Hollywood - the American dream factory

The primary concept is that people come to the United States for a better life and come to Hollywood to become stars, rich and popular. This is a dream lit by the perpetual sunshine of Southern California, steeped in the values of the immigrant filmmakers who moved there in the early 1900s and got enormously rich.

Hollywood's not called a dream factory for nothing. It manufactures optimism, and in the process of selling it, can make the possibility of success feel wondrously real.

The concept is shown in many movies, and there are some examples:

“The Godfather, Part II” (1974)

Francis Ford Coppola’s epic sequel to “The Godfather” shows how Don Corleone came to America from Sicily, orphaned, penniless and hungry, and built his criminal empire. It also shows how difficult such empires are to maintain as well as the toll it takes on his family.

“Superman” (1978)

Kal-el — who can only be described as a young, orphaned and undocumented immigrant — is sent to Earth by his parents as his homeworld blows up. He’s raised by a friendly couple in the Midwest and grows up to be a superhero who saves his adopted land from the evil Lex Luthor, played by Gene Hackman.