LEADER 04870nam 2200757Ia 450 001 9910818456503321 005 20240313065231.0 010 $a0-8135-5458-6 010 $a1-283-71723-9 024 7 $a10.36019/9780813554587 035 $a(CKB)2670000000276432 035 $a(EBL)1051869 035 $a(OCoLC)818869299 035 $a(SSID)ssj0000761492 035 $a(PQKBManifestationID)11434502 035 $a(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000761492 035 $a(PQKBWorkID)10730539 035 $a(PQKB)10392418 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC1051869 035 $a(OCoLC)823743421 035 $a(MdBmJHUP)muse18909 035 $a(DE-B1597)529007 035 $a(DE-B1597)9780813554587 035 $a(Au-PeEL)EBL1051869 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebr10621677 035 $a(CaONFJC)MIL402973 035 $a(EXLCZ)992670000000276432 100 $a20120312d2012 ub 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aur|n|---||||| 181 $ctxt 182 $cc 183 $acr 200 10$aLand of smoke and mirrors $ea cultural history of Los Angeles /$fVincent Brook 205 $a1st ed. 210 $aNew Brunswick, N.J. $cRutgers University Press$d2012 215 $a1 online resource (316 p.) 300 $aDescription based upon print version of record. 311 $a0-8135-5457-8 311 $a0-8135-5456-X 320 $aIncludes bibliographical references and index. 327 $tFront matter --$tCONTENTS --$tACKNOWLEDGMENTS --$tPROLOGUE --$tIntroduction --$tPART ONE. Original Si(g)n --$tPART TWO. Si(g)n City --$tPART THREE. L. A. Noir --$tPART FOUR. Multicultural L.A. --$tConclusion --$tNotes --$tIndex --$tABOUT THE AUTHOR 330 $aUnlike the more forthrightly mythic origins of other urban centers-think Rome via Romulus and Remus or Mexico City via the god Huitzilopochtli-Los Angeles emerged from a smoke-and-mirrors process that is simultaneously literal and figurative, real and imagined, material and metaphorical, physical and textual. Through penetrating analysis and personal engagement, Vincent Brook uncovers the many portraits of this ever-enticing, ever-ambivalent, and increasingly multicultural megalopolis. Divided into sections that probe Los Angeles's checkered history and reflect on Hollywood's own self-reflections, the book shows how the city, despite considerable remaining challenges, is finally blowing away some of the smoke of its not always proud past and rhetorically adjusting its rear-view mirrors. Part I is a review of the city's history through the early 1900's, focusing on the seminal 1884 novel Ramona and its immediate effect, but also exploring its ongoing impact through interviews with present-day Tongva Indians, attendance at the 88th annual Ramona pageant, and analysis of its feature film adaptations. Brook deals with Hollywood as geographical site, film production center, and frame of mind in Part II. He charts the events leading up to Hollywood's emergence as the world's movie capital and explores subsequent developments of the film industry from its golden age through the so-called New Hollywood, citing such self-reflexive films as Sunset Blvd., Singin' in the Rain, and The Truman Show. Part III considers LA noir, a subset of film noir that emerged alongside the classical noir cycle in the 1940's and 1950's and continues today. The city's status as a privileged noir site is analyzed in relation to its history and through discussions of such key LA noir novels and films as Double Indemnity, Chinatown, and Crash. In Part IV, Brook examines multicultural Los Angeles. Using media texts as signposts, he maps the history and contemporary situation of the city's major ethno-racial and other minority groups, looking at such films as Mi Familia (Latinos), Boyz N the Hood (African Americans), Charlotte Sometimes (Asians), Falling Down (Whites), and The Kids Are All Right (LGBT). 606 $aPopular culture$zCalifornia$zLos Angeles$xHistory 606 $aMotion picture industry$zCalifornia$zLos Angeles$xHistory 606 $aCultural pluralism$zCalifornia$zLos Angeles$xHistory 606 $aMinorities$zCalifornia$zLos Angeles$xHistory 607 $aHollywood (Los Angeles, Calif.)$xHistory 607 $aLos Angeles (Calif.)$xSocial conditions 607 $aLos Angeles (Calif.)$xHistory 607 $aLos Angeles (Calif.)$xIn literature 607 $aLos Angeles (Calif.)$xIn motion pictures 615 0$aPopular culture$xHistory. 615 0$aMotion picture industry$xHistory. 615 0$aCultural pluralism$xHistory. 615 0$aMinorities$xHistory. 676 $a979.4 676 $a979.494 700 $aBrook$b Vincent$f1946-$01152844 801 0$bMiAaPQ 801 1$bMiAaPQ 801 2$bMiAaPQ 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910818456503321 996 $aLand of smoke and mirrors$93967031 997 $aUNINA