The popularization of California culture and sub-cultures, real and imagined, is spreading around the globe. T

Question

The popularization of California culture and sub-cultures, real and imagined, is spreading around the globe. Today, marketing the California lifestyle, even the style of its cities, is big business. From Trader Joe's, Whole Foods and Wild Oats, to tattoos, piercings, cell phones and surfboards, to beautiful, muscular movie stars, California culture has invaded the developed and developing worlds alike. Yet surveys, as the one noted in the text, suggest that people outside the state perceive Californians as "superficial, impersonal, competitive and calculating"; and some other research suggests the 'ugly American' is the California! Why do so many outside California embrace California culture?

Answer 1

I'm Californian. And you know what? I like being me, I hate Hollywood bullcrap, and non-conformity is my middle name.

In trying to define who, exactly, is making the mass-media stereotype, you are stereotyping Californians. We all do in some way, which just goes to show that not all Californians (or other people anywhere else in the world) fall into one category.

Answer 2

Because the Victorian era is long gone and California is the avant- garde of America and therefore the world.

Answer 3

Yes, much to my chagrin, that's happening.  I guess people think it makes them look cool.  People do bizarre things to make themselves stand out.  They feel they're not individual without a bit of something extra (outrageous).