Things you have learnt about Los Angeles from the media

[retrouvailles]

So, I'm taking this class on Los Angeles and we have been discussing the way it's viewed in society. For those of you that have not been here (or do not live here), what have you learnt about this city from the media (TV, movies, news, etc)? All of your answers are valuable to this class I'm taking. And consider this a spinoff of the other thread.

[thalbergmad]

It was built by Mafia money.

Thal

[elspeth]

It's impossible to walk anywhere. You are considered abnormal if you attempt to walk any distance over twenty feet, you must drive.

[gerryjay]

It was built by Mafia money.

and now is run by gangs of latino rap singers.

[pianochick93]

Police in helicopters with 2 way radios are a common occurence.

[mephisto]

Only really cool people live there.

[Petter]

Everyone is happy, vastly underdressed and rollerscates along the beach while eating icecream.

[general disarray]

what have you learnt about this city from the media (TV, movies, news, etc)? All of your answers are valuable to this class I'm taking. And consider this a spinoff of the other thread.

Anti-intellectual.  A "company town," i.e., only one business:  movies.  Paralyzing freeways and monstrous traffic.  Heavenly weather.  Wonderful beach communities.  Bizarre, baroque gated communities in the hills for the super-rich.  Overwhelming emphasis on looking beautiful.  Global center for a casual dress culture.  Flip-flops are appropriate footwear for business (love that one myself!).  World capital of plastic surgery and obsession with the most superficial in Western culture.  Consumerism run amok.

And, most lately, a very strong move towards making the town grow up culturally -- especially opera and that fine symphony orchestra.  Getty's museum in Malibu -- great collection.  In short, a town that's growing beyond its movie industry to become a world-class city.

No one knows what LA is.  As Thomas Wolfe (I think) said about Brooklyn:  "Only the dead know Brooklyn."  (And, yes, I have no idea what that means, either.)

Personally, I love LA, but I'm a gorgeous airhead who loves classical piano.  

BONUS FEATURETTE -- MY FAVORITE MOVIES ABOUT LA!!

"Sunset Boulevard"
"Chinatown"
"Short Cuts"
"Clueless"  

[pita bread]

It's impossible to walk anywhere. You are considered abnormal if you attempt to walk any distance over twenty feet, you must drive.