Bubblegum and cheap TV soap, right?
How wrong was I. Stupid of me, not to realise even a city like Los Angeles, so vain and otiose by reputation if not in reality, would contain people who are into culture. Granted, the number might not be as big as that of the people who are into seeing Pam Anderson waggle her boobies in Baywatch, but there is civilisation even in lala-land.
Pop culture is of course in abundance, as the Blockbuster in every street corner testifies. But there is something more subtle going on as well; when driving around LA I'm often struck with a vague sense of deja-vu, upon seeing a buliding or an intersection. Later on, I usually recall that I had seen that building or intersection in an old B-class TV flick about a tough LAPD detective, or some such.
I was a wannabe architect for many years, until way back in high school I realised I wanted a more practical occupation (hence my computer geekdom). But still, the lover of line drawing lives in me, and moments of great aesthetic pleasure are often tied in with moments of viewing great architecture. In Tinseltown, the ultimate eye orgasm is the Getty centre. Located atop a hill with a view to die for, it is an art museum cum architectural dream with a garden that is world famous. Never mind the art. Go there for the garden, for a picnic beneath the fountains of bougainvillea and amidst the scents of Paradise.
I'm a child of high culture. I've had the fortune of being immersed in all forms of old civilisation since the day I was born, from seeing most of the royal palaces in Europe to getting my first dose of opera while in a single-digit age. Classical architecture and the history of former world powers was my childhood - and what contrast LA brings to it! USA is a country more obssessed with the present than of the past (mostly because its past is neither long nor glorious) and this focus is something I'm most acutely aware in Los Angeles. Old culture has its time and place, but only when tempered with the new wave of things.
I'm sure I will burn in hell for mentioning Disney under a cultural header, but Disneyland, located south of the city centre in Anaheim, is a place well worth the visit. It demonstrates the Americans' enchantment with decidedly childish forms of glee, as well as their unrivalled attention to detail. Even the rubbish bins are themed.
I also recently had the pleasure of attending a performance of Verdi's Aida by Los Angeles Opera, housed in the rather pompous but nevertheless effective Dorothy Chandler Pavillion. I was taking three opera virgins there and none fell asleep or developed severe migraine - I consider the visit a success. Me, I was in my personal 7th heaven, listening to Deborah Voigt agonise through Ritorna Vincitor! with just about the right amount of haughty charm and distress.
I find it rather fitting that the Dorothy Chandler Pavillion is also the former home of the Academy Awards. Pop culture meets high culture, and it all just...works. I believe part of LA's magic to be just that: the ability to induce peaceful co-existence, where it is needed.
