The LA River starts in the San Fernando Valley and flows through Simi Hills, Santa Susana Mountains, Los Angeles County, Canoga Park and ends up in Long Beach. Although these areas are in relatively close proximity to each other, they are not similar in appearance, race, class, urban form, transformation, reinvention and the American future.
An issue which is perhaps overlooked is the fact that transport completely changed the face of urbanization in the United states and this is what really brought about the population explosion in the West. The growth of railroads and the expansion of industrialization did actually bring about a massive influx of workers which eventually hugely increased the population of cities in California such as San Francisco and Los Angeles which themselves saw an incredible population implosion (Gardiner, Hutchison 2011). One could compare and contrast here with what happened in Europe in the Industrial revolution especially in England where large factories sprung up in the big cities which saw a considerable influx from the country towns and villages with these people eventually settling into cities albeit in horrifying conditions.
It seems that the city of Los Angeles has become a vast melting pot which includes several races and people from all walks of life. The field work which I carried out included a number of interviews with several different races and cultures and their recollections helped me understand the area much better.
Academic and media representation:
The San Fernando Valley is an urbanized valley surrounded by mountains. Two thirds of the San Fernando Valley lies in the city of Los Angeles. 92.5% of the population is Hispanic or Latino. In Los Angeles city, the majority of the population, although Hispanic or Latino, make up only 48.5% of the population although that is always rising.
When we compare San Fernando to Los Angeles, we can state that although both are urbanized,
San Fernando is further towards the mountains. We can also state that the standard of living in
LA city is much higher than that of San Fernando. The types of people also differ between one and the other in that in San Fernando Valley the people are more Hispanic/Latino and not as refined as the people in LA city. Although the Hispanics have increased in numbers they still have problems to integrate into society.
My experiences of the Los Angeles River area showed that it was not always easy for Hispanics to integrate themselves into society and this was also largely due to the fact that there is still inherent racism in Southern Los Angeles. A typical example would be the way Los Angeles has tackled the Rodney King beating which still resonates up to a point today in various ways.
In 1992 there were riots which caused civil disturbance in Los Angeles. These riots were about race and centered around Rodney King – a coloured man who was beaten up by police officers. It was one of the largest riots in US history.
The riots started in South Los Angeles and spread. Police officers were video-taped beating Rodney King and people were outraged at the verdict. There followed constant rioting where assault and stealing were among the crimes committed during the riots. 53 were killed during these riots and over 2000 people were injured. The result of these riots were that there were sterner police supervision as well of analyses of excessive force.
McWilliams (2009, p 45) deals extensively with the issue of the race riots and how these affected the development of Southern California which was singularly affected all over by this development. Relations on an ethnic level were certainly not easy and the situation degenerated considerably with the riots. Theroux (2004) also focuses extensively on the problems created by the race riots as the city and area continued to grow exponentially with all the conflicts that this brought with it. Gender and racial stereotyping were among the most common problems found in the actual development of the city and River area.
Fieldwork:
Through a series of interviews, I decided to speak to most of the residents of several towns in the San Fernando valley area to view how life has changed intrinsically for them in several ways. I found that stereotyping was quite rampant in these communities and although there was substantial material advancement in certain communities, there still is a lot of prejudice especially among conservative white people.
When it comes to class, LA city lies on a higher level especially in the Beverly Hills area. People in LA city have more money and class than the ones in the Fernando Valley area. Many Hispanics and Latinos turn to a world of crime and disillusionment.
Stereotyping exists in several forms but it is principally related to racial and gender issues, at least in the United States. There have been several forms of racial stereotyping in the past particularly against black Americans who have been derided in all sorts of manners from their sexual prowess to the colour of their skin. The same goes for gender stereotyping where women have often been discriminated against men particularly on their place of work and in particular professions.
Racial stereotyping:
Since time immemorial, Americans have denigrated blacks and other races within their society with racial stereotypes. The typical black male as depicted in the film, ‘Birth of a Nation’ by DW Griffith is a burly, rapacious brute only interested in lust and deflowering white women. Such stereotyping was extremely common in the Southern states and can be extremely dangerous, in fact the film was credited with the rise of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920’s especially in states like Georgia and Tennessee. The black “sammbo’ is only interested in raping and propagating his bloodlust according to the film and this undoubtedly led to random and wanton violence against able bodied black men. This culminated in the horrific lynching of Claude Neal in Florida in 1935 where stereotyping was undoubtedly responsible for the barbaric acts committed against Neal which were hardly human.
Gender stereotyping
Women are often discriminated against at their place of work due to the fact that they are consistently stereotyped. According to typical opinion, a woman’s place is in the home to look after the house, cook her husband meals and take care of the children. This obviously creates a situation here those women who decide to go out and work are looed at with a certain amount of disdain and will be discriminated against. This happened in factories in the second World War where the woman stereotype of home clashed with that where women were on the job of production for the country. The same thing continues to happen today as women who have infiltrated the professions such as law and medicine find themselves discriminated against due to stereotypes. And if these women are from different races, then their discrimination will be worse as they suffer it double, both racially and gender wise. I found a lot of stereotyping in my interviews with the people of the Los Angeles River area.
Conclusion – class differences and urban sprawl
Government obviously has an important role in urbanization not only in the way plans are made to increase and develop housing but also in social regeneration policies for depressed areas. This may mean that certain areas will require more funding than others to be regenerated but if this occurs then the full potential of certain areas will perhaps be achieved. This is unfortunately not always the case. Still living in a vibrant modern city can also be a life enhancing experience as the assimilation of cultures and practices have a refreshing influence on one’s way of life. Social participation is also far more pronounced in the city where rural life can tend to leave a person isolationist and ignorant of certain political aspects. This is basically what I found in the Los Angeles River area after my fieldwork which was quite an intriguing and interesting experience.
Works Cited:
Carey McWilliams (2009). Southern California: An Island on the Land (9th ed.). Peregrine Smith. ISBN 978-0-87905-007-8.
Richard White (1991). It's Your Misfortune and None of My Own: A New History of the American West. University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 978-0-8061-2567-1.
David Rieff (1992). Los Angeles: Capital of the Third World. Touchstone. ISBN 978-0-671-79210-7.
Peter Theroux (1994). Translating LA: A Tour of the Rainbow City. Norton. ISBN 978-0-393-31394-9.
Oney S (2004); And the Dead Shall Rise: The Murder of Mary Phagan and the Lynching of Leo Frank; Vintage
McGovern J (1992); Anatomy of a Lynching: The Killing of Claude Neal; Louisiana State University Press
Basow S (1986); Gender Stereotypes: Traditions and Alternatives; Brooks/Cole
