In 2004, an international phenomenon was born. Laguna Beach, a small quaint town on the coast of Southern California, starred in an MTV reality show that grasped audiences everywhere. The stars would go to parties, travel, and create lots of drama in the show. The show’s success was based on the appeal of an insider look at the young, rich, and beautiful. While life in Laguna looked like everyone’s dream, is their perfectly portrayed life reality for high schoolers in Laguna Beach today?
Laguna Beach High School Students Maddie Rootlieb and Reef Applebaum give us an insider look at how accurately they believe the show portrayed the real life of kids in Laguna.
Maddie Rootlieb is a sophomore who is extremely involved at school. She plays on the varsity volleyball team, is president of the Forever Free club, is an honors student, and is a member of Model United Nations; yet, she still finds time for an active social life. In “Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County”, the stars are portrayed as highly wealthy, driving around in nice cars and renting out whole hotel rooms for parties. Wondering if this was accurate for most students at Laguna, I asked Maddie for her thoughts.
“There were a lot of extremes in the show…I don’t think they accurately portrayed the diversity of wealth in Laguna,” states Rootlieb.
In Laguna Beach, not all 16-year-olds drive brand-new Porsches or have cars. The show focused on these types of kids, although in Laguna, there are more than that.
Another main focus of the show was the tightness of all the friends. Now is this similar to how it is today, or were they all forced together, and the closeness of kids in Laguna Beach was a lie?
Rootlieb says, “It is such a small community; everyone knows everyone”.
In Laguna, as a local, you can’t walk down PCH without waving at an acquaintance or running into a good friend. This applies to the students at Laguna as well, Rootlieb mentions that, “Everyone has known each other their whole lives”. With two elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school, students in Laguna have all grown up leaning on each other, creating a forever bond. Consequently, “Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County ” portrays the tight-knit community in an accurate lens.
Reef Applebaum is also a sophomore at Laguna Beach High. Along with this, he works at the famous Laguna Surf and Sport, a popular filming location where one of the stars, Steven Colleti, also worked. Applebaum mentions that “most of our customers during the summer are people who are fans of the show; it brings in a lot of business”. The show, especially during its height, brought a lot of tourism and business to Laguna. Applebaum describes how working at Laguna Surf and Sport creates a family bond with all the employees and a great experience. In the show, they accurately portrayed LS&S as a real, local hangout and a job for teenagers in Laguna Beach.
While some things in “Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County” were different from the real life in Laguna, overall, the show accurately portrayed life in Laguna. Citizens of Laguna should be grateful for living in such a great community because people worldwide have been hooked on what is shown as the real life of Laguna Beach.
