Scholarly Essay.

For our first essay, we’ll use Deepak Narang Sawhney’s essay “Journey Beyond the Stars” as our starting point. His essay tracks a lot of tensions and perceptions about Los Angeles, but one of his main points seems to be that LA is portrayed in specific ways through mainstream or commercial texts. He writes, “[t]hough a common dialogue, collective vision, and shared perspective may not be present in contemporary Los Angeles, the city nevertheless sells itself extremely well” (7). Later, Sawhney comments, “[t]he question of how we begin to understand this dynamic, contradictory city preoccupies countless films, journals, articles, books, websites, and radio programs. Eager participants of mass consumption, whose insatiable appetite devours everything that is L.A., are fed analytical and scripted perspectives on what it is that makes Los Angeles unique” (7-8). With these claims (and many questions) Sawhney raises, he gives us something to consider: what exactly are the current, commercial perceptions of L.A. being put forth? Analysis of one “commercial”/mainstream example This is where you come in. Select one sample “text” to analyze in-depth as you develop your essay. This example can be a scene from a film, an ad, a tourist guidebook, a magazine, an episode from a TV show, or any other representation of L.A. that constructs a dominate/commercial/common perception of the city or its people. As you compose your essay, your goal is to analyze how exactly the city is packaged or “sold” through that commercial/mainstream text. In other words, you’ll be looking into the details of that example to see how L.A. is portrayed. It may be subtle and background or very up-front, in-your-face. As Sawhney claims, it may also be an extreme “utopia” or “dystopia” portrayal. Whatever the case, it’s your task to investigate Sawhney’s claims through the lens of one specific example (of your choice). As you continue your discussion, unpack for readers what it looks like when you offer an “anti-commercial” or non-mainstream look into Los Angeles. For that angle, choose one of the recent class readings to discuss in depth. The choices are: Analysis of the “anti-commercial” - one selected class reading • “Naming Los Angeles” (Woo) • “Freeway Jam” (Ulin) • Introduction to A People’s Guide (Pulido, et. al. ) • A People’s Guide: “South Los Angeles” (Pulido, et. al.) Include an analysis of one of the above readings. Consider: How does this text offer an alternative portrayal of Los Angeles? Why might this text or it’s content be important to notice? Answering “so what?” The “so what?” question is always a good prompt as you write. It’s especially useful as you move to a conclusion. Think about what you want readers to take away by the end of your discussion. Return to Sawhney’s guiding questions in his concluding paragraphs. He asks, “In a city where it is often difficult to separate myth from reality, fact from hype, where do we start to find a middle zone of engagement?” (13). What do you think? What should people notice about the ways texts (in all forms) filter our perceptions of a place? As you consider this in your conclusion, let readers know what’s been gained by your discussion. What insights do you want to leave with your readers regarding this subject?