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JerZ, I didn't mean to offend but c'mon in the media NYC is the greatest city on earth where the worlds pulse is at. What gets made fun of are the townies from the Burroughs and across the river in jersey. They're open game. But a street tough Irish, Italian or Jewish kid from old Manhattan is treated like the greatest generation that ever lived. There is self parody but calling NYC a crowded cesspool with overbearing people is off limits.
LA though never had a Woody Allen or Martin Scorcese waxing on and on about how wonderful amazing and vibrant LA is and how it deserves the recognition it misses. Instead it's all Hollywood or gangland. Michael Mann is proly the only director to really capture the scope of LA in a cool light, and a few of the 80s 90s neo noirs. But in the mainstream Los Angeles is just a place where vapid insular people come to break into the industry and there's a gaping hole where culture should be.
And it's not just the movies and TV but have you ever read an article about LA from a typical NYC rag? Or even then an article about LA written by a transplant journalist from elsewhere? 9 times outta ten it's going to list one of the several points I listed they get wrong about LA. LA to them begins at La Brea and ends at the coast.
Every other city I've been to, for the most part, the general picture of the city fit the reality. That was the total opposite with LA! It was unbelievable how much of this amazing city is not covered by the media.
I do, and in fact my best friend's mixed-heritage family (Spanish, Mexican and interestingly, Japanese) goes farther back in SoCal than 3/4 of my family heritage goes back within the entire U.S., LOL.
My two best friends, and just recently (via our sons' school class) now a third person who looks like she's going to be a great friend, are all SoCal natives...one is full-on Anglo, the other two, at least part Mexican heritage. (I am a Heinz 57 with Eastern European and Scandinavian dominating, plus heritage from my mother's side originating in Madrid.)
Why are we arguing that "transplants" have sterotypes, by using sterotypes about what "transplants" all think and do?
I have lived here for nine years, have met many "transplants" like myself (many from the east coast) and have yet to have one of them say or even hint that they "don't count" non-white natives. We all have friends from various heritage. There are people of many heritages here so you'd have to be deliberately discounting huge amounts of people in order to purposely not make friends in that regard...again, which I have yet to see (personally and directly) any "transplant" do.
Really, if you're looking to change sterotyping...you may want to look within...? Sterotyping doesn't just get old for you.
The "problem" is you are actually interacting with real live people that live in LA. Of course within the city and metro the vast majority of transplants recognize that there is a huge amount of non-white natives and a rich civic history to Los Angeles.
However, I think posters are griping over the types of throw-away articles you see that say things like "10 Reason's LA isn't a real city" or "Why LA Sucks" and without fail, "almost no one is a native" is one of the reasons. Or you know, go read the City vs. City section to see this stereotype constantly re-hashed against LA.
Also you live in Glendora, so are probably a little isolated from the real big transplant epicenters like Hollywood, Westwood, Santa Monica, etc. I think these attitudes are a little stronger in those trendy places than somewhere like Glendora or even where I live in Pasadena.
Isn't it weird how there are countless movies, TV shows and documentaries that talk about how amazing and perfect NYC is but the equivalent doesn't exist for any other major American cities? New Yorkers(and people within the tri-state area who call themselves New Yorkers) go on and on about how amazing NYC is and won't shut up about it. No one in Chicago, Seattle, Los Angeles, Miami, or San Francisco does that. And shows and movies set in those cities don't point out how amazing those cities are every chance they get. If a show set in Los Angeles came along and proclaimed LA the greatest city in America and spent a lot of time showcasing the city it would probably be treated like outlandish fiction and laughed off the air by the majority of the country because New York dominates the "cityscape" of America's mind. Hollywood supposedly controls the media but most TV shows and movies set in big cities are in NYC, not Los Angeles. And even national news coverage favors the East Coast. It's the weirdest thing.
Oh my gosh, are you guys serious? (And no, radiolibre, you didn't offend me, so don't feel bad about that. You have a right to your opinion.)
(deep breath) Well, here goes...
Google search: New York City Sucks
About 32,800,000 results (0.47 seconds)
First search results, none skipped, in order:
1. Admit it: Living In New York Sucks | Thought Catalog
2. 21 things that suck about living in New York - Matador Network
3. 10 Reasons NYC Isn't as Great as You Think It Is | Mark ...
