LA is the birthplace of the hard boiled detective story. I never really understood the evolution of this genre and why it first appeared in LA rather than New York or Berlin or Paris or Cleveland. In this discussion on KRCW program, Politics of Culture, two true crime historians delve into the organized crime history of Los Angles. Instead of having working class gangs based in ethnic loyalties and/or working class work sites like the docks, trucking or waste management. The mob in LA was based in the mayor's office, the police department and the chamber of commerce. A ruling class mob.As an aside in the movie Pleasantville the town isn't run by an elected civic government but by a self-selected Chamber of Commerce.
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