Los Angeles, or at least the film industry, talks about its past more than any other place that I’ve been before. For example, the class went to a noir film festival the past two nights to see Blue Dahlia (1946) and L.A. Confidential (1997). This festival has been going on for 20 years now and many attend. However, this isn’t the only event that our class attended that honors film history. We’ve been to many screenings of old films that were nearly sold out.
It seems as though there’s a screening of an old film that has a panel discussion attached to it every weekend. Now, I know that we are taking a class that covers the history of LA and the film industry, but what about the other people? Each screening is well attended and some were even sold out. In most places, the history of something is only celebrated once a year at most or on major anniversaries.
I realized that movies are integral to the history of the 20th century. They are a product of the collective American culture. Everyone has some movie that connects them or their memories. It’s a history that is greater than one single event.
