Does anywhere in Philly remind you of Cambridge, MA?

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by MarketStEl

The "West Philadelphia born and raised" depicting in the opening credits for that show isn't IIRC the West Philadelphia Will Smith was actually born and raised in.

I think one big reason people often don't think of Wynnefield, Wynnefield Heights, Overbrook, or Overbrook Farms or as part of "West Philadelphia" is because in the case of the first two, there's a large physical buffer between them and the rougher sections to their south, namely, the PRR Main Line and West Fairmount Park, and in the case of the latter two, you've passed through a transitional neighborhood (Cedar Park) before hitting them. Wynnefield Heights is the newest of the four and the most thoroughgoingly middle-middle class (most of it African-American), but all four neighborhoods are distinguished by well-maintained homes on bosky streets, and Overbrook Farms itself is IIRC a National Register historic district.

"West Philadelphia" as popularly perceived is largely working-class and lower middle class. I think of much of it as the sort of neighborhoods "Roc" might have lived in. I don't think that most of it is as dangerous as outsiders perceive it to be, and most of it is in better shape than Mantua, which is probably its worst-off section.

So, yes, WS lied to the country at large, on that show, about where he came from. Ugh. He's not "ghetto" and never has been.

And, yes, much of W. Phila. is not as dangerous as outsiders think it is.

[rotodome]

Originally Posted by kyb01

So, yes, WS lied to the country at large, on that show, about where he came from. Ugh. He's not "ghetto" and never has been.

And, yes, much of W. Phila. is not as dangerous as outsiders think it is.

This could be true if the show was created by him, or was a biography and not a fictional sitcom about a character. Will Smith also never lived in his rich uncle's house in Bel-Air. Also a lie to the country?

I grew up in West Philly and Germantown, and just can't relate to this hate!