Needing
a “geography of social difference” break after a full week of studying for my
last midterm, I decided to stay in Westwood this weekend and comment on another student’s blog. One thing I can say after reading countless blogs is that I may
need to step up my game, as some of the blogs I read were informative,
eloquently written and incredibly insightful. The blog I am commenting on is,
nearly one of those blogs. The blogs I read range from nearly incoherent to
nearly perfect and the blog I chose to comment on is certainly on the far right
of that spectrum, although not as perfect as some of the other blogs. I chose
to write on a “near perfect” blog simply because it allows me to compliment on
the blogger’s writing, while still leaving me enough room to make constructive
criticism and suggestions that may help to better their future posts. The post
itself describes the blogger’s trip to Lemonade, a delicious restaurant I might
add, and the observations they made both at the restaurant and the surrounding
area of Brentwood. I especially liked this blog because the blogger was making
his first trip to Brentwood, in fact the student had never even heard of it,
which ensures an unbiased observation of the city. I left the following comment
on the blog post…
Let
me start off by saying that while I would like to say that it was your eloquent
writing and insightful commentary that prompted me to comment on your blog,
although those were both factors, it was ultimately your blog post’s inclusion
of Lemonade that drove me to leave this comment. I am a huge Lemonade fan and have
been surprised by how few people have heard of it around here! One final
tangent before I get into the meat of your post, let me just emphasize how
awesome it was that you saw Guiliana Rancic there. Anyways, Lemonade and
celebrities aside, I really liked your blog, especially because I too have
never been to Brentwood, which allowed me to view your post as representing the
absolute reality of the area, without my own past experience in the area
subconsciously shaping the way I viewed your blog post. Let me reinforce an
earlier statement by saying that I found your description of the area to be
incredibly vivid and eloquent and your connection to class concepts to be
insightful and informative. Specifically, I enjoyed your detailed description
of the affluence of the area, choosing to describe women’s yoga pants and
children’s eating habits rather than just saying that Brentwood’s residents are
wealthy.
As
for the content and explanation of your post, I loved how you related the
racial and class segregation you saw in Brentwood to the idea of fragmented
inequality and post-Fordist capitalism that characterize the post-metropolis. I
cannot, however, see the connection between the segregation in Brentwood and
the concepts of automobility and radical individualism. While it is incredibly
likely that I missed an obvious connection here or there, I just thought I
would bring it to your attention that I found it somewhat confusing.
Furthermore, I loved the way you compared the ethnic makeup of Brentwood to
cities like Long Beach in order to give the readers a better idea of the racial
homogeneity that Brentwood boasts. I also enjoyed how you related the
segregation you observed in Brentwood to the larger theme of the
post-metropolis by emphasizing the sense of decentralization found in the Los
Angeles Metropolitan Area. One small suggestion, however, is that you elaborate
on and/or better defend your stance on what you said about the transportation
network tying the city together, since a centralized transportation network is
not a hallmark of the post-metropolis.
By
far my favorite aspect of your post was your comparison of Brentwood’s
inequality to patches on the Los Angeles’ quilt. Aside from the clever metaphor
and symbolism, it grabbed my attention most in the way it related to the
overriding theme of this blog project, Robert Park’s belief that the city is
made up of small independent worlds that touch but never interpenetrate.
Overall,
other than the few constructive critiques I have made, I found your blog
incredibly well written and it is clear that you have a true mastery of the
class concepts, a rarity based on the other blog posts I read through. Keep up
the good work!!
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