I've been visiting Los Angeles since the early 80's, and I've never been able to clearly see the association between the city of Hollywood and the glamour and glitz of the motion picture business. Nothing personifies the reality of broken dreams more glaringly than Hollywood Boulevard, yet for some reason, tourists come by the busload to wander up and down Hollywood Boulevard.
There are basically two main attractions on Hollywood Boulevard. There are the terrazzo and brass stars honoring Hollywood legends, and the cement blocks at Mann's Chinese Theater, that feature the foot and hand prints of Hollywood notables. Otherwise, Hollywood is a collection of crappy gift stores, miscreants and hustlers, all trying desperately to capitalize on the overabundance of naive tourists, eager to get a peek behind the curtain.
Once you arrive at the theater, you're accosted by pushy rap-star wannabes hawking their bootleg CD's, or by down-on-their-luck super heroes offering to pose with you, in exchange for a few dollars. By law, the superheroes aren't supposed to panhandle or ask for donations, but unchecked, they can be overly aggressive and demanding.
After a few hours of hanging out there, I went back to my hotel room, and surfed the net trying to find out a bit more about the so-called super heroes. Being a tourists myself, I didn't have the time to properly document Hollywood Boulevard as thoroughly as I wanted, so ultimately, the IPhone captures you see below were a half-hearted attempt to photograph my short stay.
For a more in-depth look, I would suggest watching the film,
Confessions of a Super Hero. It's worth a look. It aptly reveals the desperation of four people as they chase their dreams of making it in Hollywood. Enjoy…
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| ©tom stoye |
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| ©tom stoye |
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| ©tom stoye |
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| ©tom stoye |
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| ©tom stoye |
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| ©tom stoye |
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