DarthWiki.Crappy Trope Definitions Tropes: California exists. Alternatively, Hollywood in particular exists, even though that would result in this trope being named "Hollywood Hollywood".
Series.The Mentalist: Averted. The crime-solving team is part of the California Bureau of Investigation, and so its cases tend to focus on smaller cities in California where the local law enforcement are less prepared to deal with exceptional crimes.However, one of those smaller cities, Citrus Heights, was shown as a rural mountain town. Citrus Heights is a flat, overdeveloped suburb in the middle of the Sacramento Valley.
Film.The Wood: Notably averted. One of the few movies to take place in Inglewood, California.
Pantheon.Administrative Centers: Portfolio: The Californian City, City of Adventure, Shining City, Having a Storm Drain that Houses Several Intense Action Scenes, Beverly Hills is a Renouned Spot, South Central is a Breeding Ground for Gangbangers, Sometimes Depicted in a Cynical Light (or Just for Hollywood and sometimes with an Eldrich Twist)
JustForFun.Trope Title Shows: Surfer Dude: Wilson from Orange County, CA is riding the waves when a thunderstorm moves up. He is hit by lightning while still surfing, but he survives and discovers he got super powers which he uses to fight crime, and at the same time, he's working on winning the heart of the girl he loves who until then prefers to hang out with her friends and the jocks from school. Either animated or a sitcom.
VideoGame.Battlefield Hardline: Almost every multiplayer location is in California: Los Angeles and South Central. Though the map "Dust Bowl" is in the California desert, "Backwoods" takes place somewhere in the Pacific Northwest, and both "Riptide" and "Everglades" return the action to Florida.
Series.Nine One One: Specifically, the show spans across the rural and urban parts of Los Angeles.
JustForFun.Things We Have Learnt From Media: When driving through any city with famous landmarks like London or Paris, you will pass them all and not necessarily in a logical order. Also, if walking through a city, you won't necessarily go from one road to another connected to it, or even one anywhere near it. The exception is Washington, D.C., whose landmarks are only visible from helicopter altitude. Otherwise, the city is made up entirely of skyscrapers. All large American cities that aren't instantly associated with a few iconic landmarks (and which aren't Los Angeles) are also made up entirely of skyscrapers. All their streets are laid out neatly on a compass-aligned grid, and are all two-way and never under construction. Cars have short-range warp drives so they can be in Salford one second and Ashton-under-Lyne the next or negotiate L.A. traffic in a matter of minutes.
Film.Five Hundred Days Of Summer: Set in Los Angeles; Tom, having trained as an architect, takes Summer on a tour of his favorite buildings around the city. This doesn't include any instantly recognizable Hollywood landmarks.
Eagleland.Anime And Manga: The Yoroiden Samurai Troopers/Ronin Warriors OAV "Gaiden" takes place mostly in New York City, although they manage to feature some action in Los Angeles towards the end for good measure. Apparently, the OAV's Big Bad carries out his attacks in Manhattan even though his base of operations is located in L.A. The 3000-mile distance between the two cities doesn't mean anything to him...or to the writers.
VideoGame.Mario Kart 8: Cherry CupLos Angeles Laps (Tour) Sunset Wilds (Super Circuit) Koopa Cape (Wii) Vancouver Velocity (Tour)
Film.Cake 2014: The Orange County variety - with the film hitting the 'boring middle-class suburbia' points. There's also a runaway teen who's trying to get to Los Angeles to become an actress.
Film.K91989: Zig-zagged. The movie takes place in San Diego and was filmed there. The city does get a fairly glamorous presentation, but it's notable since Hollywood usually likes to pretend that San Diego (a major city much larger than San Francisco with a much longer and deeper history than Los Angeles) doesn't exist.
ComicBook.Marshal Law: Subverted, mainly because after Twenty Minutes into the Future, San Francisco has been hit by a huge earthquake which largely destroyed the city, leaving miles of it still in ruins years afterward.
Radio.A Prairie Home Companion: Nothing Exciting Ever Happens Here: Averted — Lake Wobegon is in the middle of nowhere, and not that much that's really exciting ever does happen there; it's always "a quiet week in Lake Wobegon." Most of the humor relies on small, strange day-to-day events. There's a big stir when one of the townswomen goes to Hollywood and comes back.
Characters.The Secret World Unaligned Hub NP Cs: Cloudcuckoolander: Amongst other things, Screed thinks that Pac-Man is a visual representation of how the Illuminati see the rest of humanity.The Cuckoolander Was Right: He might be wrong about quite a few things, but when it comes to fearing the Illuminati's power, he's absolutely right.Even David's claim Pac-Man is Illuminati propaganda may not be so far-fetched as it seems at first glance, as Kirsten Geary claims that, not only does the Illuminati run Hollywood, they've also had hands in much of America's pop culture to spread their message, such as Elvis Presley.
Film.Slums Of Beverly Hills: The film features a poor family who lives in cheap apartments in the rich Beverly Hills area so the children can attend the well-funded local schools.
