Los Angeles, I mean, who would want to live in a place where the only cultural advantage is that you can turn right on a red light? – Woody Allen
People don't live in Los Angeles because we are tied to the same old, same old. We live in Los Angeles because of the intoxicating energy of new beginnings that permeate our city -Marianne Williamson
I see L.A. as a beautiful blonde with dirty underwear. – David Boreanaz
There are so many divergent visions of LA and the majority of these are held by persons who have never visited, let alone resided, in the 4,753 square miles that is both lovingly and ironically known as the City of Angels. How did this come about?
The answer must surely be placed at the inordinately large feet of the media: books, magazines, television and most assuredly the movies. Since the days of silent films an ever increasing cadre of writers and directors have been churning out tales and images of our town that are voraciously gobbled up by citizens from Arkansas to Zanzibar. What was initially birthed by its creators as fiction, because of the power of cinema, becomes embedded in a viewer’s consciousness as a reality even more potent than fact.
This SDG is about examining the multiple images that the movies has cast upon Los Angeles: Are we a city where dreams come true, a noir nightmare, a comedy, tragedy or a musical? Are we the city of the future or in the words of Dorothy Parker “72 suburbs in search of a city.”
