each of the arts and how they contribute to the creation of this promise. Of these arts however, photography and outdoors/sports are the best for exploring the connection between promise and the arts. The utilization of photography and the outdoors as an outlet to express the promise in California is a great technique that Starr uses in his article. The way Starr examines the promise of California through photography and the outdoors is very intriguing but one might not be able to realize how these relate …show more content…
“Most of the champions of the twentieth century who come from California first developed their skills in publicly subsidized circumstances: municipally supported swimming pools, golf courses, and tennis courts in particular, where middle-class Californians, thanks to the recreational policies of Progressivism, were introduced to these previously social-register sports.” This opportunity led to the success of many athletes throughout the years in California and they would not have achieved that success without the aid of the aforementioned subsidies. Another influence in the progression of the California Dream through sports was the immigration of many Germans in the late 1800s. They created an Olympic Club with the knowledge of the physical fitness movement from their home and stressed importance of gymnastic pursuits and prized boxing as well. This Olympic Club led to the development of many other sports and activities all around California and helped create a boom in more athletic clubs. The biggest sports in California however were water-oriented sports such as swimming, boating/yachting, and surfing. These sports were catered to the individuals in California because of their location parallel to the coast. The athletes were also celebrated in popular culture “in fact, the California surfer, male and female alike, had become an icon of the California …show more content…
This dispute was created in part to the collapse of the American Dream throughout the years due to the incessant persecution that people have felt from society because their dreams are not “attainable”. However, in his article, “An Imagined Place: Art and Life on the Coast of Dream”, Kevin Starr makes the case that the California Dream exists and thrives in many instances in the Golden State. He makes this case by using the arts and the benefits that have been reaped by the individuals pursuing them. The arts that Starr decided to back up his case with are: film, literature, painting, photography, architecture, music, and outdoors and sports. He goes into great detail with each art form but the three that are the most noticeable are photography, sports, and outdoors activities because these relate to how California has been able to give to its inhabitants through its landscape and legislature. The California Dream is unveiled to the reader throughout the course of the article and the reader can see that with the examples that Starr provides for each art form, there are many opportunities that come with them and the Dream is easier to achieve through each form. Starr is able to accomplish his intention and show that the California Dream is really achievable through the arts that he lists and he concludes by saying that “whether adopted, adapted, or indigenous in