Two girls clad in nightclub dresses balance their cigarette-holding left hands with brightly colored lollipops in the other. Another girl’s freckled skin and cracked lips are cast in shadows by the sandy blonde hair covering her left eye. A man wears a wide-brimmed hat to accent his jawline-length hair, which leads the viewer to a generous V-neck that highlights three necklaces and haphazard tattoos.
The images, from
TheCobrasnake.com, are flashbulb-and-alcohol-infused moments in what may well be defining Los Angeles in a still-emerging era of instant celebrity.
The people, nameless and unposed, bear little resemblance to one another ““ except that their faces all seem to have an expression that tries and fails to convey indifference as to whether or not their photo is actually taken.
They are, in effect, portraits of Los Angeles.
Los Angeles is no longer defined regionally. What’s left is a sprawling cultural vacuum ““ a mass of distinct yet blurred subcultures filled with individuals striving to become an image, striving to belong to something.
The City of Angels has become a citadel of success that is achieved through creating a flashy, catchy or shocking image.
Mark Hunter is the underground photographer for the Cobrasnake, whose Web site bears his alias and features hundreds of albums of candid photos snapped at Los Angeles’ trendiest locales.
The fact that uploading photos from one’s party life can become not only a career, but an avenue toward stardom for those photographed speaks volumes about what Los Angeles wants and values.
“Always something new and exciting,” explains Hunter, whose site averages 25,000 unique visitors per day. “Each new band, each new club, each new scene has something more to offer the city.” But how many scenes can a city sustain?
In a 2006 article for L.A. Weekly, John Albert chronicles the life of Mickey Avalon, a glam-rapper of sorts whose lyrics reek of Los Angeles’ darker, often lewd side. After one of Avalon’s Hollywood concerts ““ where Hollywood is not only the location but the most fitting adjective to describe the event ““ Albert focuses not on the singer’s grope session with groupies but of “a beautiful girl in a black designer dress” in the background. The girl “kneels down onto the soiled carpet and vomits into a trash can, tears rolling down her cheeks.”
The image is not only evocative but telling: Los Angeles’ youth are fighting to stay trendy.
They’re not alone. Today’s media markets seem to adore the addictive, chic fascination that is Paris Hilton, placing her stories only below tragedies such as the recent bridge collapse in Minneapolis. It is a trickle-down obsession that does wonders for trend-followers and little good for the rest of us.
When asked to identify the worst aspect of the younger side of Los Angeles, Hunter spoke of the under-21 crowd. He finds that these people, especially the 18-to-21 demographic, “want to do fun and amazing things too, but find they can’t. There’s definitely something missing there.”
Eventually, they follow the pattern and find ways of amusing themselves. Alcohol, concerts, clothing. Los Angeles is reborn through bottles, brand names and bands. Another cycle of image-hungry consciousness is created.
The result is a city that is always fresh ““ constantly bursting with what Hunter calls “new, good vibes.” The Johnny Depp wannabe with the hat and tats, the two short-dress girls smiling with glee, the freckled smile.
But among all the newness, in the cuts both within and between these strata and subcultures, lie people who cannot keep up, and people who are trying too hard.
Perhaps the best summation of all that is Hollywood today is in yet another Cobrasnake picture ““ three letters etched on the inside of a young man’s lower lip: “OMG.”
Need to vent about your new addiction to TheCobrasnake.com? E-mail Makarechi at kmakarechi@media.ucla.edu. General comments can be sent to viewpoint@media.ucla.edu.