Misread City -- The Final Meditations

"I am interested in how the attention of the towers has affected the community and how members feel about their style and size. I want to see how the community feels about them and whether they take pride in the towers or rarely thinks about them at all."

The Watts Towers -- Jaide Garcia

images: watts towers, teikan; glendale, julian bleecker ralph bunche house, south los angeles, kansas sebastian: fashion district, oracio alvarado; watts, laurie avacado via flickr creative commons

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"As I recently have come to find out, Glendale used to be a city not very much liked by people not living in the city . Come to find out, Glendale used to be very racist and was home to the West Coast Nazi Headquarters. I find that to be completely shocking . . . however, I am sure that there are others who still have that perception of Glendale being [a] racist city. I am curious to find out about the history of the city and how the city started to change after a large number of people (Armenians) began to move to Glendale...I tis interesting that a city that was home to the racists is now a very diverse environment."

Talin Manooki -- the City of Glendale

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"For my final assignment, I want to speak to a classmate of mine who was born, raised and still lives in 'South Central' Los Angeles. His family's story represents the overall theme of the assignment, as his older brother has eared an doctoral degree from USC while his other brother is in prison. I find it interesting how different the two have turned out and it really suggests the dual atmosphere within the city. One brother fills the cliche that cannot be avoided, while the other has mode more of his circumstances. "

-- South Los Angeles -- Hailey Hannan

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"I would like to write about the L.A. Fashion District, off Maple and 11th Street, because I think that it can be misinterpreted. I have been coming here for years now and the first time I ever stepped foot there, I was really turned off by the culture and the location of the alley. I [plan] to ask people work the street carts or sell their goods to the public about the area. This will provide the sources for my reporting aspect of the essay. As for the reading and further information, I would like to incorporate the ideals fo gentrification and possibly graffiti into the story."

-- The Fashion District, Downtown -- Chelsea Vogt

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"My roommate, Sam, grew up in Kansas. Sam moved back to Los Angeles to attend LMU and work in the animation department. She has since received awards for her academic success as a black woman in her field . . . . being her roommate and her friend, I have been invited on a couple of occasions to join her family, lead by Aunt Alice....Alice is a quiet and stern woman whom everybody in the family respects and who has managed to do quite a bit to keep her family in Watts. Most of all the children go to magnet schools. Alice immigrated from Belize and Sam keeps a picture of the shack that Alice grew up in, in her dorm room on her desk to remind her of her family's struggles and her hope to visit their beginnings. I'm thinking a juxtaposition, demonstrating Watts can be an end in a successful story rather than an unfortunate beginning."

-- Watts -- Alex Deutsch