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California State of Mind

In the turbulent 1960s, an ordinary man rose to face extraordinary challenges and powerfully shaped the future of California. A dynamic American dream story unfolds in this Emmy® Nominated documentary on Governor Edmund G. "Pat" Brown — "the Godfather of Modern California." Told through the eyes of Brown's granddaughter, award-winning filmmaker Sascha Rice, CALIFORNIA STATE OF MIND gives students an inside look at a California icon and a political family, called by some “the West Coast Kennedys.” As the filmmaker investigates her grandfather's legacy, viewers are invited along to assess Brown's policies and learn about government, leadership, civil rights, growth, and the clash between environment and economic development. Brown's career intersects with such luminaries as JFK, Nixon, Reagan, Cesar Chavez, and Martin Luther King Jr.. This exciting tale of the West is much more than an examination of the past; it's an entertaining biography and a provocative portrait of a man whose bi-partisan can-do optimism inspires students today.