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.”
In fourteen weeks we will view fourteen diverse films all of which take place in Los Angeles. We will spend our first hour discussing the merits of each particular film and how it goes about portraying our city. This will involve examining the technical and artistic elements of the film including script, genre, visuals of LA, music, direction, editing and other components that go into the making of a movie.
Our second hour will be spent discussing one (or two) of the key issues raised in each film that are intrinsically a part of life in Los Angeles. These subjects will run the gamut from water to freeways, immigrant life, fads, food, privilege, race and of course the movies.
Below is a list of the 14 films we will be discussing. Following the name of each film are some suggested topics for our second hour of discussion. A presenter can select these or any other topic(s) providing that there is a relationship between what is portrayed in the film and an issue that is quintessentially “LA”.
There are no assigned texts for this SDG. However everyone is expected to do research and include in their outline a few articles or videos that provide background info / critical analysis of their film. The presenter is also responsible (when possible) for selecting a few articles / videos about the topic that they have chosen for discussion in the second hour. Background material can include selections from Wikipedia, You-Tube Videos and scholarly articles.
At present all films are available to stream over services like Amazon for a rental fee of around $2.99. Some may also may be available to stream for free on services like Kanopy or can be taken out as a DVD from the public library. At the time of the SDG I will provide more specific information regarding availabilities.
NOTE: There is no guarantee that all of the listed films will be available in winter 2023. Should a film become unavailable another will be substituted in its place. Likewise should an unavailable film that I wanted to include become available it will be substituted for one of the films that is currently on the list.