ANOTHER TRIP WAY BACK

Note: I'm headed off to the coast for some much-needed relaxation, so this post is from the archives. With the current unrest in France, it seems somewhat relevant. Of course, with references to "Everybody Loves Raymond," John Ashcroft, and California's recall election, it ain't exactly as fresh as today's headlines. Oh well, deal with it.

First published on October 20, 2003...

If you’ve lived in Los Angeles more than ten minutes, you know that it is a complete cultural wasteland. While sophisticated New Yorkers take pride in their long tradition of world-class theater, music, architecture, and art, we're lucky if we can produce an episode of "Everybody Loves Raymond" that's actually funny. And then there's Europe. They're way ahead of us, although it's really not fair to compare our scene to theirs. After all, they had a 1,000 year head start.

There is reason to believe things are changing. First, Arnold Schwarzenegger will be our governor next month, and his absence on the movie scene for the next three years can't help but improve LA's cultural output. But that alone won't allow us to catch up with places like France with their 35 hour work week, cafe culture, and state funded arts programs. We are becoming more sophisticated, however. Observe the three following developments: 1) Workers at Southern California's three major supermarket chains are on strike and there's no reason to believe it will end any time soon. 2) MTA mechanics are also striking and have effectively shut down the region's public transportation system. 3) Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputies, prohibited by law from going on strike, are coming down with cases of the "blue flu." Deputies in certain positions have been calling in sick and disrupting work in many courthouses around the county.

Culture mavens like me see this as a deliberate move toward the French way of life. One of France's most enduring images, behind that of the Eiffel Tower at night and the street mime, is the striker. Every summer, one can turn on the news and be treated to pictures of Frenchies sitting on the mighty A1 freeway outside of Paris. They're eating baguettes and drinking wine having what looks like a merry time. They can't go anywhere because striking truck drivers have blocked all major streets going into town. Apart from having a tasty lunch on the roadside, these stranded travelers are obviously writing plays and novels and poems and designing nifty new buildings and otherwise adding to their country's rich cultural heritage. This type of creative output only comes when large portions of the population have nothing much to do.

Despite the strikes here in LA, I have yet to see anyone sitting on the side of the 405 chewing on an In-N-Out burger while composing haikus about the Screen Actor's Guild. Clearly we are not up to French standards yet but, again, they've had a lot more time to get their act together. France is on the cutting edge of strike technology. They've developed something called a "general strike" where everybody stops doing everything. It's not clear exactly why they stop working, but there certainly must be a reason.

I've even heard a story where the unemployed in France went on strike. This action raises several vexing questions. First, how does an unemployed person stop working? What do you stop doing? Do you stop not working and begin doing somebody else's job? Also, what type of bargaining power does an unemployed person have? Sure, people care if a striking worker doesn't pick up their garbage, but do they care if someone has stopped being unemployed? Is there an unemployed union in France? The most amazing part of the story is that the unemployed people apparently succeeded in their strike and exacted concessions from the French government including the 35 hour work week.

It may be some time before we reach that level, but I think the workers of Los Angeles have made a good start. Might I suggest a few other workers who could (please?) leave their posts for a week or so. CSUN staff and faculty (wouldn't it be nice to have a "fall break?"), CSUN parking enforcement (just because), John Ashcroft, and whoever came up with the idea for "The Next Joe Millionaire." I hope to join you all dining on the side of a local freeway soon.

Additional Note: "The Next Joe Millionaire?" Did they actually make a show called that? I had to check the internet to be sure. Sure enough...