Characters.Big Brother 19 The Jury 07 To 09: Alex hails from a city in California called Thousand Oaks, but she is originally from Camarillo. Despite being from California, she's actually born in Hawaii.
VideoGame.Juiced: The setting of Juiced takes place in Angel City, a fictional town based on Los Angeles.
VideoGame.Need For Speed Carbon: Palmont City is based on random areas of California (except San Juan, a small borough which is inaccessible in Career mode, and Silverton, which appears to be more of a stereotypical depiction of Las Vegas). Kempton for the real-life Compton is perhaps the most obviuous, being a stand-in for South Central's Gangsterland reputation, while Fortuna, which appears to be the city's high-end residential area, appears to be a stand-in for Orange County or Beverly Hills.
ComicBook.Captain Carrot And His Amazing Zoo Crew: Franchise Zombie: An In-Universe example in a Conan the Barbarian parody story; Ezra Hound's "Bow-Zar the Barkbarian" series has reached this point, and he's ready to finally end it. But he hires Pig-Iron as a bodyguard because of the nightmares he's been having of his anti-hero seeking vengeance. Meanwhile In The Past, a real Bow-Zar's visions of a magician (Hound) drive him to travel into future Follywood seeking vengeance.
SpiritualSuccessor.Live Action Films 0 To F: Beverly Hills Cop to Coogans Bluff. Whereas Clint Eastwood was a country cop who had gone to the big city in Coogan's Bluff, Eddie Murphy was a streetwise Detroit policeman who undergoes a culture shock while in Beverly Hills.
WhoseLine.Tropes D To I: The taping site for the last UK season and the American run. The cast takes full advantage by mentioning the LAPD, the traffic in the area, and the then woefully bad Los Angeles Dodgers.
YMMV.To Live And Die In LA: Older Than They Think: To modern audiences, it can seem like a litany of every '80s and '90s cop movie trope/cliche eventually parodied in Last Action Hero and the McBain movies-within-the-show on The Simpsons - from the cop days from retirement who gets killed on the job to the totally tubular LA setting to the exact line (not uttered in Lethal Weapon), "I'm getting too old for this shit." Except when you look closer, it turns out this movie predates Trope Codifier Lethal Weapon (1987) by two years and would have been well into production around the same time Miami Vice debuted. To make it even weirder, pretty much all the things it "check-lists" are in fact Unbuilt Tropes, as the film is a deconstruction of various ideas that later became genre staples played straight.
Music.Mis Teeq: The video for "Roll On" takes place in the South Central section. Lots of basketball, low riders and short shorts.
Film.The Mighty Ducks: The better part of D2 takes place in Los Angeles; Russ Tyler is recruited from South Central. Ken Wu comes from San Francisco.
Advertising.K Fee: All of the advertisements were filmed in California.
Music.Sufjan Stevens: Evoked by the title and lyrics of "Fictional California" (with regards to "California State College", the nonexistent university where Bring It On Again is set).
Characters.Big Brother 17 Evicted: Jace currently resides in Venice Beach, California. However, he's originally from Dunwoody, Georgia. So while he has the appearance of a California surfer guy, he's actually a Southern Gentleman.
WesternAnimation.DC Showcase The Spectre: The setting takes place in Hollywood, as the closing narration notes it's a place that brings out the worst in people.
Film.Drive 2011: Notably showcases both the town's highs and its lows. Despite taking place in and around Hollywood and the Driver being a professional stunt driver for the movies, and while occasionally detouring to film sets, stock car racetracks, sports stadiums and massive LED-rimmed skyscrapers, the film, like its protagonist, mostly focuses on the much less glamorous side of the area, setting itself in cheap apartment complexes and garages.
GrandTheftAutoV.General Tropes: Since this is a Hollywood California Expy, several potshots are aimed at paper-thin parodies of celebrities, and the Strawman News Media reporting about their lives. For example, MC Clip, a rapper who was reported to have held a 3-hour concert where he only spent 30 minutes actually performing, while he spent the other two-and-a-half hours preaching about how he is the most important American icon of the present, is pretty much a Composite Character of many modern rappers who frequently rant about how important they are.This game could easily be considered the biggest middle finger to its real world setting out of all the GTA games. This may be because L.A. just happens to be the biggest T.V. and Movie center of America (both industries that at one point in time criticized the video game industry and GTA in particular) or because a New York mayor made a fuss about GTA IV's Liberty City and Rockstar just doesn't care about pulling punches anymore.
DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything.Webcomics: The "Prop-NA" storyarc in Nukees, where based on the oft-cited axiom that marriage is a religious institution, Cecilia (who isn't 100% straight) starts a movement to ban atheists from marrying for fairly blatant personal reasons... and actually gains popular support (that's California).
Characters.Alex Rider: Fauxreigner: In Skeleton Key, he poses as the child of an American family from Hollywood. Unfortunately, the Big Bad already knows who they really are.
