Friday and conclusions.

I never ended up blogging on Friday because my day was fricken insane and stressful. My flight was delayed by two hours in LA, which ultimately would have made me miss my connection in Dallas to Austin. I ended up managing to get a 10:30 flight but it meant I wasn’t going to be getting home till 11:30 (when I was supposed to be in at 8!). On the bright side, I didn’t have to spend the night in Dallas like a lot of other people did.
I could say that I spent a lot of the flight reflecting on my time in LA, but I really read the book I bought while I was there. Which by the way, almost made me cry like 5 times. I don’t feel so bad because I know Alexandra was getting upset with the book I gave her. Cry babies.

So here is were I insert some deep reflections about my experiences. For all you non-intense blog readers, I would recommend you go back to what you were doing before this. This is about to get serious.



I feel as though in the course of 10 days I’ve learned a lot about Hollywood, more than I thought possible to learn in such a short space of time. The hardest part for me right now is finding a way to adequately explain this in a way that is comprehendible to someone that isn’t reading my mind.
We were supposed to study and reflect on Hollywood’s influence on popular culture. Throughout our trip we experienced Hollywood in a variety of settings, ranging from studio tours, amusement parks, tourist attractions, and downtown LA. We covered a lot. We drove a lot. We saw a lot. And it has all led me to draw one big conclusion.

I would argue that Hollywood and the entertainment industry is extremely powerful. We’re looking at the influence it has on popular culture, and I would argue that its influence is immense and in many ways, overwhelming.

First and foremost, I’m thinking mainly about Alliance Hollywood. They are a group of individuals that work to push issues into the spotlight utilizing mainly television shows and public service announcements. With their efforts, they raise awareness on a lot of hot issues that many people don’t ever think about. Issues, for instance, that we as Americans are so accustomed to we don’t even realize are still a problem. One of Alliance Hollywood’s biggest issues on their agenda this year is homelessness. Driving to work and back, I see a homeless person almost everyday but no part of me stops to think about the size of the problem. Alliance Hollywood recognizes this, and places these issues in places people will experience them and hopefully stop to think about. It’s amazing how a well placed comment in a television show or public service announcement can really turn people around.

I stopped to think about a few of my own favorite television shows, and I’ve realized that they too attempt to spotlight sensitive issues that need attention. Watching them, I was aware that they were attempting to highlight a problem in our society, and I will admit that it got me thinking about the problems. It has led me to conclude that Alliance Hollywood is an extremely powerful group. They work hard toward their goals, and do so in such a way that it is hard for your average person to ignore their cause. Hollywood is pushing a mighty agenda and I don’t think they are going to have any problem getting their message across.

Hollywood is just getting started. It not only works to deal with societal problems, but it also shapes much of what our society deems appropriate or not. LA is a melting pot for popular culture and societal norms. It tells us what cars to drive and what cars to want. What clothes to wear and where to buy them. How skinny you should be and how to get the body you need. What and where you should eat. What kind of dog you should get and where you should take it. The list goes on and on. In our 10 days in LA, I felt bombarded with all these messages. Walking down Rodeo Drive was like being stuck in a giant billboard. Everyone has nice cars, nice clothes, cute dogs, and they looked so California-shique. It was overwhelming.
LA perpetuates an image, and they perpetuate it so strongly it’s hard for people across the U.S. not to notice. Even in Texas, I feel the ripples of LA hitting home. Be successful. Have a car. A house. A dog. Go out to eat. Hit up the beach. Be skinny. It’s hard not to feel like you should be all of this and more when you are walking through LA.
In the 10 days we were there, Alexandra and I were overwhelmed by the sheer amount of LA image we were experiencing everyday. Fast food restaurants had nutrition facts on their menu. There were warning labels at every restaurant with warnings about birth defects from the metal in the tables and other such nonsense. People took their dogs everywhere and the dogs were always adorable. All of it was perpetuating the now completely ingrained in my head LA image. In a nutshell, it almost feels like a giant competition on who can be the coolest, skinniest, most successful person. People across the U.S. look to LA and in al honesty, it’s hard not to.

Lastly, Hollywood can make you believe almost anything. You watch a movie in which there is a large fight scene in the street. The street looks real enough, and long too. Well guess what? It isn’t. Did you notice? No. Or how about your favorite television show. Much of it takes place in the main characters house. Did you ever notice you never see the ceiling? Or for that matter, them walking up or down the stairs? No? Didn’t think so.
Hollywood is happy to let our minds fill in the blanks and we do it without realizing we do. We see a house and assume there is a roof or that their stairs lead to something. We see a street and assume that it stretches for miles. In reality, houses don’t have ceilings or stairs that lead to second floor and streets are made to look longer with a little bit of an illusion built in. We see forests in movies and believe they are actually vast, ever-stretching forests. In reality, we’re seeing a small clump of trees in some studios back lot. That huge ocean from that one movie? Yeah, that’s just a swimming pool next to a green screen. Hollywood has gotten their art form down and we rarely stop to question it. Having seen what I’ve seen and knowing what I know, watching movies and television may never be the same again.

So there you have it. Over the course of 10 days I had a blast. I also feel as though I learned a lot while I was there, much of which will honestly change how I view television or think about my entertainment. The influence LA and Hollywood has on popular culture almost makes it feel like one couldn’t exist without the other. Drastic, I know, but in many ways it’s almost true.

8 months ago  /  Notes