Brenda Chen
Donnell/StogdillCity of Angels
October 29, 2015
Round-up post for October 30
"In Los Angeles, the police didn't fight organized crime. They managed it."
This line from L.A. Noir echoed what I thought after reading Double Indemnity: that nothing in Los Angeles seems to be real. The police, for example, who are supposed to be protecting the city, are instead permitting and even contributing to the crime. In Double Indemnity, many of the characters are weirdly averted to being genuine or honest. Huff (and Phyllis especially) have ulterior motives for almost every action. Bringing it back to Day of the Locust, Faye and her father are completely fake, and their relationship seems strange and unhealthy. Does Los Angeles bring out this dark, twisted side in people? If so, how and why?
I understand that these are completely fabricated events that are supposed to be more warped for effect. But I feel that they are also making a commentary about Angelenos: that they are selfish, secretive, and completely calculated. Also, I couldn't help but notice that in both Double Indemnity and Day of the Locust, there are many "fake" characters, whereas in other novels that are set in other cities, that quality is not prominent. Is this just a coincidence? Or has insincerity become L.A.'s culture?
We've been talking about why Noir is such a popular genre in Los Angeles. Do Angelenos love it because secretly, they see themselves reflected in it? Do you see yourself reflected in it? Is this twisted mindset unique to Los Angeles? Lastly, John Buntin calls Los Angeles "America's Most Seductive City," and Wright says there is something "unspoken" about the city that "uncannily grips the stranger." Is Los Angeles seductive because it's dark and complicated, or does that have the opposite effect? Do you even think Los Angeles is seductive? And what is that unspoken thing about the city?
I agree with the premise that a lot of twisted people live in LA, but also believe that many of your statements could apply to almost every city in the United States. Corruption is in every Government run system in the country, Police forces and all the way up to the president. Almost every facet of our lives has had a time where it in itself has been corrupt, from the poor laborers who have been taken advantage of to build our phones, to the person who cleans your house for next to nothing; we live in a world where this is just the norm. I hate to realize that this is how it really is, but I take solace in knowing that this really does apply to almost everywhere in the United States, not just in Los Angeles. So while I agree with what you are saying in general, I do not agree that this kind of behavior only pertains to Los Angeles.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I agree that many of the characters do seem fake or manipulative, there is a frankness to them as well; it doesn't seem like they're trying to hide anything. Part of it may be the clipped, short dialogue throughout Double Indemnity--there is no flowery language or extensive tangents that distract from what is really happening. Although the characters themselves are intwined in manipulative complications, the reader (or any other third party looking in on Los Angeles) can see the scheme clearly from a detached, higher vantage point. I find this interesting because like most situations, when you are in the middle of something it is hard to see the big picture or catch yourself before you, too fall down the path of the other "dark, twisted" L.A. stories.
ReplyDeleteLos Angeles is a stone cold fox. Always looks fresh, eyes are fierce, moves calculated, with a nonchalant confidence that comes with beauty. She's dressed in blood red with a lotus in her hair. She is the temptress. We want what we can't have and L.A, that mysterious woman, never has time to show you who she really is. But that's why we love– lust– after her. She has this presence that there is something special behind her golden sunset hair and ocean blue eyes that could be revealed to YOU. But the reality, just like the gold paint over my aluminum ring, is that she has nothing past her facade.
ReplyDeleteWhen we first met Phyllis in "The House of Death" do you remember how she was described?
"A woman was standing there. I had never seen her before...sweet face, light blue eyes, and dusty blonde hair. She was small, and had on a suit of blue house pajamas. She had a washed-out look". (Cain 6). She may not encourage a carnal desire I just described, but rather she represented innocence. She was pale and blue and washed out. She was an angel at the top of the stairs. But again... it was a facade. She was nothing more than a fake. Just as much of a fake as and insurance company's goal to help the injured.
