Worst Pop Culture Depictions of Cali

One of the most superficial was in Four Christmases, but I think they just shot the whole thing on a film studio in So Cal--it had not a shred of authenticity to it. Just awful, even though I love Vince Vaughn and girl that was in that.

Great thread! This is probably easier for natives to respond to given that you have a different California paradigm than those of us who were originally attracted to the Golden State and decided to move here because of its allure, genuine or not. Additionally, most of the depictions tend to be more indicative of Southern California than Northern California (as you mentioned, @Flowergirl), which makes it tougher to find accurate OR inaccurate depictions of the Bay Area.

That said, "Clueless" has GOT to be one of the worst, putting the "Valley Girls" on the proverbial map. I think people outside of the state do not know how to differentiate, which throws the SF Bay under the bus even more (admittedly, some of those LA stereotypes are well-deserved). It's also funny talking to my out-of-state friends and telling them how cold it gets, even in the summertime, and how much fog and rain we can get here. Not exactly a pop culture depiction, but a good stereotype nonetheless.

There have to be some good, unbelievable surfer movies out there too...

Omg what a great thread! I seriously have to give it some thought on it. I mean Los Angeles gets a beating in a lot of movies. San Francisco, not so much. I mean in Ocean's 12 Brad Pitt and George Clooney in Tosca was pretty cool.

@StephSF - what about Point Break with Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze (which secretly I love by the way) - but wasn't that about surfer dudes and what about Blue Crush - that movie was God awful.

Hahahahaaa...haven't seen Point Break but given the cast, I'm confident that it falls into that category. I secretly loved Blue Crush, mainly because I envied the cool girls' surfer lifestyle...but it takes place in Hawaii, so sadly, it doesn't compare.

That Woody Allen quote is pretty brutal, but to be fair, LA DOES kind of fit the stereotype that somehow gets projected onto the entire state...

Here's one that doesn't quite fit the negative stereotype, but what about Sean Penn in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, the total California burnout. But overall, I think that film is a fairly loving portrayal of the Valley in the LA area. It must have reminded Cameron Crow of his Seattle upbrining.

Just wanted to jump into this thread for a minute. Didn't seem to have much representation from So-Callers. I, of coure, must mention the 1980's movie, "Valley Girl," one of Nic Cage's vey earliest film roles and the moment where "Gag me with spoon," went global as the prototypical Valley Girl catch phrase. Though for me, the prototypical Valley Girl was always Molly Ringwald even though I don't think she has anything to do with that area of northern California, if that makes any sense.

Oh yeah and don't forget LA Story with Steve Martin--good stuff--lot's of funny pokes at superficial So Cal Culture. (Shop Girl too--Steve is from here).

@NightOwInOrinda - Fast Times is a CLASSIC - definitely think L.A. when I see that one
@ValleyGirlTori - thanks for jumping in here - yes, Valley Girl was a weak representation of So-Cal - fer' sure

@ValleyGirlTori - Omg - is that Molly Ringwald that you have as your avatar?? That is SO awesome. Love John Hughes movies. Breakfast Club is my FAV!

@Tracypie: Yep, that' her cropped from the Breakfast Club. (But shhhh! Don't want the John Hughes estate to send me a cease and desist.) I'm almost the exact same age as her, and have always identified with her and the Ally Sheedy character in that. I'm somewhere inbetween those. But aren't we all?

With all the stereotypes out there, I think that everyone who lives anywhere else is secretly (or not-so-secretly) jealous that they don't live here. It's kind of like the middle school boy who pulls the girl's hair during gym class because he doesn't know how else to express that he likes her.

Between the weather, the beach, the abundance of activities, the glamor of Hollywood, and the cutting edge of Silicon Valley, I really think that a lot of people have at least some Cali-envy.

@StephSF: I think you got a point. I would much rather live somewhere that people know so much about that they have stereotypes of it than somewhere like.... I don't... Toledo? I couldn't even tell you where that is, but I am certain I have never, ever even thought about it. I would have not idea what a stereotypical person from there would look like or act.

@Flowergirl: Good choice of city. Toledo is really sort of blank spot. Other than it being in Ohio, I too couldn't really tell you anything more than that.

I went to Ohio a few months ago and the only thing that I could think about was how badly I wanted to be back in California. It's flat and full of strip malls, in a nutshell, as is much of the U.S. At least stereotypes equate some kind of unique, defining culture. Even if it gives the area a bad rap, it is still a defining culture, which is better than no culture, IMO.

Random Thought: Maybe I should move somewhere else. Maybe Toledo. I wonder who I would become in Toledo?

You would turn into an ordinary middle-American housewife with 2.5 kids and a nice house in a new development near a strip mall.

Sorry, that was said a little bit in jest but in all seriousness, there is a reason why the Bay Area is so expensive. You pay for the price of culture...

The only Toledo you should move to is Toledo, Spain. But if you're going to go to Spain, my suggestion would be Barcelona, really beautiful from what I can tell from Hollywood movies. Check these out: Barcelona (Directed by Whit Stillman as part of his New York Trilogy~I know that doesn't quite make sense. Really funny film if you like watching slightly snobby Americans in Spain.) and, of course, Woody's Vicky/Christina-Barcelona that I saw on cable the other day and really liked. (Woody seems to have a bit of thing for Scarlett Johannson these days.)