Fame and Misfortune

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Fame and Misfortune When people think of California, they usually picture the Hollywood dream of being beautiful, famous, and not having a care in the world. This idea that Hollywood is a magical place where dreams become reality and the opportunities are endless is constructed from what people see in movies and hear in songs. In this paper I compare “Hooray For Hollywood” by Johnny Mercer and “Californication” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and show how the artist and society at the time influence each of the songs to interpret two different views of Hollywood. In “Hooray for Hollywood” we are only exposed the opportunistic side of Hollywood, while in “Californication” the Red Hot Chili Peppers reveal the darker side of Hollywood based on their personal experience in the industry. The background of the songwriter and the society at the time a song is released provides one with the motivation to write. Johnny Mercer wrote the song “Hooray for Hollywood” in 1937 for the movie “Hollywood Hotel.” This song was released just after the Pre-Code Hollywood era (1927-1934). During this time films were filled with sex, violence, and homosexuality. As a result of these movies, religious and morality groups began to speak out on the vulgarity of the films, and the government created strict new rules to help censor the movies. Some of the rules created included: No sexual innuendos, no scenes involving crime, and profanity was prohibited. It was also during the duration of this time that America was facing the Great Depression. The citizens who were struggling during this time would often go to movies or listen to music, because it allowed them escape their own abysmal realities. Eventually, this led them to dream of going to Hollywood as an outlet to escape their hardships. However in 1999, Anthony Kiedis, lead singer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, released the song,
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