From Place To A State Of Mind

Many residents of Orange Country are angered by the portrayal of their home as a place for "spoiled Southern California rich kids with look-alike beachfront mansions, binge-drinking problems, and status-obsessed parents" on 'The OC'--a new primetime television show on FOX. "But if The OC has gotten the OC wrong, it's in good company. Most of the nation has a warped impression of this stretch of planned communities and sandy beaches that sits between Los Angeles and San Diego." A growing minority population reflects, however, that Orange County is changing. "That's not to say that the affluent conservatives and real-estate developers who have given Orange County its reputation as a bastion of uptight conformity have gone underground." The irony of the television show is "that there are also places that The OC won't go. Like the real Orange County. For reasons that only Hollywood would understand, most of the show is filmed in and around Los Angeles."