Los Angeles’s Noir Locations
When researching Noir in Los Angeles, I came across a Daily News article (http://www.dailynews.com/2014/05/03/union-station-in-los-angeles-is-a-film-noir-star/) stating that Union Station is a “film Noir Star.” Before the urban lab we went on last week, I never thought of Union Station as an iconic Noir monument, but once we were assigned to take the various images, the station felt much older and, in a way, became an accurate reflection of what we know as Noir. I started to wonder what other places in Los Angeles also had a history on the screen or in art. Along a similar line, I was also curious about how certain places had reputations that changed throughout time or how they changed in our eyes once we viewed them as significant to the movie and art industry in LA. When watching Chinatown, I was always looking for places that I might recognize in present day. I was also curious about the choices that were made in terms of location for movies, and what those choices say about LA. When you live your daily life as a 21st century teenager, what familiar places do you find intriguing? Are there any places in which you are curious about their history? Is it too much to ask for a quick google search on these places to see if there is any interesting information to share? How has your view of certain places, buildings, parks, or locations been shaped by what you see in entertainment? I hope this post allows for a more reflective and personal response.
As we have looked at in this class and read a little bit about in every text that we have read, Los Angeles is full of history, some that we are happy to recognize and some not. There are film and art architectural icons throughout the city whether we notice them or not. The first example that comes to mind is the Colorado Street bridge, infamously deemed suicide bridge. Movies, television show, commercials all show this location as a place of mythical beauty. Not that that isn't true, but we all know the morbid history of the bridge and the nickname that it carries along with it.
ReplyDeleteThe entertainment industry can paint any picture that it wants with the iconic locations in Los Angeles. They can make Disneyland seem like and place of sadness or the dreary bed of the LA River as a place of joy. The industry is able to skew a viewers perspective of a location regardless of any circumstances. This is why our perception of places should be built by our selves rather than a movie that is dedicated to showing the beauty of a scene. In La La Land, Ryan Gosling walks down a virtually empty pier at sundown. As any real Angelino would know, this is never the case, and Ryan Gosling's pleasure experience is not one that is too common.
For a specific location, I am interested in the history of my neighborhood and the ones around it. The greater area of where I live is a predominantly latinx region of northern Pasadena, but there a small pockets of wealthy white neighborhoods. Around two blocks north-south and two blocks east-west the houses are much nicer, the streets are cleaner, the lawns are greener. I am interested in how these places got to be the way that they are and how the demarcations between demographics landed where they are.
As I live my life as a 21st century teenager I find many places across LA to be intriguing. One of the most intriguing places for me is Venice Beach. There is just such a diverse group of people and artists all on one beachfront and I just find it amazing to be there. Lately there has been some gentrification of Venice property from the Snapchat headquarters, so I am really interested to see how that clash is going. I am still very interested in Venice and its history. I'm very curious to know wow did it become such a artistically diverse area. Living in Los Angeles, I consider it a privilege to go to the movies and be able to see such areas that you would see normally in Los Angeles on the big screen. Many people living across the country in no major cities don't get to witness such an interesting experience while we can witness it every day. The most interesting media of Los Angeles to witness is playing Grand Theft Auto 5. The game designers got every Los Angeles landmark into the game perfectly and it is crazy to be able to play a video game that is located at a place where you go a lot. I am having a lot of trouble thinking of a noir location in LA, but if I had to choose one, I would choose Grauman's Chinese Theatre. I can't really explain it-- maybe it's the incredible architecture, maybe it's whats going on in there, maybe it's seeing people anxiously waiting out there trying to spot a celebrity or someone dressed up as Spiderman trying to make some money--, but something always fascinates me and reminds me of noir whenever I think about it.
ReplyDeleteLos Angeles is full of locations that have been completely warper through the perspective of films and their history. The first one that came to my mind was the L.A River. I do not know if I can count on one hand the amount of Christopher Nolan chase scenes that occurred on the concrete sides of the river. I believe films have portrayed the river as somewhat of a metallic oasis rather than one of nature as no films seem to concentrate on the middle section (frogtown, glassell park area) and rather focus on the potion of the river near downtown and long beach, which is mostly concrete. Through a little bit of investigation, in terms of noir the tunnels near the Los Angeles River are the most famous for their bleak appearance and their length.
ReplyDeleteAnother location that has got me thinking throughout this noir unit is Griffith Park. As seen in La La Land where nearly half the shots of the two main characters happened in the hills of the park, it is evident that this mountain range is prime territory for films of all nature. As well the Griffith Observatory has continued to be a popular visiting point for all tourists due in part to its features in huge films. Then again I believe Griffith Park is helped by its incredible views of the Los Angeles skyline, the Greek Theatre, and the infamous Hollywood Hills Houses.
Finally, I would love to look at how huge streets are portrayed in current and past idealizations of our city. I have been looking into stock footage from the forties and fifties of Wilsher Boulevard, Sunset Boulevard, Melrose Avenue, and 3rd Street. The images are incredible and interesting to see what traffic looked like back then compared to now. Oddly driving looks far more dangerous in the past in comparison to today.
