In the bustling streets of Los Angeles and Vancouver, a unique phenomenon has taken place. These two cities, each with its unique idea of culture and lifestyle, share a collective identity. The West Coast identity.
In this project, we explored the West Coast identity, where it lies, and how it came to be. This included a trip from our home of Vancouver to Los Angeles California, where we visited many famous or significant places to make a documentary on our group’s topic. My group, which consisted of Ryan blog44.ca/Ryanun and Quinn blog44.ca/quinnsm , had the topic of art and architecture.
Gathering footage for this video and putting it together was a great deal of work, even with the three of us doing our best on our individual parts. Interviews were especially hard for our group, because all but one of our planned interviews didn’t happen due to time constraints or because of an interviewee not willing to be on camera.
Overall, I’m happy with the direction our video took and think that the hours I spent editing payed off, but I wish that our video and maybe even the project as a whole, focused on the driving question more, instead of just the West Coast identity.
The driving question for this project:
“Why are some people able to see around corners in ways others are not, and by doing, shape how we see ourselves in this changing world?”
Although the project’s focus was different than originally intended, valuable learning and information still made it’s way into our videos, giving us insights on how culture is shaped by the world and people around it, whether it be the natural landscape, immigrants bringing their culture into the melting pot, or inventions like the internet.
Our video being focused on “Art and Architecture” made it hard because we had to decide what counted as art or architecture. While some things are indisputably in one category or the other, things like the sea wall at Stanley park may be controversial. We decided to mostly stick to things obviously recognizable as such, but want viewers to know that these definitions expand to other topics too, like our classmates group, The Great Outdoors
Our thesis statement for the video was:
The juxtaposition between the natural and man made beauty on the West Coast have pushed for the development of the collective West Coast identity that is especially shown through our art and architecture
Our group knew that one of the defining features of the west coast is it’s appreciation for the natural beauty in all its incarnations along the west coast. This lead us to consider how that appreciation lead us to try and create art that is beautiful in a new sense.
The west coast now is a tapestry of ideas more than a place on a map, especially in our increasingly interconnected world, where people across the globe can speak to each other over video in the blink of an eye. It is an idea that pushes for innovation and revels in the thrills that accompany it.
In this changing world, where the only constant is uncertainty, our ability to see around corners isn’t just a matter of personal success but also a prediction and vision of what our collective identity is and what it could be. It’s about recognizing that the view one may see around a corner may differ vastly from another, and that true wisdom lies in embracing the many perspectives that shape our shared reality. So, let us not just gaze around corners but create the corners themselves, and lead society in a positive and constructive direction.