"There she stood in the doorway;
I heard the mission bell
And I was thinking to myself,
"This could be Heaven or this could be Hell
Last thing I remember, I was
Running for the door
I had to find the passage back
To the place I was before
"Relax, " said the night man,
"We are programmed to receive.
You can check-out any time you like,
But you can never leave!"
(Hotel California The Eagles)
I guess L.A is hell.... but I still love it.
I think part of what intrigues me about this noir lifestyle is the boldness. I am not ashamed to confess that I couldn't hold back a smile when reading the accounts of Cohen's illegal and violent activity. These noir protagonists seem to live a life of courage. I believe the reason I am drawn to this illicit activity is because, as accented by both Double Indemnity and LA Noir, this genre can set up either side as the protagonist: The cop or the robber, the renegade or the institution. Perhaps this is where the seductive aspect comes in. We are lulled in to rooting for the guy committing the crime (rarely in noir is there a female protagonist, just an even more seductive Velvet Underground lyric). I think, oddly enough, I'm honored to come out of this noir city. It gives off character in mystery. Maybe it is fake (I have yet to earn my spot as an LA gangster...) but I'm still proud to have it be, even a small fraction of my identity.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Conor that many of the behaviors we classify as LA can be used to describe different cities. But I think that LA does have this sense of mystery and uniqueness to it. That is why so many people come to LA to see the mystery for themselves. If LA did not have all of these unique and alluring characteristics, then no one would be coming here. I think a major draw to LA is how LA was built into the grand metropolis that it is today. LA was an idea, cities are built on different geological virtues. Yet here is LA just plopped in the middle of a basin. LA geographical does not have many virtues, yet people still flock here. I think that LA has developed a characteristic that people cannot turn away from.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the reason insincerity plays such a large role in LA's culture is that it is the foundation on which it was built. Don't forget that people came to the other cities in the US for different reasons than people came and continue to come to LA. We were never the land of opportunity that many older cities were in their nascent years. Los Angeles was built on illusion. It never was the open frontier. It never was a fair place. The deck was stacked against you unless you were rich and white. Even then, you came here largely so that the people before you could take away your money. Our image was built on the lies of boosterism, and noir aids the debunkers, albeit with a different strategy, in trying to undo those lies. But the noir writers aren't only tearing down LA's culture, they are trying to create a replacement freed from the boosters' lies. We cannot treat problems we cannot see. The noir writers help us to recognize the systemic and fundamental flaws of Los Angeles. Only after acknowledging and solving these problems will LA have a sincere culture, as it will have been built on principles not profit margins.
ReplyDeleteI think two common and powerful properties in Los Angeles and noir are the seduction and distortion held in both. Looking at the physical and objective characteristics of noir photographs and films, it's clear that both mediums are successful in romanticizing this beautifully dark and twisted style. I was so drawn to the scenes in the Double Indemnity film that took place in Huff's apartment. The lines of light that came through Huff's window shades were so striking and beautifully composed. In combination with the overall dull lighting and black and white, the shadows paralleled the plot and mood of the story line, in that both were hiding something. For this reason it is no surprise that John Buntin calls Los Angeles "America's Most Seductive City," and Wright says there is something "unspoken" about the city that "uncannily grips the stranger." Both noir and Los Angeles leave something to the imagination of their viewers, and somehow both succeed in distorting viewers to convince themselves that little thing is everything.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with the notion that LA is a cesspool for "ugly" behavior, but I also think that every city has its demons. I think in every large city these demons are magnified because of the amount of time these cities are in the public eye, but also the happy booster-ness of the city is magnified as well. I don't think anything we have read, booster or detractor, has portrayed LA honestly. These groups, remember, have a goal to accomplish with either bringing people to LA or making them stay away so, they will never give anyone a real look into LA. This I think contributes to LA's manufactured culture. Keep in mind though what I stated before, Every city has its demons.