It is odd to analyze certain locations in Los Angeles through film, however, through looking into popular areas it is obvious movies have played a key role in establishing them as landmarks.
I think there are many well known landmarks across Los Angeles whose presence and significance of that presence has changed over time due to the entertainment industry. In response to your observation about location choices for films produced in LA, this is interesting because that has a huge impact on the viewer's perception of that place. Certain movies may glorify areas of LA that further the positive image they convey to outsiders while others choose to display an area that may be the complete opposite. This may be to break down a stereotypical view of that particular area or to indeed contribute to that stereotypical view and further its reputation as a "good" or "bad" area of LA. Living my life as a 21st century teenager, I have definitely found movies to affect my opinion on certain areas of LA. I have always loved different amusement parks, especially Disneyland. When I think about the commercials, advertisements, and movies that depict Disneyland, it is always in a positive light, describing it as the "happiest place on earth". Due to this exposure, I have grown up with that perception of Disneyland. While I know it was created to be indeed a place of fun and happiness, with your question, I wonder about the history of it. Rather than the obvious good feeling Disneyland induces for some like me, what substance is there behind that, if any?
ReplyDeletePlaces that I find very intriguing include the Sixth Street Bridge, the Echo Park pond, the Chinese Theater, City Hall and the Watts Towers. I am interested in the history of all of the buildings including, how they were built, when they were built and who the visionary was behind the creation of each of these buildings. Something that I find funny about all of the buildings that I listed is the fact that all of these buildings/areas have always been very popular in the history of the city and all of them are landmarks to the city. As well, I believe that if I was living back during the noir era or now during the present day, I would still hang out in these same areas, Echo Park especially. In terms of how entertainment has shaped me view upon certain areas, I believe it is actually for the better. Echo Park is now becoming an area that is quite safe but in past years has been an area associated with a heavy gang population. Film and social media have since turned this area into a very trendy and safe place where ones can enjoy paddle boating, nice walks and Kodak perfect picture moments. Fun facts about the areas I listed include, the Sixth Street Bridge designed by Michael Maltzan and opened in 1930. Echo Park list of things found in the Lake after it had been drained for refurbishing Park Trash Cans – 20
ReplyDeleteConstruction cones – 36
Shopping Carts – 7
Portable Stereos/Boombox – 3
Pay Telephone – 1
Skateboard – 6
Parking Enforcement Boot – 1
Toilet – 1
Glass bottles – Hundreds
Model Boat – 2
Frisbee – 20
Weapons (guns) – 2
Office Chair – 6
Miscellaneous toys, Trash, Debris – Hundreds
The Chinese Theater was opened May 18, 1927 and designed by architect Raymond M. Kennedy and finally the Watts Towers were began in 1923 by Simon Rodia.
I love the beach, which I think is a highlight of LA film. I also like going to Grand Park, where I have my Seeds meetings, and Grand Central Market. I'm interested in the history of Grand Central Market and Downtown areas in general, especially with the "cultural corners" that were built on purpose (Chinatown, Olvera St., etc). I don't watch many films, so I'm not always thinking about their impact on the places I go in L.A. I think the most media influence would be from social media for places like Juice Served Here, which aren't really "destinations," just commercial spots. Otherwise, I'm interested more in the parts of L.A. other than what's commonly shown in movies, such as mansions and Griffith Observatory. Most of my exposure comes from driving to different events, etc. all over the city.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I have lived in Los Angeles my entire life, I have never fully taken the time to reflect on familiar places to me that I find intriguing. Now thinking about it, the most intriguing and most familiar landmark for me is the Colorado Bridge. I have seen this bridge in many commercials and movies (La La Land) and I drive on it almost everyday. I just looked up old images of the Colorado Bridge and the first website that popped up had a “noir-esque”photo of a man staring at the chain-linked fence used to prevent suicide. I think that these old photos do create a noir effect and has an impact on the history of Pasadena. After watching the Hollywood classic Sunset Boulevard, I looked up the history of the street and found other interesting noir symbols. I definitely think as a class we should start researching the history of places and sites that might seem familiar to us but that we don’t necessarily know the history behind. I think that the idea of Los Angeles and Hollywood has definitely been influenced by entertainment and media. The Hollywood Sign and Griffith Park are used in entertainment as major symbols and important places in LA. Although, I think this is somewhat true I believe there are other locations that are more prominent but do not get shown in media and entertainment.
ReplyDeleteI always think its so exciting when something is being filmed near my house...and I think the fact that I have not lived in the most gorgeous places and have moved, but each year have seen a crew in my neighborhood, says something about the locations utilized in Los Angeles by the movie industry. I truly feel like a lot of places, random places, are used in various movies. Of course, there are the monuments like the observatory, the pier, big beautiful mansions, and famous streets but there are also scenes in these movies that take place on Colorado Blvd in Eagle Rock, a place that is not a tourist destination. Because I live in LA I am not phased by seeing these places as much as someone who lives outside of LA would, I believe. I think that the movie industry is selling LA in a way. There aren't many scenes in movies in which I have seen people walking down SkidRow or driving through a neighborhood in Lincoln Heights. So while location scouts are going to random places in LA, they aren't going to the "normal" places. They are finding gentrified neighborhoods in Eagle Rock or the monuments that people know so well. I will say that I search for familiar places when I am watching movies based in LA (I mean its always fun to see the places you know and live in on a movie screen) but I am not as impacted by it than those who live outside of LA and are seeing ONLY the places used in a movie.
