2 posts tagged “chicago”

A couple of interesting Chicago bits, in honor of Chicago's Olympic bid (courtesy of Gaper's Block)...

• The Library of Congress has an amazing collection of Chicago media (photos, sounds... even a 110 year old video accredited to none-other-than Edison himself!). I good starting point is a collection of photos from the defunct Chicago Daily News

• Compare and contrast: City vs. Suburbs. If you're a vain gas-guzzling comfort seeker, then yes, do move to the suburbs (the Suburbs article is an urbanist's nightmare in words).

Cue incoherant rant (before any of you get your undies in a wad, yes, this is the product of own imagination)
The City article also highlights the distinction between Chicago and Los Angeles (and yes, I'm working in typical  stereotypes). See, Chicago is all about the self-made man—the person that took their destiny into their own hands and made their own fortunes. In contrast, the LA mindset seems to be "I'll show up and get discovered," which is essentially the opposite—hope someone else makes you into something. I think this speaks to the greater changes in the American psyché—a solid, productive work ethic replaced with the something-for-nothing mindset. And I think this frivolity is responsible for many of today's problems—a consumerist nature where the next dream product will make you happy (it won't) or a quest for fame satifying your needs (it doesn't). This obscures the real things that really make people happy, that your life really needs—hard work (and reaping the corresponding rewards) and community (connection with the world and loved ones)—these things are much more rewarding than a second toaster or an appearance on American Idol. What do you walk away from American Idol with? A nation of people judging, making you—you're not you, you're what people have made you to be. That's not something you're resposible for, something you've created—in the end, it's empty because you're not reaping the benefits of your own labors. Happiness doesn't lie in fame—it's in living, in fulfillment, in finishing a task that was worthwhile. Nothing is more impressive than seeing the human—nay, American—shear force of will in action. We're a country of doers—and we've lost our way.

OK, this isn't an complete list, but I'm working on it. Let me know what I'm missing!

Honor Roll
The Blues Brothers
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
High Fidelity
Chicago*
Risky Business

Honorable Mentions
North By Northwest (not entirely set in Chicago, but that portion is cool)
Stranger than Fiction (it's clearly Chicago, yet they refer to New York landmarks)**

Disqualified:
The Fugitive (doesn't focus on Chicago much IMHO)
Home Alone (again, nothing explicitly Chicago here)
My Big Fat Greek Wedding (that "Chicago" looks an awful lot like Toronto)

*Yes, this was filmed in Toronto, but its such an intrinsically Chicago story that that doesn't matter
**This one especially breaks my heart.  The one movie filmed at UIC this decade and amazingly enough, UIC actually looks pretty.  This just KILLS me!