Hollywood’s Resonance
Jan 5, 2011 Hollywood
Long before you could connect with the world at the speed of light, watch movies on your HDTV, or access blackjack online through your iPhone, the world was a much simpler place. The historic town that is Hollywood, just starting up in the early 1900s, captivated much of America with its glitz, glamour and star appeal, creating a wholly imposing yet intriguing air.
Now that we’ve evolved and are used to seeing crashes, explosions and things of a magnificent nature, thanks primarily—and ironically—to Hollywood, once revered iconic mainstays like the Hollywood sign simply fail to move us like before.
Could you imagine, however, being that proverbial Midwestern wholesome girl, driving out to Los Angeles in the 1930s chasing stardom and seeing that sign staring back at you in all its glory?
LA has become as popular as it is due to Hollywood, and Hollywood wouldn’t have nearly the respect it has today without the sign drawing people in. What the sign was then, what many contend it still is now, is the face—the brand—of the entire culture. One look in its general direction and you’re bombarded with the entire history of the movie industry, with timeless on-screen heroes and heroines flashing before your eyes.
Audrey Hepburn, Judy Garland, Jimmy Stewart, Marlon Brando, Grace Kelly, Clark Gable, Humphrey Bogart, Marilyn Monroe, and even so many popular actors of our modern generation – the sign is like a time capsule that’s opened up every time it’s seen or even mentioned.
It calls back a time in American life when black-and-white lifestyles didn’t need color. Our ideas of late-night LA parties, where stars mingled with starlets, are more vivid than anything we’ll see in the modern world.
The Hollywood sign is to the entertainment culture what the Statue of Liberty is to American independence. And while our lives are all about convenience today, worrying about instant text messaging and playing baccarat online while waiting for a pizza delivery, we’d all do well not to let true history become suppressed by our modern lifestyles.
Hollywood is the stuff of legend, and we should never forget that.
Long before you could connect with the world at the speed of light, watch movies on your HDTV, or access blackjack online through your iPhone, the world was a much simpler place. The historic town that is Hollywood, just starting up in the early 1900s, captivated much of America with its glitz, glamour and star appeal, creating a wholly imposing yet intriguing air.
Now that we’ve evolved and are used to seeing crashes, explosions and things of a magnificent nature, thanks primarily—and ironically—to Hollywood, once revered iconic mainstays like the Hollywood sign simply fail to move us like before.
Could you imagine, however, being that proverbial Midwestern wholesome girl, driving out to Los Angeles in the 1930s chasing stardom and seeing that sign staring back at you in all its glory?
LA has become as popular as it is due to Hollywood, and Hollywood wouldn’t have nearly the respect it has today without the sign drawing people in. What the sign was then, what many contend it still is now, is the face—the brand—of the entire culture. One look in its general direction and you’re bombarded with the entire history of the movie industry, with timeless on-screen heroes and heroines flashing before your eyes.
Audrey Hepburn, Judy Garland, Jimmy Stewart, Marlon Brando, Grace Kelly, Clark Gable, Humphrey Bogart, Marilyn Monroe, and even so many popular actors of our modern generation – the sign is like a time capsule that’s opened up every time it’s seen or even mentioned.
It calls back a time in American life when black-and-white lifestyles didn’t need color. Our ideas of late-night LA parties, where stars mingled with starlets, are more vivid than anything we’ll see in the modern world.
The Hollywood sign is to the entertainment culture what the Statue of Liberty is to American independence. And while our lives are all about convenience today, worrying about instant text messaging and playing baccarat online while waiting for a pizza delivery, we’d all do well not to let true history become suppressed by our modern lifestyles.
Hollywood is the stuff of legend, and we should never forget that.
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