"Although this idealized image of a free and harmonious American society is undeniably marred by the institution and legacy of slavery, overlooking the role of education and science as prerequisites for freedom and equality diminishes our ability to assess the historical and contemporary limits of American democracy critically."

French National Assembly member Aurélie Trouvé told us that the program “is definitely connected to the Games and the need to offer a ‘clean,’ idealized image, even though it means that thousands of people are pushed afar.”

“The early tradition of children’s books was all about the idealized image of childhood,” Mr. Marcus said.

On its own, the collapse of SVB would probably not have done a whole bunch to dismantle the idealized image of tech billionaires as bounteous stewards of American society.

Perhaps because a green lawn is fundamental to the foundation of the California dream — in large part because lush green lawns are baked into the DNA of Hollywood’s idealized image of itself.