There is a popular quote that states, “always remember your roots, they are the foundation of your life and the wings of your future.” An ordinary boy from Oakdale, CA, Eriksen Dickens, grew up to become an actor, filmmaker and co-founder of Platinum Peek Productions. The consistency, hard work and efforts that he has invested in order to raise his bar and register Oakdale CA on the map is commendable. The actor, Eriksen, recently released his highly anticipated ‘Oakdale Bud Pt. 2’ on his Instagram and the short was met with much applause from his hometown.
Eriksen had already published the first volume of this series titled ‘Oakdale Bud’ back in March, and much to his surprise, the parody received thousands of shares both within and outside the community.
“I was hesitant to release it at first because I didn’t want people to think I was throwing shade at Oakdale,” Dickens says. “I love Oakdale. Oakdale is very near and dear to me. So I was relieved with all the positive feedback I was getting. People seemed to know it wasn’t done out of spite. It was just a playful parody.”
The videos indeed are purely fun, light and entertaining. Dickens takes aim at many of the small town stereotypes that pertain to his hometown– small town sports heroes, beer drinking good ole’ boys, guns, chewing tobacco, and an unawareness of the outside world. Dressed in the town colors of red and gold and wearing the rings he won playing sports in high school, Dickens takes us around Oakdale spouting humorous one-liners and telling fictional stories of his time growing up in the Cowboy Capital of the World.
“Oakdale has a lot of uniqueness, “Dickens says. “It has a lot of quirks, one might say. I mean, there’s an annual testicle festival in the town! But all these things shouldn’t be viewed as flaws. They’re just what makes the town unique. They give the town flavor; character.”
Dickens was sure to mention that 95 percent of Oakdale citizens are not like how he is portraying them to be in the video. Hanging out in the various parking lots, drinking beer, getting the smell of the football field, unable to let go of the glory days of high school– Dickens was adamant that this is just a parody, that it should not be taken literally. And luckily, Oakdale got it, because the Oakdale Bud videos garnered a load of views, likes, shares, and appreciation from Eriksen’s followers on Instagram.
People were enthralled by the videos and comments kept seeping in irrespective of time the post was uploaded. People enjoyed it so much, Dickens is now preparing to release ‘Oakdale Bud Pt. 3’ the final chapter in the Oakdale Bud Trilogy.
Dickens says, “It’s a parody, sure, but it’s a good way to put Oakdale on. It’s a way to get people to recognize Oakdale. People pay attention to content that makes them laugh or cry. So if I can get people to pay attention to Oakdale through laughs, mission accomplished.”
