It is really hard to believe this
Saturday I am leaving for the USA and believe me my expectations are high, but
how could they not be. Since I was a child I have had expectations about LA and
NYC. From watching Christmas movies as a child such as Home Alone 2 and the
remake of Miracle on 34th Street how could I not have expectations.
Home Alone 2 Lost In New York
In LA I expect sunshine,
beautiful women and beaches with epic waves yet will my expectations live true.
While I understand that most of my expectations are fueled by media companies,
to a degree there has to be some truth or reality to these representations in
film, television and music. With LA being home to Hollywood and the celebrity
lifestyle that in recent years ‘TMZ’ and ‘E Tonight’ have portrayed I am
expecting to see a lot of clean living, green juice bars, egg white omelets and
night life that is only found in LA such as the Viper Room a club that has been
endorsed in so many films, TV shows and visited every night by the rich and
famous. I am also expecting to see many different styles in LA from hipsters,
surfers, academics, movie stars and maybe even everyday people. What will be
interesting to see is what is not reported or made evident in these films and
TV shows such as the homeless, criminals and what the real LA is. Is LA more
then the Venice Pier, Rodeo Drive, Mulholland Drive and Hollywood? Shiel (2012,
p. 278) comments, “Los Angeles’ inherited cinematic image as a place of
opportunity, beauty and wealth, many films continued to be set in relatively
comfortable locales such as Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica and Malibu.”
From watching TV shows such as ‘The OC’ and ‘90210’ it is hard to not have
certain expectations of LA such as beautiful women, luxurious lifestyles and
opulent wealth. This idea of California with the sun shining and beautiful
women is also noted by Shiel (2012, p. 274) who comments, “glamour and sex
appeal of the kind promoted by studios were among the primary targets of
avant-garde film, but those values were extended in a fully commercial way.” One
of my favorite scenes is in ‘90210’ series three when one of the characters
goes for a surf and takes his surf board out of the passenger seat of his
Ferrari. Being someone who frequents the beach for a surf often, I have never
seen this and is one of these situations that you would put down to only in LA.
The OC
90210
I also have expectations of LA
being a seedy area of crime and broken dreams. While in the TV shows and films
I have been subject to it seems there is a deeper sinister side to LA. This is
expressed by the Red Hot Chili Peppers in their song Californication. California
is an idea rather then a reality.
Californication: Red Hot Chili Peppers
While this idea of California
being challenged by the Red Hot Chili Peppers Zeller-Jacques comments in
Solomons (2011, p. 87), “no matter how many times they warn us that LA is less a
Garden of Eden than a latter-day Sodom or Gomorrah, we still want to believe in
the paradise, and we keep turning back for one last glimpse.”
This is also represented in two
of my favorite movies being Point Break and the Lethal Weapon series. While
these movies are awesome to watch as you really get to see the geography of LA
from Mulholland drive to surf breaks such as Huntington these movies depict the
other side of LA away from Hollywood.
Point Break
Lethal Weapon
Another movie that represents
this seedy side of LA and how one can make it at the same time is the
documentary film ‘Dogtown and Z-Boys’ and the Hollywood feature ‘Lords of
Dogtown’. A story that has been hugely influential to me as it tells the story
of the creation of skateboarding by telling the tail of Stacy Peralta, Jay
Adams and Tony Alva. One of my expectations and something I can tick off my
bucket list is to go for a skate on the Venice boardwalk and go to the Zephyr
Surfshop. I think this shows how films can raise ones expectations of a place.
Lords of Dogtown
When it comes to music my
expectations of LA are even more deepened of a place of escape that is unlike
anywhere in the world. I think to a point this has to be true as this idea is
expressed across decades and by many different genres of music from the ‘Mamas
and the Papas’ to ‘2Pac’. In music it very much seems like a party town where
dreams come true and everyone has the chance to make it, a little like what the
American Dream promises. From artists such as 2Pac Feat. Dr Dre, Hole and
Phantom Planet to name a few this optimistic oasis of California is expressed.
California Love: 2Pac Feat. Dr Dre
Malibu: Hole
California: Phantom Planet
Now lets cross the country to NYC
where my expectations for this city are so high it is crazy. I am obsessed with
NYC if I could live anywhere in the world it would be NYC and the crazy thing
is I have never been there. From the fashion, women, restaurants, nightlife,
universities, museums and culture to name a few things that make up the city
how could I not want to live there? Most of my film and TV appetite are heavily
dependent on stories about and filmed in NYC. TV shows such as Gossip Girl,
Friends, Sex and the City, How I met your Mother and sports feature HBO 24/7
Road to the NHL Winter Classic are a few I watch and have watched.
Gossip Girl
While Gossip Girl is a show
literally about gossip and its demographic was for teenage girls, I loved this
show as it presented many things that make up New York today. Such as shopping
at Bergdorf Goodman on 5th Avenue, central park, fashion nights,
bars in Williamsburg Brooklyn, restaurants such Mario Batali’s Babbo, hip
hotels and university life at The New School in the Greenwich Village and New
York University.
Friends
Sex and the City
When it comes to music I think
the song Empire State of Mind by JAY Z Feat. Alicia Keys sums up my
expectations for NYC. A place where your dreams can come true and you can do
whatever you want which is possible in NY.
Empire State on Mind: JAY Z Feat. Alicia Keys
I am so excited for NY that on my
iPod I have a NY playlist which features songs only about New York. It really
seems like a magical place that like LA is one of a kind. Songs that influence
my expectations and feature on the playlist are The Pogues, Frank Sinatra and
Ryan Adams to name a few. Each song represent the euphoric view of NY and how
opportunities and possibilities to do what you want are endless.
New York, New York: Frank Sinatra
New York, New York: Ryan Adams
Fairytale in NY: The Pogues
There are many movies that
feature New York but two that raise my expectations are ‘That Awkward Moment’
and the classic ‘Warriors’. That Awkward moment raises my expectations by the
little things in the film such as the parks they visit, the restaurants they
eat in, the location of the movie such as the East village and Greenwich
village and the story line with the characters being similar in age with the
same similar issues which is cool to see these experiences set in NY.
That Awkward Moment
I first watched the movie
Warriors with my Dad in primary school (pretty liberal parents when it comes to
movies) but this film is iconic as it is a film that is truly set in the
boroughs in NY. I guess this film doesn’t raise my expectations in the sense of
what I will do but is a film that I associate with NY.
The Warriors
Warriors: ‘Come out to play Clip’
While it is evident the media in
forms of film, music and TV shows have raised my expectations of what I am
going to experience and discover I think it is naïve to expect everything we
see in these texts. The thing with experiences is you have to be open with
them, and while my expectations are high I am so ready to have a trip of a life
time and experience things I expect and those I don’t.
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