Whose Culture? Whose City?, and the movie L.A. Confidential
In Zukin's Whose Culture? Whose City?, and the movie L.A. Confidential, we see two different cities attempting to build images that are somewhat different than their realities. Zukin discusses New York City and its attempt to build a public image of high culture and elite standing all the while ignoring its high rate of crime and homelessness. In the movie L.A. Confidential we see 1950's Los Angeles and how the city is portraying itself as a utopian paradise, while in reality it is horrifically overrun by organized crime and corrupt law enforcement. Zukin begins by talking about Manhattan's attempt to bolster its cultural standing and image by renovating public parks, promoting museums and galleries, and creating tourist bait. This is all done to build New York's symbolic economy, because as she quotes William Luers, president of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, "By featuring our cultural institutions in promotions such as NY93, we show one of our city's finest faces, and stand to reap the proven economic gain that culture also brings" (Zukin, p. 15). While New York is only putting its best foot forward as to what its public image is, the reali
The primary difference in the symbolic economy of these two cities is that New York is portraying a truthful image of its self, just not the whole truth, while Los Angeles is an outright fraud. From the very beginning of the film we hear the character Sid Hudgens describe the utopian idea of Los Angeles that the city is trying to maintain: perfect weather, sandy beaches, safest city and best police force in the world. All of these things can be seen portrayed in literature, billboards and TV cop shows. These great new parks and museums that bolster the symbolic economy's growth also push the non-ideal representatives of New York to other places, out of the visiting public's eye. Confidential is a much more black and white contrast of image versus reality. This treatment by the police is well known among the minority residents as we saw the Chicano girl lie about her rapists so that they will be pinned for the crime and murdered by the police. " In Los Angeles' case it is blatant extermination used by the police to rid the city of its bad residents. Zukin mentions the illusion that many of New York promoters have and that's the idea that by controlling the culture of the city and building it up might be a way to control its urban ills. Murdering of organized crime members and framing of minorities for violent crimes is their method. Additionally, it is this absolute control by law enforcement that leads to the destruction of Los Angeles' symbolic economy. While the city boasts of its utopian-like quality of living as a result of its police force, it is actually the police force that is its biggest ill. As we see that New York City is attempting to build its symbolic economy in spite of its many domestic problems, the portrayal of 1950's Los Angeles in L.
Common topics in this essay:
Los Angeles,
Los Angeles',
Museum Art,
LA Confidential,
York Zukin,
York City,
los angeles,
Sid Hudgens,
symbolic economy,
police force,
la confidential,
Culture City,
organized crime,
William Luers,
overrun organized crime,
contrast image,
movie la,
culture city,
image versus reality,
public image,
contrast image versus,
los angeles',
los angeles city,
1950's los angeles,
|
Acceptance Essays