VideoGame.Need For Speed II: Amusement Park: The game's secret track, Monolithic Studios, is a mix of this and Hollywood California seemingly inspired by Universal Studios Hollywood, with the race starting at the entrance gate and then going through film sets based on The Wild West, Star Wars, Blade Runner, and Jurassic Park (complete with a life-sized T. rex prop in the middle of the track) while the trams from the Studio Tour serve as the traffic.
Film.La La Land: The film wears its location on its sleeve, with several standard Hollywood house parties, several scenes on movie backlots and discussions on movie history, and a plethora of struggling artists trying to make it. The opening number even reflects on the large number of people coming to the city to make it in film. The rest of the movie is one big love letter to Los Angeles, and long-time residents can make a game out of identifying all of the locations in the film.
GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas.Tropes G To N: The game is heavily built upon imagery from all of these regions. Los Santos is a dead ringer for L.A., with East Los Santos standing for East L.A., and Ganton standing for Compton and Vinewood is a very obvious Hollywood reference. The city of San Fierro is analagous to San Francisco, while Las Venturas stands for Las Vegas (which is actually in Nevada).
Series.Entourage: Played pretty straight, as we mostly see only the glamorous side of Hollywood.
Music.NCT: The teaser photos for Ay-Yo were taken at the Pink Motel in Los Angeles.
Series.The New Normal: In fairness, Bryan is a TV producer so they kind of belong in that geography.
Series.Veronica Mars: Neptune, California is represented by San Diego. More properly, Oceanside, a middle-sized city just north of San Diego, just without copious numbers of US Marines, since the real life Oceanside is just south of Camp Pendleton, one of the largest Marine Corps bases in the world. Oddly enough, the show was filmed in the suburb Chula Vista at Hilltop High School. However, Oceanside High School was used for exterior shots, so there's definitely plenty of evidence for faux-Oceanside.
Film.The Ugly Truth: The movie was set in Sacramento, but was clearly filmed mostly in L.A.
ComicBook.The Humans: Very much averted as the series takes place mostly in the Bakersfield area, though the Madfückers are based in LA.
Film.Last Action Hero: The Beautiful Elite: Lampshaded. Danny tries convincing Slater they're in a movie by pointing out that all the female passersby are insanely hot, and that there are no unattractive women in existence. Danny: (indicating the video clerk) She is too attractive to work here. Jack: I agree. I think she should work with us. Undercover of course. Danny: The point is, there are no unattractive women here. Where are the everyday, ordinary women? They don't exist, because this is a movie. Jack: No, this is California.
WebVideo.Smosh: The California Stereotype Experiment. "Ian is deadset on proving wrong the stereotype that everyone in California surfs or lives next to a movie star. Unfortunately for him and Anthony the stereotype... may be true."
NightmareFuel.Threads: For many Britons — especially those who live in or near Sheffield — this film hit close to home and it hit hard. Those Oop North are so used to seeing places like New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo or London blown up in the movies that it doesn't affect them, but when it's a much smaller city in Yorkshire...
Film.Rock Of Ages: The movie is mostly restricted to two greater locations, namely Sunset Boulevard and the Hollywood sign. Not that it was actually made there (see California Doubling), and not that the Hollywood sign and its immediate surroundings look anything like the real deal. It's kind of Hollywood Hollywood because Hollywood fails at portraying itself realistically.
TabletopGame.Crimson Skies: when California secedes from the Union it forms the Nation of Hollywood. Note that not all of California belongs to this new nation (Pacifica occupies the northern part of the state). As expected, most important events in this new nation tend to take place in and around Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Film.Celeste And Jesse Forever: Most of the movie is set there, and it shows. Almost every scene includes yoga, vegan cooking, pot-smoking, or some combination of those.
Characters.Big Brother 18 The Jury: Da'Vonne is originally from Inglewood, California. Inglewood is a city that is located within the southwestern part of Los Angeles County. It is also located in the South Bay region of the Greater Los Angeles Area.
Film.The Artist: Shot on location in buildings authentic to the time period. Peppy's mansion is Mary Pickford's mansion, and George wakes up in Pickford's bed. Ironically, of the 2012 Best Picture Oscar nominees, The Artist was the only one completely filmed in Hollywood. Even though it's a French film.
WesternAnimation.Dragon Tales: It's never stated specifically where the kids live, but what we see of their house sure gives off this vibe.
Film.Show People: Among other things this film is a remarkable portrait of Hollywood filmmaking in the late silent era.
Music.John Stewart: He was born in San Diego, grew up outside Los Angeles, and eventually moved to the Bay Area. His songs are filled with local California references. "Gold" is about struggling musicians in LA.
Film.Family Plot: City with No Name: Unlike most Hitchcock films which feature an iconic city or landmark, the location is kept vague except it's obviously in California. San Francisco and Los Angeles were both used for exterior shots, with San Francisco's famous black-on-white street name signs visible at several points.
