Eric Avila is an urban and cultural historian of 20th century America at UCLA and author of Popular Culture in the Age of White Flight: Fear and Fantasy in Suburban Los Angeles. Before participating in a panel on images of L.A., he fielded questions in the green room about white flight and L.A.’s golden age, as well as cures for insomnia and the species of animal he’d most like to see eliminated.
Q. What is the best remedy for insomnia?
A. Elle Décor.
Q. Do you live in the suburbs?
A. No.
Q. What food, drink, or other substance most lifts your spirits?
A. Sushi and Côtes du Rhône.
Q. Who’s your favorite photographer?
A. Cindy Sherman.
Q. What was the golden age of Los Angeles?
A. 1945 to ’65.
Q. Was there anything good about white flight?
A. Housing opportunities for a broad segment of America’s working class and middle class.
Q. What species of animal would you like to see eliminated?
A. I’m trying not to say baby seals.
Q. If money or law were no object, where would you most like to live?
A. I would say on the corner of Sanchez and 21st in San Francisco.
Q. What couple will be the next Hollywood divorce?
A. I don’t really follow my Hollywood couples, but I’ll think. Pass.
Q. Black and white or color?
A. Black and white, with a bit of color.
*Photo by Sarah Rivera