We read a passage from Nathanael West's apocalyptic novel about Hollywood, The Day of the Locust, with its concept of the "dream dump," as a follow-up to discussions on "Hollywood narratives vs. Silicon Valley technology" and Walt Disney's enduring image. Here are some student thoughts:

- Nathanael West describes the first experiences of a young man who has come to Hollywood to learn set and costume designing. He quickly finds out about the illusions everywhere: people dressed for activities they do not undertake, houses built as imitations, fancy facades with no content. On the movie studio lot he finds the final dumping ground of all the elaborate movie sets. Dreams are not lived, but simply used for superficial purposes and finally discarded.

- The authors wants to show that Hollywood just creates more and more new dreams instead of realizing already existing ones. He also tells us that all dreams created in Hollywood have their flaws and that you can easily detect them if you take a closer look.

- Tod sees signs everywhere of the yearning for a Walt Disney 'dream world,' but the people on the streets of Hollywood are growing more and more insensitive to productive fantasy. They immerse themselves in a world of fake feelings and kitsch. Their yearning is mutated into a masquerade to hide their individual personalities and an (unsuccessful) attempt to escape from their real problems in life

- One should not forget that the Hollywood dreams appear as a result of the work of some "dream-makers," professionals whose job is to dream for millions of other people. Outside the soul of a person there can only be the place the dreams go to, not the place the dreams come from. And that's the reason the term "dream dump" seems more appropriate.

- People who dream of a Hollywood career soon find out that no one is waiting for them there. Their agents require them to "invest in a career" with high fees. But the promises turn out to be empty or the contracts the hopefuls sign are life sentences. And those who 'make it' and become successful quickly find out that this industry is less a dream than a nightmare - strenuous, tough, and complex. Not dreamers but competitive realists are the survivors.

- The problem with creating fantastic worlds is to be found behind the scenes: all the garbage - physical and often cinematic - a film production produces, the tough business it is, the money it costs. We need to keep both sides in mind: Feel the magic of Hollywood but also be aware of its reality.

- …..Finally, everything has to do with making money. It's not the story that is of importance, but fulfilling what the 'customer' expects. Hollywood does not mean making good film any more, but having the best effects and the most famous actors. On the whole, Hollywood does not produce quality but earns profit through mass production.

- Every factory embodies a manufacturing process: raw material is processed, producing both finished products and waste. Even the finished products must eventually be discarded or recycled. New technology is constantly being integrated into the process to optimize it and the the products. Hollywood as a 'dream factory' producing film and media products follows this pattern: The ideas and talent of writers, directors, and actors manufacture films, with Silicon Valley technology now flowing into the story-telling technique. As with all factories, the 'dump' is part of the process. In these modern times, factories attempt to reduce the amount of their waste - but it is truly a dream to think it can be eliminated entirely.

- What are the means of production for a dream? A dream is not created out of the blue; it has to be based on images and ideals installed in a person by society, media and other institutions which influence one's view of reality and the world. What finally makes the 'new' dream work is the way these imaginative constructions are levelled, taken apart, parts discarded, reconstrued, thus becoming raw material for new combinations, new dream products. Existing dreams therefore have to be at least partially dumped or recycled for the new ones to be established.
For this reason Hollywood might rather be called a 'trading place,' which would make the exchange of dreams seem less wasteful and destructive that the 'dream dump' and less mechanical and impersonal than the 'dream factory.'

- If you take a look at Hollywood, what do you see? The "Walk of Fame," the Oscars, a world full of glamour and actors swimming in money? This is just what you want to see. Nobody cares about the thousands of actors living in their small and uncomfortable flats, not knowing how to pay their next rent. These actors need not be second-class; they might even be far more talented than the handful of highly paid Hollywood stars. Look at Sylvester Stallone! He earns millions with only two facial expressions, whereas talented artists often have to dump their dreams.

And here's the full in-class paragraph (uncorrected) by a talented writer in our class:

"But I don't WANT to be twelve again!"

The concept of a dream, as understood by those who like to call Hollywood a "dream factory," is fundamentally different to what real dreams, as experienced by most people every night, are like. The term "dream," when used in connection with Hollywood products, is rather more closely related to the so-called American Dream, and all its implication of everything settling into a state of bliss if you only set your mind to it. While "real" dreams are, for the most part, either of a nightmarish or an absurd nature, Hollywoood and (stereotyped) American Dreams are of the kind where Happy Endings and Valuable Lessons About Life reign supreme. It is not only the Disney Company that is guilty of churning out film after film after misbegotten TV show, allowing allegedly mature adults to regress, nostalgically, to a state of fuzzy, sentimental childhood remembrance (where everything not only has meaning, but also moral content - it is either good or bad, and if it's in between, it's probably bad, too). Of course, all entertainment is created to aid audiences in their attempts to escape from their everyday routine. However, it is doubtful whether the kinds of stories and solutions offered by Hollywood companies are ultimately satisfying, or whether thinking, intelligent people will not eventually find themselves feeling cheated after yet another film where everything works out fine in the end.