California and the American Dream Series

California and the American Dream is a 4 episode series created for PBS out of a partnership between producers/directors Jed Riffe (California’s ‘Lost’ Tribes/Ripe for Change), Emiko Omori (Ripe for Change), Lyn Goldfarb (The New Los Angeles) and Paul Espinosa (The Price of Renewal). The series explores the dynamics of culture, community, and identity in one of the most diverse regions in the world.

A just society seeks participation from those without power, prominence, or wealth.

In the last 35 years, California has become a laboratory for divergent social trends. Together, these trends have so radically transformed the state that it bears little resemblance to the Hollywood dreamscape it projected in previous decades. In the post 9-11 era, California is center stage for an array of issues re-defining the American agenda – from changing demographics to new models of civic engagement, from the role of immigrants in neighborhood life to the challenge to democracy by the initiative process, from sustainable agriculture to Native American gaming and sovereignty.

Release date: 2006
Directors/Producers:
Jed Riffe, Emiko Omori,
Lyn Goldfarb, Paul Espinosa
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