"All men are created equal; they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights; among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness..." Since the Declaration of Independence signed by Thomas Jefferson on 4 July 1776, the American spirit hasn't changed much. And three hundred years later, in 2006, Hollywood took up this leitmotif in an eponymous title: The Pursuit of Happyness. In the eyes of most Americans, California is the "happiest" of the country's 51 states. However, living in the kingdom of the stars is not necessarily a sinecure... There's the sky, of course, there's the sun and the sea... but there's also the pressure. The race to look good, to be healthy and beautiful, to succeed - in short, to be happy, whatever the cost. Angelenos don't shy away from this - on the contrary, they embrace it. Gerald Rox, 29, director of an estate agency in Beverly Hills, and his partner Sandra Matthews, 24, say they spend a lot of time on their appearance. Showing off his perfectly groomed hands, the young company director explains: "I give myself a manicure and pedicure every week, I have my teeth whitened with a laser, I wax my chest, I take omega 3s and I drink organic wheatgrass juice every day at the Beverly Hills Juice Club." Sandra Matthews, meanwhile, openly flaunts two cosmetic surgery procedures. "Fashion and beauty contribute to happiness because they allow you to feel better about yourself, to be in tune with others," she says, a far cry from the exception, and the norm for anyone who wants to succeed - in beauty, if possible - on the West Coast. Los Angeles is home to 2,689 spas and beauty salons, 700 sports centres and 17 manufacturers of medicinal products and vitamins. It also has 9,222 plastic surgery establishments, which alone account for an annual payroll of over 4 and a half billion dollars (figures provided by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation).
BEING AND APPEARING
Dr Sharon Furman, a psychologist in Beverly Hills, explains that the race to be "bigger and better" can ultimately prove extremely stressful. "You constantly have to do better, own the biggest cars, earn the highest salaries, achieve the greatest personal and professional successes. And above all, Los Angeles is full of the most beautiful people - physically, that is - in the country, who come to this strange tarmac where palm trees flourish, in the hope of 'breaking through' in Hollywood. This can have very serious psychological consequences for unarmed people, to put it mildly. Seeing beautiful, rich people all day long sometimes takes you away from the reality of things. Even if the quality of life in Los Angeles is undeniable, "you have to learn to recognise that happiness is not just what you have and want to show off, but what you are inside", says Dr Furman. In recent years, this value of inner well-being has gained ground. With the green wave sweeping the city, people are returning to healthier eating habits and a more natural, simpler lifestyle. People are practising outdoor yoga in the Hollywood Hills at Runyon Canion, planting trees - the 'Million Trees L. A.' project run by TreePeople - driving hybrid cars that offer free parking, among other benefits, and building eco-friendly convention centres.
THE CULT OF VITAMINS
It's no surprise that the new favourite of Hollywood stars is a 97 % organic product. It's called Isagenix, an elixir that "rids the body of its impurities" and helps it to overcome the nutritional deficiencies caused by soils that have been impoverished by decades of pesticides and fertilisers. "Even if you eat organic produce, it's difficult to get all the minerals and vitamins your body needs to function properly", explains Callie Miller-Telikicherla, Isagenix representative. This product, which is consumed mainly in the form of smoothies, was launched on the market in March 2002 and has grown at breakneck speed. It is now worth billions of dollars. "In the first year, sales amounted to $19 million. For the time being, California is the biggest consumer of the product, generating the $19 million a year", continues the brand representative. The network marketing market, a contemporary, cybernetic version of the inimitable "Tupperware meetings", is currently experiencing an extraordinary boom. It is estimated to employ more than 40 million people and generate nearly 75 billion dollars in revenue worldwide.
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF HAPPINESS
In the wellness sector, many network marketing products are all the rage in California. For example, Beachbody.com, whose high priest, Tony Horton, is also Californian, is a sports DVD site that enables thousands of people to work from home by becoming "coaches", and earn hundreds of extra dollars every month. For Isagenix, as for others, success is down to the commitment of its sometimes famous representatives. John Gray, the author of Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus, was one of the first to support Isagenix and even devoted an entire book to it (The Mars and Venus Diet and Exercise Solution). Because American-style happiness also means the written word. Every year, thousands of volumes make their way onto the 'personal development' shelves of bookshops. Tina Jordan, from the Association of American Publishers, says that "in publishing, personal development is a sector that is constantly growing". In fact, self-help (books, conferences, DVDs, etc.) is worth 9.6 billion dollars. Between 2003 and 2005, the market grew by 24 %, and between now and 2010, a further increase of 11.4 % is expected, taking the market to a value of 13.9 billion dollars. So the quest for happiness has never really slowed down since 1776... It's hardly surprising that on 8 September, the Los Angeles Times devoted an article to books about... happiness. In it, Margot Schupf, editor of the famous Collins publishing house, declared: "Books on happiness are multiplying, because it is a theme that has not yet been well exploited. Documentation on the subject is also becoming much better, more scientific." In the space of a few months, numerous titles have been published. And this is thanks to advances in a new branch of psychology, positive psychology, or the psychology of happiness, now taught at Harvard. In Hollywood, rumours are swirling that a documentary on the subject will soon be released. Happiness in LA is more than just a matter of course, it's a way of life, not to say a system.
