How living in LA has ruined my media viewing experience
It started a few years ago with a Hollywood blockbuster. Then, another major movie was ruined by my living in LA. Now, TV itself is almost unwatchable – all because I choose to reside in the city where most of this stuff is made.
Like you, we at TechZulu are moving closer and closer to our computers and backing away from our TV’s and theaters. Most of the most ‘watchable’ stuff is either on YouTube, Facebook or some cool spin off from Ze Frank or FunnyOrDie. Now that real alternatives exist, traditional media is really taking a toll, especially to those of us living in the center of the media galaxy.
Little Miss Sunshine is a movie about a family that travels west to California for a children’s beauty pageant. Unfortunately, after the first few minutes of the movie, I was totally, confused. Why were they going west when they obviously already live in LA?
You see, in one of the opening scenes, the family is eating chicken from Dinah’s, an iconic Los Angeles restaurant. Not only have I had Culver City office parties with their food, but I have eaten there a few times and occasionally walk my dog past the place. Apparently, Albuquerque has a Dinah’s too… Not!
Hancock was a bigger budget movie that suffered from too much, too little of the 105. One of the opening sequences shows Hancock saving the day over one of California’s picturesque freeways. Sadly, the same piece of freeway was looped for several minutes and it’s pretty obvious, even in 1080P.
Anyone living or working near this part of LA, near LAX, drives that same section of the freeway fairly regularly. 2 things shut down the freeway entrances: severe rain flooding and film production. Sadly, while Hancock has its merits, the sloppy editing of this scene didn’t help the lame plot twists that came later.
Occasionally, I sit down with the My Name is Earl, a TV show about a petty crook trying to eliminate his past bad deeds. Earl is characterized as a rough and tumble, uncouth sort. Imagine my surprise in the episode titled “Earl and Joy’s Anniversary” when young Earl’s wallet had a Los Angeles County Public Library card in it. Is hick-town Camden, actually suburban Los Angeles?
Finally, Dexter is a show about a serial killer who only kills the guilty and daylights as a blood splatter analyst for Miami police. Sadly, few of the scenes depict Miami – most are just this neighborhood of LA. LMU, Hollywood Park and Marina Del Rey are just a few of the stand-ins for the Miami scene. I guess I’ll know what to expect next time I visit Miami – it looks just like SoCal!
I’m not even counting the projects where I worked around live sets, or hung out near real movie props or facades. It’s one thing to work in the industry, it is entirely another to bring the outside world into a production. So what to watch instead? A lot of stuff on the net, filmed by virtual nobodies like Leo Laporte, Diggnation and CNET – none of which film in LA. Of course, would I trade in sunny Southern California, home to everything beautiful for dour San Francisco or New York? Not in an LA minute. Besdies, stay tuned here to TechZulu…
What do you watch?