4. Has it ever occurred to anybody that this place sucks? (New Y - CITY DATA FORUM
5. Why Is Everybody Talking About Leaving New York?
6. Why I'm Glad I Quit New York at Age 24 -- The Cut
7. Top 10 reason Why New York City Sucks !!!! - YouTube
8. 8.4 Million New Yorkers Suddenly Realize New York City A ... (Hellhole)
9. Living in New York City SUCKS!!!StupidityisContagious.com
10. Why dating totally sucks in New York - Time Out
Oh, as an aside, this was actually funny, there's a Facebook page: New York Sucks | Facebook
Searches Related to New York City Sucks (comes up automatically):
New York City Overrated
I Hate New York
Reasons New York City Sucks
How Large is New York City
Taxes York
Taxes New
New York City
Living in New York City Sucks
A few post titles from the first two pages of the NYC City Data forum:
* NYC Safety Maps (sticky) (LOL, the very FIRST thing you see on the NYC forum is a list of where not to go to get killed...because ALL people who don't live in the northeast seem to believe NYC is THE place to go get hit by the Mafia or a gangbanger...wonder where they got that the idea? Couldn't be the oh-so-slated-toward-New-York-Glamour media They must all just be imagining things out of thin air?)
* The Chit that goes down on NYC subways
* Is 100th and 1st Avenue Safe? (i.e. "ZOMG, I saw 100 movies, articles, shows, and documentaries last year that showed how people just get shot through the head left, right and center in NYC, so I'm pretty scared...please tell me this is going to be okay...will I at least be holed up there for a month or so before getting offed so I have time to get my will notarized for my wife and kids?")
* How much do you need to haul in annually to make it?
* Hipster creep musician gets arrested on subway
* How safe is Parkchester Bronx? (you'll see safe safe safe safety ZOMG where can I not actually get shot and put in a plastic garbage bags because that's all THE MEDIA and anyone else seems to say about NYC posts ALL OVER the NYC and surrounds forums)
* Illegal to wash your car and repair your own car in the driveway or garage in queens,nyc?
* What do you hate most about NYC? (current post count: 344)
* NYC Gentrification Timeline
* nycha can care less
* pregnant and homeless
* Will I fail in NYC? Which borough can I afford?
...sprinkled in among dozens of "how the heck to I live here," "where the heck do I live here" and "what the heck tests do I have to live in order to be able to live here" posts.
And movies all show the glamorous side of NYC and/or make thugs out to be heroes, oh dear goodness LOL!!! No comment. Can only shake my head. (Sorry to sound so sarcastic and irritated, nobody here probably deserves that, but I've edited this a couple of times so I am leaving it as is...but just wanted to state that I probably could have been less sarcastic. I do believe people really are trying to understand and really do believe that L.A. gets a bad rap and NYC is glamorized. However, all the links and facts obviously are what they are and weren't cherry-picked. So that part is what it is.)
I think there's a lot of one-sided victim mentality on this thread and not a whole lot of accuracy. Not that every single person is blameless of this at some point or other, but people, come on.
As for news coverage favoring NYC, yes, you are both right in saying NYC is a hot spot (at least certain areas). It is what it is, and by the way, is anybody allowed to like it there? There ARE things to love about New York...just as there are things to love about LA.
And let's face it. That "news coverage" isn't exactly lovely and glamorous. It is overwhelmingly terrifying and depicts NYC as a place where you can't go down to get your mail without getting shot, mugged or framed. Meanwhile...yeah, a few glamorous things are depicted. A few glamorous things are depicted about L.A. too, if you haven't noticed (oh, that's right, you actually haven't). Both are major U.S. cities. They are both going to get a lot of press, a lot of caricatures and a lot of sensationalist stories, whether for good or for ill.
I really can't believe some of what I'm reading on here...but whatever you choose to believe because it fits your own paradigm, facts are facts, and I really just don't know what to say.
As for movies being "set in big cities (take place) in NYC, not Los Angeles," I am just shaking my head. But for a few LA/SoCal movies, check out these links, they may help refresh a few memories:
This entire post INCLUDING the searches took me less than three minutes to compile. Went back to edit for flow and grammar, so all told, maybe five minutes.
Google News results for search "NYC" (no other words added), in order, good stories included for fairness:
850 voters in NYC are officially 164 years old
Cases of Troubling NYC Jail Deaths Deemed Medical
NYC Health Care Workers Prepped for Ebola, Urged to Maintain...
NYC Man Arraigned in Beating Death of 3-Year-Old
Caroline Wozniacki's NYC Marathon Goal? Finish Without Pas...
