The point about RICH HALL'S California STARS is that the content should be separated from its form. As a narrator/ presenter/ writer, Hall cuts an imposing presence as he tells the tale of the state of California from its origins in the mid-nineteenth century to its current status as a state of plenty that remains heavily in financial debt.
Hall himself has an ambivalent attitude towards his material. While admiring the sheer guts of many of those who have achieved success in the state, he is particularly censorious on those who have achieved wealth at others' expense. Hence he castigates "The Associates," that group of four chancers in the mid-nineteenth century who became fabulously wealthy by building the railroad across the United States. The fact that no one really thought what to do when it was finished was conveniently overlooked. Likewise Hall does not like those residents of Silicon Valley who plagiarize others' ideas and become fabulously rich as a result: Steve Jobs comes across as a ruthless go-getter with little regard for humankind in the pursuit of money.
On the other hand Hall admires those who have had sufficient guts to stand up for themselves against a repressive government, whether local or national. He waxes lyrical about the Beats of the late Fifties, or the hippies a decade later, or the learners of the University of California who stood up to the National Guard. Singer/ songwriters like Woody Guthrie or the Eagles are commended, as are the more localized musical traditions that grew up around Bakersfield.
For Hall California remains an enigmatic state, one committed more to image than truth, financial gain and exploitation rather than community values; but at the same time harboring a fierce optimism and belief in human potential that renders it irresistible to outsiders and locals alike.
Sometimes his rhetoric becomes a little wearing, especially when he addresses a vituperative monologue direct to camera, but as an introduction to the state's history as well as a summary of its current position in contemporary American cultures, RICH HALL'S California STARS cannot be bettered.
Hall himself has an ambivalent attitude towards his material. While admiring the sheer guts of many of those who have achieved success in the state, he is particularly censorious on those who have achieved wealth at others' expense. Hence he castigates "The Associates," that group of four chancers in the mid-nineteenth century who became fabulously wealthy by building the railroad across the United States. The fact that no one really thought what to do when it was finished was conveniently overlooked. Likewise Hall does not like those residents of Silicon Valley who plagiarize others' ideas and become fabulously rich as a result: Steve Jobs comes across as a ruthless go-getter with little regard for humankind in the pursuit of money.
On the other hand Hall admires those who have had sufficient guts to stand up for themselves against a repressive government, whether local or national. He waxes lyrical about the Beats of the late Fifties, or the hippies a decade later, or the learners of the University of California who stood up to the National Guard. Singer/ songwriters like Woody Guthrie or the Eagles are commended, as are the more localized musical traditions that grew up around Bakersfield.
For Hall California remains an enigmatic state, one committed more to image than truth, financial gain and exploitation rather than community values; but at the same time harboring a fierce optimism and belief in human potential that renders it irresistible to outsiders and locals alike.
Sometimes his rhetoric becomes a little wearing, especially when he addresses a vituperative monologue direct to camera, but as an introduction to the state's history as well as a summary of its current position in contemporary American cultures, RICH HALL'S California STARS cannot be bettered.