© the eyeranian: LA's High-Speed Chases

September 21, 2004

LA's High-Speed Chases

Los Angeles is the first city I've ever lived in that has this particular obsession. It may indeed be unique in this regard worldwide. I'm talking about the fascination people hold for high-speed chases. It starts with some idiot not stopping upon seeing flashing lights in his (and it is always a "he") rearview mirror and then the show is on. Soon we've got a whole bunch of black & white cruisers on one of the already congested freeways of this city of angels chasing the dude and being chased by at least half a dozen of the news choppers that roam the city skies on daily basis.

Suddenly every channel on TV drops whatever they are showing with "Breaking News" and a live feed from their own chopper. The look on people's faces at this point is certainly a site to see. I watch people at work with amazement, dropping whatever it is they are doing and staring at this spectacle with wide-eyes and bewilderment. They all know how it will end. They also aren't looking at any new sites, new landscape they haven't seen before or anything remotely as exciting as what you can watch a whole hour of every week on Cops. Yet they stare and wait for the eventual "bump" by the cop, the fish tale, the crash, the short foot pursuit, the take down. Sometimes an hour or two later, depending on if the dude had the foresight to maintain a full tank of gas or not.

I watch the audience with my own sense of bewilderment. What the heck are we watching and why??? I guess I'll never figure this one out.

Posted by Pedram at September 21, 2004 08:44 AM

Comments

Hi Pedram-

We love a spectacle down here. It's simple marketing. If people weren't interested in car chases, we would not see them on TV. One useful purpose in showing the chase in progress however, is to enable other motorists to avoid the area.

Posted by: pieal amode at September 21, 2004 10:44 AM

Pedram, off topic here (and maybe a stupid question) but are you a native Iranian or an American/Canadian (you mentioned you used to live in Canada so I'm not too sure) born, ethnic Iranian?

Posted by: Keri at September 22, 2004 12:14 AM

The most amazing thing is that anyone can get up to a high speed around LA...everything's jamed.

Posted by: John Pender at September 22, 2004 05:04 AM

Car chases are old hat. Busses, semi tractor trailers, airport baggage carts, those annoying little scooter boards with the weed eater motor, now there is the makings of a great police chase.

Posted by: A.H. at September 22, 2004 02:52 PM

High speed chase in LA? phew, maybe around the zoo area.

Posted by: Maman Bozorg at September 22, 2004 08:48 PM

Have you seen the movie Fahrenheit 451, by Francois Truffaut?
The original story by Ray Bradbury. In the movie it shows how the brain-washed people of the future spend their time watching helicopters chasing certain people whom they don't know, but enjoy seeng them being chased on their huge televisions. Very similar to the daily life here in LA now.
The movie is made in 1964 or 65, years before the invention of these chases on TV.

Posted by: The Other at September 23, 2004 02:13 AM

Bradbury also had 'reality shows' (sort of), large screen TVs as mentioned, and mad young people speeding around in beetle shaped cars purposely running people down.

Posted by: A.H. at September 23, 2004 09:26 AM

Posted by: pompom at October 9, 2004 02:09 AM

rauchen fügt ihnen und den menschen in ihrer umgebung erheblichen schaden zu

Posted by: Routenplaner at October 13, 2004 07:29 AM

Rauchen in der schwangerschaft schadet ihrem kind edustartpage

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