10 NYC artists to see at CMJ this week
Review: “Nightmare,” New York City's Longest Running Hallow
Zagat Reveals The Best Restaurants In New York City For 2
Porn star alleges rapper punched her outside NYC club
NYC Police Looking Into Arrest of Subway Performer
NYC Chancellor Carmen Fariña Forges a New Schooling Era f
Zagat Survey Declares Paulie Gee's The Best Pizza In NYC
Bravo to Air UK Reality Series 'Made in Chelsea: NYC'
Taylor Swift Wrote The Worst NYC Anthem Of All Time
Eric Mower joining with NYC firm
Police: Three men attacking NYC woman caught on video
Woman steals, conceals New York City tourist's $25K Rolex in
Man catches fire in NYC home, runs for help covered in flames
***
I have the warm fuzzies, who else? At least the scary reports are sprinkled in with some good or at least neutral ones. But, overwhelmingly glamorized depiction? Where, exactly? The guy that managed to land a job? The 10 artists? (Maybe they ran out of horror to report and needed filler and they suddenly remembered oh yeah, it isn't just rape, corruption and murder in NYC...one or two cultural things happen there too.)
Yeah, that lopsided media paints SUCH a pretty picture of NYC. A couple artists, good pizza, a bit of homicide (of a child, no less), freak accidents, corruption and one stupid "NYC Anthem" thrown in for good measure.
If you're honest, you'll realize that perhaps you, too, like millions of others, have the same picture THE MEDIA portrays of NYC of corruption, gangstas, theft, and just general overall fear and misery. Probably 75% of greater of anything you will read about NYC (including the news) will read like a cautionary tale not to live there...and not to go there unless you have your own personal Popemobile and an up-to-date life insurance policy.
I think that is sad that your cousin didn't appreciate L.A too much.
Not everyone has an appreciation for history.
The cool thing about L.A history is that you mostly have to discover it on your own.
A city like NYC..everyone pretty much knows the history that happened there even if they haven't been there.
For example today I went to Lacy Park in San Marino which is an amazing park, and I saw a memorial to General Patton.
It turns out that the famous General was born in San Gabriel ,CA and his father was the first mayor of San Marino George S. Patton - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pretty much everyone has heard of Patton...or at least those with a basic knowledge of WW2 or American history...but I though the L.A connection was interesting (so maybe it's not city of L.A..but still L.A county!)
A lot of stereotypes stick because people don't generally have time to travel that much to actually SEE how people live..and if they do it's usually a short stint in a place like your cousin experienced.
Most people simply aren't going to spend the time to either travel to a place and experience the culture...or actually do some real research on a region .
I think the stereotype of Angelenos being health conscious is still pretty strong..but people in L.A probably are more health conscious than a bunch of other places.
It's become pretty standard to see vegan items on menus in L.A , but for example in South Florida it's not that common.
Regarding materialism ...just because people might live in old fallling apart apartment buildings it doesn't stop them from having the latest and greatest in German engineering.
Especially among certain groups (yeah a stereotype!) it's common to see people living at home with a BMW or Benz in the driveway because they have the "disposable income" .
In terms of food, I think the "L.A ain't got no good pizza" stereotype is old..especially the past few years L.A has undergone a pizza renaissance of sorts.
The everywhere in L.A takes 20 minutes needs to be updated
From Clueless
"Mel: I expect you to walk through this door in twenty minutes.
Cher: It might take longer than that Dad.
Mel: Everywhere in L.A takes twenty minutes."
I honestly think it has a lot to do with what a previous poster said; east coast media. A lot of the higher up people in the media are from the east coast. Anyone I've ever met that was a top dog in the industry was from back east. Transplant writers from the Midwest and back east, come to LA and only live on the Westside and deal with other transplants who think that acting LA means being as yuppie as they act on tv.
Think about any movie or article you read about LA, especially written by a New Yorker.
No culture? Ok, do the big ethnic communities, Chicano history and the golden age of Hollywood not count? I think burbank is a slice of Americana I've never seen in Texas. We have the arts and a thriving live music scene.
No one walks? Do these people ever go past La Brea? There tons of people that walk.
No one is actually from LA? Really? Are they hanging out exclusively in the transplant yuppie epicenters on the west side? It's because most of the natives born and raised I've met have been largely Armenian, Persian, Mexican American or Asian. I guess these folk just don't count? Whole towns of natives born and raised for generations in LA, and only white transplants count as people in LA?
Everyone is fake and has an ulterior motive? Where do they get this? Are they only hanging around with wannabes in the industry?
What LA do they speak of outside of Brentwood, Pacific Palisades, WeHo and Beverly Hills?
That part of LA is practically non-existant to them. I lived in West LA for a few months. And other than special events. Most of the Westsiders I've hung around don't leave the westside, and consider non West-LA to be "grimy".
