SGV: March 2008 Archives

Due to some technical issues, Thursday's column was much shorter in print and online than I had originally written it. (In other words I wrote long and space was short). You probably notice in reading it that it's pretty much a follow up to Sam Quinones excellent piece in yesterday's LAT.

I've heard that Quinones attended every day of trial and was able to score some interviews that I couldn't get. Most notably no one from the Azusa PD returned calls Wednesday to discuss Ralph Flores, Azusa 13 or the impact and aftermath of the spree of hate crimes that plagued Azusa between 1998 and 2004.

Complete column after the jump...

It’s very French to chronicle goings-on in the United States.

Way back in 1835, Alexis De Tocqueville started the industry when he wrote "Democracy in America," and it continues today.

I know; I have an e-mail to prove it.

"Subject: Urgent French/TV Request.

"Dear Sir,

"My name is Capucine Pétre, I am a French journalist, and I am working on a documentary about L.A., to be broadcasted on French national TV M6 (2nd French channel)."

My initial thought was that this was one of those phony pitches for money that emanate from the Third World and into my e-mail box.

The e-mail continues with a description of the proposed documentary, which will be shown in France on a program titled "Enquete Exclusive." In English that translates to "Exclusive Survey."

Basically, these folks are going to hang around Los Angeles for a month and "present the reality of the (region) through 4 or 5 portraits."

I don’t think they know what they are in for; how can our neighborhoods be summed up with four or five interviews peppered through an hour program?

On the other hand, "Exclusive Survey" has done some pretty interesting journalism. According to its Web site, Monday’s show focused on Cuba. Here’s the promo:

"The sun of the Caribbean, the sandy beaches, a stunning colonial architecture: Cuba is increasingly popular among tourists, but behind the postcard which is the delight of vacationers lurks a reality much more difficult for Cubans. Fidel Castro, (president) since 1959, (heads) a terribly repressive police state."

Sounds interesting to me. Upcoming shows will focus on Baghdad, post surge, and the "secret life of undocumented immigrants."

But let’s get back to Los Angeles County as seen through four or five pairs of eyes. I’m trying to imagine the promo:

FIRST SHOT:

A camera mounted in a helicopter pans across a vast and well-known region.

ANNOUNCER:

(French accent)Zee blue Pacific, zee palm trees, zee palatial estates of the ’ollywood stars. Los Angeles — the epitome of style, class and wealth. But behind the pretty pictures generated by America’s propagandistic movie studios lies colder reality.

CUT TO:

Graffiti-covered freeway soundwalls; a grainy televised image of a police pursuit through Montebello or West Covina; a screaming mother held back by police officers on the edge of a crime scene, yellow tape flapping the breeze.

CAMERA PANS UP TO:

 L.A. skyline rising through dark haze blowing from the north, where the hills are filled with fire.

ANNOUNCER:

Zis is that reality, Los Angeles, California.

FADE TO BLACK ...

In truth, I hope the show actually shies away from the clichés that define our hometown. They need four or five people to guide them. Who would you talk to?

My "Exclusive Survey" would be Kevin Rodrick, of the laobserved.com Web site, which is plugged into pretty much everything L.A.; Kim Cooper of the Esotouric bus company, which tours people around historic crime scenes in Los Angeles, the San Gabriel Valley and Pasadena; and Lt. Gil Carrillo, of the Los Angeles County sheriff’s Homicide Bureau.

Oh yeah, and I’d tell them to read a lot of De Tocqueville. He got it right.