ReplyDeleteAs I have grown up in Pasadena- a debatable extension of LA- I find the heart of downtown to be intriguing in its entirety. Pasadena compared to Los Angeles feels somewhat predictable and classical. Los Angeles and the heart of Downtown feels more noir-esque because it is much more complex and unpredictable. With the varying architecture, shadows and angles of Downtown LA, there is a lot of mystery. Union Station specifically feels to be a strong symbol of Los Angeles Noir because of its unnecessary beauty; it seems to embody the complexity and mystery of LA. It has a classical and grand look to it. It has intricate borders and is lined with palm trees and greenery. In class the other day, Ethan said, "People stay there to leave." There is a constant flow of people going in and out of the station. Some of them classy businessmen, some of them ordinary travelers. But there is also a large number of people who live there. Or live there sometimes. The contrast of homeless people and the classy "look" of the station creates a confused perspective on the building and location as a whole. I feel like films feel the need to capture the classiness and the greenery--as did LaLa Land, but fail to capture the contrasting reality. But maybe that is intentional because people don't necessarily want to be exposed to the reality.
ReplyDeleteI have grown up in Pasadena and San Marino, but most of my interactions with my community and the neighborhood around me center around food and asian restaurants. And especially when it comes to the B food safety rating restaurants that I find in alhambra and san gabriel, there is a certain air of mystery about it. On the surface, the chipped tables, dim lighting, and cracked laminated menus suggest that this restaurant is actually a somewhat stable dining establishment. yet a quick trip to the back and kitchen reveals a whole other story to the semblance of wholeness that the rest of the restaurant may hold. and these open gallons of soy sauce and grimey stoves represent themselves in the small flaws within the restaurant. This is akin to the fantasy of beauty that is represented in Union Station, palm tree lined streets, and elegant houses.
ReplyDeleteAs a 21st century teenager, familiar places that I find intriguing (or would like to know the history/background of) include the Colorado Street Bridge, Old Town Pasadena, Washington Blvd, and Angel’s Landing in DTLA. As many of my classmates, I have seen the Colorado bridge depicted as a beautiful emblem of the city that represents its intricate architecture and love of views and sunsets (most of the movie images are at sunset, right before the many bridge lights come on). However, there is clearly a darker side to the bridge, as people have been using it to jump to their death for decades, thus giving it the name “Suicide Bridge.” I wonder how this bridge specifically became the site for people to take their lives, and whether it has something to do with wanting to reveal the unhappiness of people living in a supposedly perfect, wonderful city. I also know that Old Town did not always look as it does now—when my parents first came to California, it looked completely different and was not considered a target place for individuals to visit or “hang out” in. I would like to know more about how it came to be the way it is today, which stores came first and sparked interest in the rest of store owners. Washington Blvd., a street close to where I live, has been transformed into a modernized trendy neighborhood, now offering a cute (but expensive) coffee shop, a vegan/ gluten-free bakery, a “vintage” clothing shop, and most recently a pricey hair salon and interior design store. Just a few years ago, this area was a run down, empty brick building that was considered “dangerous” and “sketchy” to be near, but now it has completely changed (for the better, I would say, but I wonder if any people were displaced and what happened to the smaller, less modern shops that once existed there. I would say that my view of certain places has definitely been shaped by the media and entertainment, but films and TV shows have also revealed to me how manipulative and false many of the depictions are, which have inspired me to reconsider many of my opinions.
ReplyDeleteFor me, movie studios in Los Angeles and their representations have always interested me. Whether it be in sunset boulevard or La LA Land, there is a notorious cameo of the studio and its background. Everyone is walking around in full dress for whatever movie they are in and massive pieces of set equipment is being pushed around. I have trouble describing the feeling so many films invoke when they represent sets this way, but I know that all the representations work to create an image of Los Angeles's studios as centers for unbridled creativity and dream chasing. The shots are never inside the studios themselves, making it seem as if the filmmaking process is so alive that persistently bleeds into the lots outside the studios. Everyone is in dress, people are filming outside, and it seems hard to move without bumping into some creative person.
ReplyDeleteBecause I have spent some times on sets, Hollywoods representations of sets gave me a cynical view of Los Angeles. I have spent a lot of time of sets, and I have never seen the lots that filled with actors or studio hands. It is usually just empty, with the only movement being people driving around on golf-carts, crew members smoking outside, and people lined up at the craft services trailer to get food. There is this very insincere vibe as you notice all replica city blocks are empty. The reality of these studios led me to the idea that Hollywood is a place that advertises itself as some place outside the domain of normalcy. It wants you to think the studios are pulsing with creativity and life, when in reality they are about as bland as any current workplace.