You also make a great point about Mexican Americans, Asians, and other non Whites rarely being thought of as natives in LA. I always hear about "There are very few natives here" from the transplants who work in the industry. But natives do outnumber Transplants in this city. This place isn't Denver or Portland
Jerz, its great you pulled up those links because without them I would've never found anything remotely negative about NYC. The closest I've found was an onion article that mocked NYC in jest.
In the mainstream though NYC is usually portrayed as the greatest place on earth while LA is a vapid hellhole with no culture.
Jerz, its great you pulled up those links because without them I would've never found anything remotely negative about NYC. The closest I've found was an onion article that mocked NYC in jest.
In the mainstream though NYC is usually portrayed as the greatest place on earth while LA is a vapid hellhole with no culture.
You are welcome.
Well, as I said, these were the first page and a half or so of a simple Google news search, didn't need to go digging or anything...that was that day's news at that time. The New York City Sucks results were stated just that way, New York City Sucks, but there were 30K+ results.
Not sure what you mean by "in the mainstream" as different from media? That was media...I mean it was just the news...just what came up Googling NYC. That was in answer to the assertions that the media, including the news, paints NYC in a glamorized and romanticized light.
Are you talking about local (L.A.) news? Because what I brought up was national, it was what everybody sees...maybe it's just an idea in L.A. specifically that New York is great? I don't know, I don't usually watch the local news, KTLA or anything like that, I usually pull the news off the web and I think probably most people do the same. So even if somehow it's different from L.A.'s overall POV for whatever reason, obviously nationally overall, the portrayal definitely isn't pretty. And this is even given the assertion that most of the news coverage nationally comes from the northeast.
I think if you step outside of L.A., ANYWHERE outside it, you'll see and hear the same buzz over and over again: NYC is where you go to get raped, mugged and/or killed, gangstas hang around waiting to pop a cap in you, and it's dirty and it smells, and pretty much anyone you meet in the entire northeast will have shared a table in school in the lunchroom with the son or daughter of a Mafioso as a child, i.e. the Mafia is everywhere you look, it's all one long running Sopranos episode or whatnot. (ETA: I mean as far as the image, not reality, LOL! Yes, the Mafia exists but not everywhere you turn, LOL! Just like gangs exist in L.A. but not every child lives in one of the Friday, Next Friday, etc. movies!) Or else the diametric opposite, Wall Street wannabees throwing one another under the bus in order to keep their Park Avenue apartments and I'm-dating-a-supermodel lifestyles.
And the CD links were just the CD links, that you can check out too, the New York and then subcat boards, like New York City.
As for L.A.'s portrayal in movies, I don't love Wiki but you'll see hundreds of movies listed and many, many of them are glamorous, not a culture-less hellhole as you say. (You can see those on my first LA movies link above.) In addition, check out movies for any given year...SO MANY of them take place in SoCal or mention SoCal without the vapidness or anything...and many take place SoCal neighborhoods that are supposed to be comfortably middle-class. In fact now that I live here, I'm always mentioning to my husband (who lived here), "Oh, they said Glendale! Oh, I recognize those mountains...Hey, what street is that, is that Wilshire?" and so on. And he'll go, "Well, moviemaking is here, it's less expensive to shoot locally" and so on and he's right, of course.
And yes, entertainment (TV, movies) likes to focus, whether to glamorize or lampoon, on girls wandering by in bikinis and over-health-nuttiness for L.A. just as they like to focus, whether to glamorize or lampoon (or "ZOMG!" in delighted horror) on crime, giant hair, screamingly grating accents complete with gum-popping, shallow Wall Street climbing while stepping on other people's backs, etc. for NYC because both sell tickets. Average, everyday and real doesn't sell tickets or garner ratings. Any reality show (shudder) will show you that...but so will TV and the movies. Another reason reducing stereotypes are a tough go (not that we shouldn't all still try) because TV, movie and even news producers really don't want to be lowering their incomes, they're looking for images that will grab people and that usually means sensationalizing things.
If you Google NYC or New York City right now and click News, you can view what results came up and see whether they appear predominantly positive or negative for you...not sure why they would be different for you than for me, though...? I don't have my Google preferences set to reflect anything about NY or the northeast in general or anything like that...and actually I Googled Los Angeles and clicked News at the same time, and there were some negative reports, but also a bunch of cultural results...art, restaurants...nothing about Valley Girls, thank God, LOL...Anyway, just my results at that exact time when I was Googling.
Last edited by JerZ; 10-23-2014 at 09:17 AM..
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They must all just be imagining things out of thin air?)
