What Movie Best Captures L.A.?

(Other Than Chinatown, That Is)

 

Hundreds, even thousands, of movies are set in Los Angeles. But do they get Los Angeles right? Most people who live here would say no.  In advance of a Zócalo/Getty Center event that is part of the Pacific Standard Time initiative on how L.A. invented the world, we’re taking a moment to laud the exceptions. We asked several notable Angelenos to tell us what movie (other than Chinatown--yes, everyone already knows that one’s good) best captures the reality of Los Angeles.

The Movie About the Rabbit

In movies as in …

It’s a Great Escape–Unless You Can’t Leave

Cuba’s History and the American Imagination

In the American imagination, Cuba is the land of Castro, cars, communism and cane (sugar), a place that offers an escape from the realities of history and the world.

But for …

Cuba Libre?

Four Experts Weigh In on Cuba's Future Ten Years From Now

Cuba has been envisioned by Americans as many things: island paradise, communist stronghold, and Hemingway’s retreat, to name a few. Today, political reforms and a loosening of trade restrictions are …

The Majesty of Trees

The three participants on a panel called “Why Do We Love Trees” might be expected to have fairly simplistic relationships with the plants in question. But Nalini Nadkarni, Jennifer Steinkamp …

Cultural Retro-fusion

 

The population of Chinese artists has recently exploded. China supports about 20 art schools, with approximately 30,000 Chinese artists graduating per year. Socially, “to be an artist in China is …