ReplyDeleteI think that this superficiality isn't based off of the ambience of Los Angeles but more off of the development of generations of people in general. As social media keeps evolving and trending new ideals, the harder and harder it becomes for people to reach those new standards, and that's where the lying and pretending stems from. The texts we have been reading and analyzing are emphasizing deceit and manipulation on purpose, and I don't feel that they are characteristics that only appear in LA related novels and articles. Lucas' statement on mystery and courage is an accurate description of how Noir uses techniques and human nature to captivate the audience.
ReplyDeleteLos Angeles: The Dream we Forgot About and Killed.
ReplyDeleteThree cats walked into a park late at night. They were tired and sweaty and considered themselves lucky to find anywhere to sleep. In the morning, they woke up, and someone left out some cat food. It was good food; tasty and nourishing, and the cats were happy with it so they stayed another night. The next morning, again, someone had left out cat food. They didn't know why it was there or if it was for them. But they ate it and again it was good. Every night, the cats would stay in the park and every morning there would be more food. And then, because their fortune was great, they told their friends. And those friends, too, were in awe at the easy, perfect life that was had in the park, and so they told their friends. Soon, so many friends started to arrive that there was very little free food left to go around, and every cat fought for scraps. The original cats were so upset that they started to fight against the new cats, and so the park became a dangerous battlefield. Everyone was sad.
I think the entire booster / detractor culture defines the extent to which Los Angeles is seductive. Consider what seductive means and how it is typically used. The luring of someone with promise of an end goal, typically sexual. Boosters more literally are seductive, however the entire mix of uncertainty and inconsistency of opinion provides a mysterious impression to those who seek adventure and new beginnings. New things are often exciting to many, because they have not been seen before. A culture so patchy and undefined as that in LA was the first of its kind. We have discussed the spread of culture from LA due to this uniqueness, and this is why.
ReplyDeleteI feel that if LA was a person, it would be living two different lives. Its friends would be the other states in America and the other countries around the world. These friends would think of America as a flashy, contentious, arrogant, famous, and oblivious to everything going around it. LA's family, being the other cities in California, would know LA to be a very deceiving and corrupt city with many dark secrets deep down in its genes. LA would be feared by the rest of the family if that makes sense, because all of its family knows truly who LA is.
ReplyDeleteI think that everyone outside of California sees LA as a place where fantasy comes true. LA has Hollywood, music, the beach, art, everything you can ask for. But people inside California see the corruption of LA. They see LAPD, a rigged social system, a rigged Hollywood scene, stolen water... the list goes on.
I was really struck in the reading when Los Angeles was compared to other major cities in the founding, with San Francisco and New York being based on ports, St. Louis a river, New Orleans both. Los Angeles differs from these in that it was built to be pretty, basically a honeypot for midwesterners and people seeking a break from the monotony of their boring lives. Even Hollywood and the movie industry was essentially grafted from New York, as it was far enough away from Edison and his patents that they could illegally make whatever they wanted.
ReplyDeleteThe crime drama seems interesting, but it really isn't what makes LA special. Most major cities have had their fair share of gangsters, and the only reason that LA's mob was mostly white was because LA's early immigrants were simply other Americans. Every major city has crime drama whether it be about Mickey, Capone, Whitey, ect..., what makes LA special is the fact that it's creation has basically been one of the biggest scams in American history.
I agree with both Conor and Sean in that there are twisted people that live here, and have lived here, but this culture that Brenda mentions of crime and corruption is present in many other cities around the world, especially in that time. We also have to remember that LA is fairly new compared to other historical cities, and that the majority of its population was, and still is, from other parts of the country and the world. So this noir feature of LA may have be prominent, but it wasn't sprouted from Angelenos completely. In modern day, noir is almost an artifact, no one really describes themselves as noir anymore. That doesn't mean that the aspects of noir are gone, like the dark side of people, or the mystery, it's just no one identifies with that anymore.
ReplyDelete