Hollywood: Myth and Reality

This webpage, appropriately titled, Hollywood Boulevard: Myth and Reality has some interesting points about Hollywood Boulevard, but I would say that the general idea extends to pretty much all of Los Angeles, particularly the cult status of Hollywood and Beverly Hills. I remember the first time I went to Hollywood...it wasn't much like I had hoped. For all the "stuff" there is to do there, little exists outside of tourist hot-spots, famed movie shooting locations, and the stars' homes. I don't usually like tourist-y stuff, mostly because it's a pre-packaged experience that thousands of others have already seen before you (kind of like movies). Movie shooting locations bore me. The stars' homes...wow, it's a house that I'll never afford, and if I could, I wouldn't live there anyway. Somehow it seems that even if you had the money to live there and you actually wanted to, you just wouldn't feel a part of it, no matter what you do. If you aren't a part of the movie industry, you probably won't understand the allure of Hollywood.

Part of the problem is that I find most movies unrealistic and fake to begin with, so it's only natural that the actual Hollywood be the same way. But trust me, even the most hardened film enthusiast would probably see it in the same light.

The 4 main things I don't like about LA are:

1. Too many people.
2. Too much smog.
3. Too expensive.
4. Too much crime.

1+2+3+4 = a real shithole place to live.

Sounds almost like San Diego, but not quite that bad yet. San Diego is like a mini-LA, minus the Hollywood fame and our smog isn't that bad.

From that webpage:

Virtually everyone has heard of the legendary corner of Hollywood & Vine, and most of the 11 million tourists who visit Southern California each year eventually make the pilgrimage out to that fabled intersection.
Many expect to find a glamorous boulevard lined with beautiful shops and populated by movie stars.
They are inevitably disappointed.
...
But even so, all of us who live in Southern California (and most tourists) will probably make the pilgrimage to Hollywood Boulevard at least once in our lifetimes. We are driven both by curiosity and by our sense of history.

It's important to recognize that, in a broader sense, the true "Hollywood" exists in our imagination. This Hollywood is a glorious concoction of memories from a thousand enchanting musicals, a sparkling, romantic Xanadu that has little in common with the hectic streets of northwest Los Angeles.

That's it, in a nutshell.

From this webpage, entitled The Rebirth of Hollywood Boulevard, you can find out before you even arrive to expect the worst:

You could see it on their faces. When you looked at tourists arriving on Hollywood Boulevard for the first time, you could almost read their minds: "This is Hollywood?" Looking around, they were shocked and disappointed.

For decades, Hollywood was a major disappointment, a case study in urban decay and neglect - a seedy, run-down area populated by a virtual freak-show of young runaways, homeless transients, wannabe heavy-metal rockers, frenzied traffic, and harried crowds of bewildered tourists wandering the dirty sidewalks while trying to find some hint of former glamour left on the famous boulevard.

For the most part, the Boulevard contained one shabby storefront after another, some vacant, but most housing tacky shops offering t-shirts & cheap Tinseltown souvenirs, fast food, and the occasional x-rated movie. (And that's not to mention the giant, pink & grey Frederick's of Hollywood building.) This is definitely not what springs to mind when most tourists think of "Hollywood."

And that's just how it is, too.

But I digress.

Hollywood does hold some hope. As long as you are visiting and you have a little bit of money to spend, it's not that bad of an experience. I think it's kind of healthy to see the place, to really appreciate how duped the rest of America is in believing that it is honestly a place where the average blue-collar, middle-class American could enjoy their time wishing they could be a part of it all. It's all a dream...

At any rate, if you are travelling there, be sure to stop by Seeing Stars to find out all the things to do in Hollywood. While it's mainly centered around movie stars...well, that's just about what all of Hollywood is centered around anyway. You don't go to Hollywood to see a toy train museum.