The City Of Robots Analysis

Some people are meant to shine with the stars and others are falling stars that did not get a chance to shine. In the essay, “The City of Robots,” Umberto Eco analyzes the California Dream through his Disneyland experiences. The California dream has higher expectations than the American dream. Eco has good analogies that make this true. Eco’s fantasy of Disneyland correlates to the ‘dream and disaster” dichotomy because the California Dream is breathtaking, surreal, and deceiving.

First of all, Disneyland is associated with the “dream and disaster” because not many can achieve the California Dream, but once it has been entered it can be exciting. For example, Eco discusses,”But as we begin walking down the first streets, the studied illusion

takes over” (583). A tourist or a dreamer can be starstruck on their first impression of California. It can either be love at first sight or having a whatever feeling to the idea of it. Once your foot hits California soil, it is just something else. Eco also states, “You realize they are robots, but you remain dumbfounded by their verisimilitude” (587). Seeing everything at once in California can be breathtaking to the viewer. The viewer realizes what he or she just witnessed but they are in shock on how real California makes it seem. In that state of mind the dreamer is not thinking much, but instead is fascinated at what passes through their vision. It makes them keep addicted to see what can pop up next in this state. Especially if that person has made their dreams came true in California.
Second, the California Dream can be surreal. Eco states, “You are not witnessing another’s horror, you are inside the horror through complete synesthesia” (588). This connects to the dream part of the California Dream because while someone is living the dream it is so unbelievable that they got that far. That person is literally living in it and they can’t believe it. He also states, “And for a Californian, leaving his car means living his own humanity, consigning himself to another power, abandoning his own will” (589). Meaning, when a dreamer decides to take on the dream, they leave everything behind and feel compelled to be ruled by the Hollywood life. Life style changes, personality is different, and by the time they know Hollywood has taken over that dreamer’s humble mindset. It takes awhile for that person to realize what has hit them and how to react to to all the sudden life change. It leaves the dreamer speechless. This all can cause the dreamer’s experience to be surreal.
Lastly, the California Dream is not what people make it seem.

This where the “disaster”part kicks in. People drop their lives to find out that the California Dream can be fake, including the people they meet through the experience. For example, Eco declares that, “Disneyland tells us that technology can give us more reality than nature can” (586). All the technology thetis ran by California can make the dreamer believe that Hollywood can give them much more than their personal surroundings can. The sad part about it is that there is no one that can them the truth. The dreamer has to pretty much experience it themselves in order to believe that fake side of the California Dream. The California Dream is not one hundred percent fake. It just has many sides that no one will see coming and that no one brings up. People are brainwashed into thinking it can be the greatest thing in the world and that it’s better than all the other dreams people can attain. The author also states, “What is falsified is our will to buy, which we take as real, and in the sense Disneyland is really the quintessence of consumer ideology” (586). A dreamer can drop everything without knowing if they can make it in California. Maybe they have been saving up and use that money for a down payment on an apartment in Los Angeles hoping they can soon get a job. Although California’s wage is higher than most states, it is not a cheap place to live in. It sets up the dreamer for failure. They can’t seem to get a

job or the job they got is not making enough from the dreamer to stay in California. They eventually crack and realize it’s not they thought and that person already gave up so much of their life just to live their dream. This ties up why the California Dream can be disastrous.
Eco does a good job on making Disneyland a metaphor on how the California Dream can be a dichotomy. First, the “dream and disaster” dichotomy is jaw-dropping. Secondly, the California Dream can almost feel like a dream while experiencing it. Lastly, the dream can be misleading. California is a big state, but a dreamer has to dream big if they want to make it in California and they also have to be prepared to fall high if they do not make it.